The
best modern example I could think of for a lovable, evil like Grendel is the
Grinch. Although I'm not sure if the Grinch is monster or human or elf warlord
or some kind of chemically experimented green pepper, but he shares many
characteristics of Grendel in a child descriptive manner. For starters, the
Grinch is living alone with his dog near a village of happy people. Grendel
lives alone with his mother near a town of rich and happy men. Both can't stand
being in the state they're in - outcasts, sad, and lonely - so they want to
take their anger out on the people having a good time. Plus, both are out of
grace with some sort of other being; the Grinch with Santa and Grendel with
god, thus each tries to get their revenge on those that have all that they don't.
The Grinch steals Christmas from the town and Grendel murders every night. Now,
if we were to hypothetically put the Grinch where Grendel's situation is, and
there is no Christmas, chances are he would resort to killing. He had no other
options and he was desperate or, in modern terms, “thirsty”. In addition, from the town’s point of view,
both are thought of as monsters and thus villainized before the reader thinks
of their side of the story. Although, the Grinch didn't end up dead whereas
Grendel has his arm ripped off and slowly died still alone, with only his mom.
I love this comparison! I love finding really cutesey stories for kids could've been inspired by terrifying ancient tales. Love it.
ReplyDeleteI think the parallels between the two characters are crazy close- I think they're essentially the same story repackaged for different audiences. An unexpected but very accurate comparison. Cool.
I agree with your comparison between the Grinch and Grendel. They both do seem to have jealous characteristics, that cause them to do what they do (terrorizing towns and such..). Even though both stories are written years apart you can see the parallel, they may have been written for different audiences, but they essentially have the same message. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you compared the Grinch to Grendel. They share many similarities. I also agree with Georgia when it comes to it being the same story repackaged for different audiences. I believe both Grendel and the Grinch are just misunderstood creatures who needed love.
ReplyDeleteThis was a cute modern day view of Grendel. :)