He chooses to bring misery to others, and brings it to himself by giving in to the temptations of evil. He is jealous of other's joy so he tries to make himself feel better by committing crimes to hurt people. Some people believe that Grendel has only one choice, to be evil, because he is a descendant of Cain. This is not an excuse for Grendel to murder. The story of Cain and Abel is one of treachery, deception, and kin-murder, similar to that of Grendel's. Cain had a choice to murder, no one made him do it. Grendel also has a choice and he picked evil's side. He enjoys the fear and suffering he inflicts on others and enjoys that sense of power. The Danes are terrified of him, he attacks innocent people, he is against God, and he chooses to be a murderous creature like his ancestors. What possibly could be good about him? Nothing. Is it his fault he is evil? Yes. .
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Enraged at the revelry at Herot, Grendel viciously inspires fear in the Danes with unprovoked attacks on them. Grendel does not want peace, but to spread his suffering to others. The fear and misery of the Danes is so great that it is told in stories: .
His (Hrothgar's) misery leaped the seas, was told and sung in all men's ears: How Grendel's hatred began, how the monster relished his savage war on the Danes, keeping the bloody feud alive, seeking no peace, offering no truce, accepting no settlement, no price in gold or land, and paying the living for one crime only with another. (lines 151-157).
Grendel is so wicked that nothing satisfies his "lust for evil- (138). Killing brings him happiness so he does it because he likes to, not because he has to. In these lines the poet tells of the sneakiness, greed, and pleasure Grendel finds in his attacks:.
The monster's thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws: he slipped through the door and there in the silence snatched up thirty men, smashed them unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies, the blood dripping behind him, back to his lair, delighted with his night's slaughter.
