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Grendel’s Human Nature
Human nature is found deep within all of us. We all share the same qualities and feelings;
those of loneliness, jealousy, abandonment, pain, and anger. Throughout all of literature it seems
as though the antagonist beholds these particular characteristics which typically leads to the
conflict. In the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel, the antagonist of this story, can be described using
these characteristics. What the reader fails to recognize is although Grendel is suppose to be a
“monster” he really is more human than one realizes. Grendel should be looked upon as more
humanistic than monstrous to truly understand his character and to support Beowulf as the hero.
The fate worst than death is to be exiled. Grendel, because of his lineage from Cain,
experienced this exile from the human world. With this exile Grendel only acts out with the id
part of his psyche. The deep emotion of loneliness takes over his conscious and this is why he
kills the Danes and fights Beowulf. Looking only at Grendel as a monster or demon, the reader
classifies him as evil and therefore honors Beowulf as this great hero. By seeing Grendel more
humanely the reader can see him more as a human rather than a monster.
Most villains of a story typically don’t behold emotions, let alone those strong human
emotions that arise when something bad happens. The exile of Grendel brought on these
emotions therefore triggering his attack on the Danes. With all of the built up anger and
aggression his superego could not overtake his id. Grendel is looked upon as a monster, but he
clearly is exemplifying human qualities. This out lash is just Grendel’s human nature coming
out. This does not condone his actions, but it gives insight into the persona of Grendel.
Looking at Grendel as a monster puts Beowulf as the epic hero of this poem. He stands
out as the great warrior who fought the demon Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the horrible
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dragon. This idolized picture of Beowulf can only be accomplished by interpreting Grendel as
the villain. While Beowulf is a great man, readers need to truly find the humanistic qualities in
Grendel to understand his actions. Not to demote Beowulf as a hero, but to simply look at
Grendel more humanely.
Every action we human’s do has a reason. Whatever the situation may be our human
nature kicks in and we act on it. Sometimes our ego or superego kicks in by overtaking our id so
we don’t act on it. Grendel, while he may or may not be human, does portray particular human
qualities and emotions. He needs to be looked upon more humanely to fully understand his
actions. After this we can make up our mind whether or not he deserved to be conquered by
Beowulf.