Grendel's mental state of mind
After reading chapters 11 and 12 over the weekend, I have an urge to write about Grendel's mentality. Grendel's description of Beowulf was definitely a shocker and an eye opener because of the very high possibility of 'Grendel = CRAZY'.
Grendel's mentality has indicated that it has been deteriorating in subtle and obvious ways. The most prominent example is on page 92 where the poem that Grendel writes explicitly says, ""Grendel is crazy" (92). I mean, he's talking to himself, dances like a ballerina, and completely shifts his chain of thought. There are many different explanations as to why Grendel is digressing.
First, Grendel finds out from the glorious Shaper that he is a descendant of a hatred lineage, making him a total reject in Hrothgar's world. Then, the fact that even with the awareness, he cannot totally ignore Shaper's influence of beauty, unity, and patterness causes, essentially, his soul to become harrowed with conflicting thoughts. His mind wants him to embrace the beautiful elements, but his subconscious (dragon) steers him away from becoming assimilated into the men's society. Therefore, the Shaper has a profound impact on Grendel's conflicted view, causing him to 'overuse', for the lack of a better word, his brain.
As if the Shaper's influence was not enough, Wealtheow comes into the novel as "innocent as dawn on winter hills" (100). Her presence is enough to tear Grendel "apart". The image that Wealtheow symbolizes is so pure and absolutely stunning that Grendel becomes enchanted and enamored by Wealtheow. She acts as a protective force around the mead hall from both Grendel and the men's animal like behavior. Grendel, in his idleness, again suffers and becomes frustrated with his own inadequacies and lacking. I think at the end when Grendel decides to basically rape Wealtheow, he shocks himself again as he stares into "the ugliness between her legs" (110). This action wakes him up to go back to the dragon's side. Therefore, the shift again taxes his brain and mentality.
Also, another interesting point is that Grendel gradually starts laughing and laughs more and more, especially in not even funny situations. That can be seen as a sign of a mentally ill person, or in this case, a monster.
The sadness of the Shaper's death also contributes to the digression of Grendel's mentality. The man who embodied beauty and intellect is no longer present to give Grendel things to think about. Therefore, the Shaper and Wealtheow unknowingly succeeds in tearing Grendel's mind apart by the things that they embody, such as beauty, unity, pattern, etc.
I don't know if this is going on a tangent line, but I also wanted to mention how Grendel seems to believe that he is the center of the universe. Therefore, after Grendel attacks the meadhall and sees that the people build pyres to give offerings to the gods, he gets mad because he feels as if he should be worshiped. Does this make sense? For example, in chapter 1, it says, "The song swells, pushes through woods and sky, and they're singing now as if by some lunatic theory they had won" (14). Then, the most important quote comes up, "I shake with rage" (14). I think in some way, Grendel wants the humans to start worshiping him, he craves for his godliness to be accepted, causing him to become infuriated when he sees the humans worshiping other gods. Because he believes his periodic raids are beneficial to the humans, I think he is expecting some kind of reverence. However, because he doesn't get it, he "shakes with rage", which causes his mental state to deteriorate even further.
After reading chapters 11 and 12 over the weekend, I have an urge to write about Grendel's mentality. Grendel's description of Beowulf was definitely a shocker and an eye opener because of the very high possibility of 'Grendel = CRAZY'.
Grendel's mentality has indicated that it has been deteriorating in subtle and obvious ways. The most prominent example is on page 92 where the poem that Grendel writes explicitly says, ""Grendel is crazy" (92). I mean, he's talking to himself, dances like a ballerina, and completely shifts his chain of thought. There are many different explanations as to why Grendel is digressing.
First, Grendel finds out from the glorious Shaper that he is a descendant of a hatred lineage, making him a total reject in Hrothgar's world. Then, the fact that even with the awareness, he cannot totally ignore Shaper's influence of beauty, unity, and patterness causes, essentially, his soul to become harrowed with conflicting thoughts. His mind wants him to embrace the beautiful elements, but his subconscious (dragon) steers him away from becoming assimilated into the men's society. Therefore, the Shaper has a profound impact on Grendel's conflicted view, causing him to 'overuse', for the lack of a better word, his brain.
As if the Shaper's influence was not enough, Wealtheow comes into the novel as "innocent as dawn on winter hills" (100). Her presence is enough to tear Grendel "apart". The image that Wealtheow symbolizes is so pure and absolutely stunning that Grendel becomes enchanted and enamored by Wealtheow. She acts as a protective force around the mead hall from both Grendel and the men's animal like behavior. Grendel, in his idleness, again suffers and becomes frustrated with his own inadequacies and lacking. I think at the end when Grendel decides to basically rape Wealtheow, he shocks himself again as he stares into "the ugliness between her legs" (110). This action wakes him up to go back to the dragon's side. Therefore, the shift again taxes his brain and mentality.
Also, another interesting point is that Grendel gradually starts laughing and laughs more and more, especially in not even funny situations. That can be seen as a sign of a mentally ill person, or in this case, a monster.
The sadness of the Shaper's death also contributes to the digression of Grendel's mentality. The man who embodied beauty and intellect is no longer present to give Grendel things to think about. Therefore, the Shaper and Wealtheow unknowingly succeeds in tearing Grendel's mind apart by the things that they embody, such as beauty, unity, pattern, etc.
I don't know if this is going on a tangent line, but I also wanted to mention how Grendel seems to believe that he is the center of the universe. Therefore, after Grendel attacks the meadhall and sees that the people build pyres to give offerings to the gods, he gets mad because he feels as if he should be worshiped. Does this make sense? For example, in chapter 1, it says, "The song swells, pushes through woods and sky, and they're singing now as if by some lunatic theory they had won" (14). Then, the most important quote comes up, "I shake with rage" (14). I think in some way, Grendel wants the humans to start worshiping him, he craves for his godliness to be accepted, causing him to become infuriated when he sees the humans worshiping other gods. Because he believes his periodic raids are beneficial to the humans, I think he is expecting some kind of reverence. However, because he doesn't get it, he "shakes with rage", which causes his mental state to deteriorate even further.
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