“Nothing was changed, everything was changed.” In the passage from Gardner’s book, Grendel, the speaker, relays his bitter and confused opinion and attitude towards the dragon, men, and the shaper who have all affected the way he views life situations. Gardner shows, through Grendel’s views and connections with other’s, how when someone else has a different opinion than one’s own, many times one’s opinion can be altered to accommodate theirs, whether for better or worse.
Grendel went to visit the dragon to seek advice after hearing the Shaper’s song. After Grendel saw and spoke with the dragon, unbeknownst to him, the dragon put a charm on him so that no sword or weapon would be able to pierce his skin. In the passage Grendel seems almost disappointed in the charm after he realizes it is not a blessing and will change who he
The “brume of the dragon” has changes Grendel’s frame of mind and his views of the world and of the creatures in it now. Grendel’s mental isolation from the rest of the world has given him a sad pitiful life and death, existing alone, with no other friend but his shadow. The dragon’s charm and realistic view of the world, the shaper’s songs of greatness and good things to come, and the stupidity of men cause Grendel to become what others viewed him as even though Grendel only wanted to be like all other men.
Grendel’s attitude towards the men changes dramatically when he realizes they can’t hurt him; he now feels lost without the connection he had before when he was able to fight with men. Grendel’s fear of humans, what little he showed, was reduced to nothing and his respect for this group of men also dropped dramatically. He
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