descriptive essey on grendel
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A Humane Monster?
"Then stepped to another still body, clutched at Beowulf with his claws, grasped at strong-hearted wakeful sleeper---and was instantly seized himself, claws bent back as Beowulf leaned up on one arm."(36-40) this was Grendel and Beowulf's first meeting in the old Anglo Saxon town of Herot where Grendel rampaged and destroyed for years and basically did what he wanted, but this one incident will ultimately change Grendel's life. He came down from his home hoping to reek his havoc on the town. Grendel is a heartless and ferocious monster, but also has a human side so to speak. Grendels monster side is just as real as his "human" qualities because they are one in the same.
Grendel snatched at the first Geat he came to, ripped him apart, cut his body to bits with powerful jaws, drank the blood from his veins, and bolted him down, hand and feet; death and Grendel's great teeth came together, snapping life shut."(30-36) This scene out of Beowulf shows Grendels ferocious and heartless side he shows no remorse coming in to the town whenever he wants to feats on the people that live in that town or rampage in the town brutally killing people. This may seem as barbaric as it sounds to an human being, but to Grendel it is his life it is the way he is living it he may think nothing of it until he faced Beowulf and his mentality changed entirely.
"Knew at once that nowhere on earth had he met a man whose hands were harder; his mind was flooded with fear---but nothing could take his talons and himself from that tight hard grip...