In Beowulf, is Grendel an actual monster or a symbol of immorality?.
In the story, I personally think the author uses Grendel as a symbol of what is evil.
and immoral. It is a typical battle of good and evil, something that we see every day in our.
lives. In the story Beowulf the author makes three main points to show that Grendel is.
indeed a symbol of immorality, where Grendel comes from, the terrible description of.
Grendel's killing, and Grendel's loneliness and isolation to the world.
Grendel is the embodiment of all that is evil and dark. "He was spawned in slime,.
conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain". (Lines 41-43). He is a descendant.
of Cain and like Cain is an outcast of society, doomed to roam in the shadows, always.
outside looking inside, an outside threat to the order of society and all that is good. His.
whole existence is grounded solely in the moral perversion to hate good simply because it.
is good. .
He is described as a monster, demon, and a fiend. "murderous creatures banished.
by God, punished forever for the crime of Abel's death. The Almighty drove those.
demons out, and their exile was bitter, shut away from men; they split into a thousand.
forms of evil--spirits and fiends, goblins, monsters, giants." (Lines 43-49). Grendel has.
swift, hard claws, and enormous teeth that snatch the life out of his many victims. This.
"shadow of death" not only kills; he drinks the blood of his prey. His forefather, Cain, was.
also known for this hellish act and just as Grendel is an outcast, so Cain was cast out of.
the Garden of Eden. To the Danes, the worst crime a person could commit was the crime.
killing one's own brother. Their society and culture was structured around themes of.
brotherhood and kinship. "The Danes to such glory that comrades and kinsmen swore by.
his sword". (Lines 2-3). The mead Hall, Herot, was a symbol of peace. It was a place.
where warriors gathered in a spirit of brotherhood and harmony to celebrate.
