Important Characters:
Grendel- Grendel decides to go to the meadhall. He reflects on himself and that he exists alone. He has rejected the philosophies of the Shaper and the dragon and he returns to a world. Grendel wants to kill Beowulf to honor Hrothgar’s men. Grendel has joy because the Stranger's have come.
Hrothgar- Hrothgar is Grendel’s enemy, he needs the Geats to help defend Grendel. Even though there are conflicts between Grendel and Hrothgar, Grendel exists alone so he sees their relationship as a friendship since he never has any human contact.
The Strangers- It is never clarified that the stranger is Beowulf, but it’s clear that he is Beowulf because he is represented as the leader and says he and the other strangers are “Geats.”
Unferth- One of Hrothgars men. A very strong hero who attempts to fight Grendel. Unferth feels humiliated after his unsuccessful attempt of defeating Grendel.
PLOT SUMMARY:
Grendel is ecstatic when fifteen strangers arrive by boat in the region. Grendel perceives the visitors as realizing his previous dreams; in fact, he senses their approach before seeing them. Grendel characterizes the foreigners as mechanical and lifeless, and a Danish coast guard greets him. The coast guard is informed by their leader, Beowulf, a massive but strangely soft-spoken man, that he and the other strangers are Geats, hailing from King Hygilac's country. After expressing his counsel to Hrothgar, Beowulf is directed to the mead hall by the coastguard. Grendel focuses on Beowulf's mouth, which moves as though it were a masquerade regardless of what he says. Grendel observes the Geats ascend to Hart like a massive machine. Grendel can't quite put his feelings of delight into words as he returns to his cave. When the Geats arrive, he is happy and everything around him appears strange. He views his ennui as the worst suffering imaginable, so he is ecstatic about the possibility of being freed from it. Grendel mocks the idea of order, describing it as nothing more than a mask that humans put on to make sense of the two realities they are aware of: the world and the self. He thinks that a violent act of truth can destroy these ideologies, which are only rhetoric. The Scyldings, are resentful that the Geats are helping them, and the Geats are at odds with Hart. Beowulf is made fun of by Unferth after losing a swimming competition against his childhood buddy Breca. Beowulf explains calmly that he had to kill a pack of sea monsters by himself to win the contest against Breca. Then, with an equally composed demeanor, Beowulf informs Unferth that, as a result of his brother's death, he will spend eternity in hell. Grendel determines that Beowulf is deranged after Beowulf strikes the Scyldings with some scathing remarks. Hrothgar uses Wealtheow to serve mead, deflating the situation. Grendel observes the odd gap between Beowulf's words and his mouth once more. Shrugging away from the tears, Unferth exits the hall. Speaking in speeches, Hrothgar informs Beowulf of his intentions to wed Freawaru off to Ingeld, the Heathobard king. Wealtheow becomes uneasy because he has his eye on Hrothulf after hearing Hrothgar compare Beowulf to a son. Beowulf smiles but keeps his distance. A song about spring triumphing over winter is sung by the Shaper's assistant as the fire burns out at the end of the evening. Hart is silent as the Scyldings and the Geats go to sleep. Grendel declares that "it is time" as dusk falls.
Quotes
“Who knows what all this means? Neither awake nor asleep, my chest filled with an excitement like joy, I tried to think whether or not I was afraid of the strangers, and the thought made no sense, It was unreal - insubstantial as spiderweb-stands blowing lightly across a window that looks out on trees” (Gardner 156).
Grendel is attempting to observe the truth behind his own feelings and how insignificant his thoughts become when contemplating what is real.
“Tedium is the worst pain. The mind lays out the world in blocks, and the hushed blood waits for revenge. All order, I’ve come to understand, is theoretical, unreal- a harmless, sensible, smiling mask men slide between the two great, dark realities, the self and the world - two snake pits”(Gardner 157).
Grendel exhibits the ideals of existentialism through describing his understanding of the world: that the unorderly and unfortunate ways things take place are based on the two realities the individual themself creates.
“For the world is divided, experience teaches, into two parts: things to be murdered, and things that would hinder the murder of things; and the Geats might reasonably be defined either way” (Gardner 158)
Grendel’s worldview has narrowed over the course of his story and at this point it is shown how his only concern is the idea of to kill or be killed because of his beliefs on how insignificant his actions are.
“I am mad with joy.-At least I think it’s joy. Strangers have come, and it's a whole new game”(Gardner 151).
Grendel’s thoughts are jumbled together, he believes that he is in the repeating game that he calls life. Replaying the same instances over and over.
“The Danes were not pleased, to say the least, that the Geats had come to save them. Honor is very big with them; they’d rather be eaten alive than be bailed out by strangers” (Gardner 159).
Grendel’s is able to justify his killings because he witnesses the danes rather be killed then to be helped.
“And again I found something peculiar happening to my mind. His mouth did not seem to move with his words, and the harder I stared at his gleaming shoulders, the more uncertain I was of their shape” (Gardner 163-164).
Grendel has a little bit of a crisis while he observes the man in the shining armor. This causes him to question if what he was seeing is real, slowly making him go insane.
Chapter Analysis:
Chapter 11 focuses on previous imagery of the cycle of the seasons which to Grendel is an endless loop. Grendel meet three animals which is a ram, bull and goat whose devotions to a predetermined pattern of behavior draws further ridicule from Grendel and analogies to mindless monsters. Grendel critics himself for being “as mechanical as anything else” multiple times in the text. Grendel uses the image of monsters and uses it to justify his own violent thoughtless actions. The facts that humans stand out from the other species to Grendel meets is one of the reasons he is drawn to them. Humans are capable of asserting their own meaning systems as opposed to mindlessly adhering to a system established by a higher force.
Beowulf is being referred to as a monster. He strikes the reader as magical and otherworldly, giving the impression that his body is only a shell or digs for who Beowulf really is. Beowulf’s association with monsters, makes us question his morality. Based on Beowulf’s poem we are supposed to think if Beowulfs courage is deserving of the acclaim he receives in Beowulf. In Grendel his machine like look indicates that Grendel’s doom ultimately results for the very thing he rants against thoughout the novel. The pictures described of Grendel support the theory that Beowulf will be the one to being about Grendel’s extinction. Grendel’s mother warns him of his coming doom. At the end of the chapter Grendel ends with "it is time" meaning he will go raid. He goes will his free will to follow his ambiltions showing how torn up decison making can be impacting the world.