Beowulf why does grendel shrink

Grendel was naturally evil since his ancestor was Cain, the root of all evil dwelling the earth. Grendel is jealous of Hrothgar's and Herot's peace, happiness, and prosperity because he had none of those attributes in his life. He was portrayed as a coward since he chose to kill people at their most vulnerable states. Chelsie Zehentmeier Pundit.

Why didnt Grendel kill Hrothgar? Gendel is unable to attack King Hrothgar's throne because Hrothgar is protected by God. Since Grendel is a descendant of Cain, a reference to the Biblical Cain, he ultimately fears the repercussions of the sins committed by his ancestors.

Elora Strickerschmidt Pundit. Where was Grendel born? Grendel is originally found in the poem Beowulf, which is contained in the Nowell Codex. Grendel , being cursed as the descendant of the Biblical Cain, is "harrowed" by the sounds of singing that come every night from the mead-hall of Heorot built by King Hrothgar.

He is unable to bear it anymore and attacks Heorot. Guayasen Cobalea Pundit. Is Beowulf a true story? Like all legendary stories , Beowulf mixes elements of fact and fiction, and there is historical evidence for many of the events that the poem depicts.

However, there has been no evidence discovered of a real Beowulf , and scholars speculate as to whether or not the ' Beowulf poet' completely invented him or not. Tempie Mohamed Teacher. Is Beowulf older than the Bible? XV were Christian beyond doubt, and it is equally sure that Beowulf was composed in a Christianised England since conversion took place in the sixth and seventh centuries. Ingeburg Hashachih Supporter. Who killed Grendel's mother? Beowulf then ventures into her cave under a lake, and engages in fierce combat with Grendel's mother.

She nearly kills him until he sees an ancient sword, with which he kills her, and beheads the dead Grendel. Dawood Lammli Supporter. Who killed Beowulf? Gelo Poticha Supporter. Is Beowulf a liar? There are so many qualities that can be used to describe the character Beowulf. He was brave, strong even, but yet still a liar.

Beowulf in the end of the poem finally reveals his true nature and we come to discover he is just as much of a monster as Grendel. It seemed as though the writers had done a quick brainstorm on how to get rid of him without needing more CGI… And giving everything to Beowulf! Apparently, he is a complete drunkard, bringing shame on Wealhtheow and further than that, unable to escape without Beowulf stepping in.

Random bed-warmer. Everyone is very clean… WIth good teeth… They did not have Pantene! Random gaggle of women who make no real sense to the plot and all fawn constantly over the great hunk that is… Apparently, all A-S women are sluts. I quite enjoyed the character development of GM, although the appearance leaves a lot to be desired, namely some signs of GM as the monster she is meant to be! Yet, pretty much the only moving scene was the revelation of the close bond between mother and son when Grendel has passed away.

It is as though the directors are aiming to lose the view of GM as merely a monster. Unfortunately, the plot has lost the human feuding which would have caused us to question the nature of the monstrous. Other characters:. Unferth was a little odd with the whole Christianity thing — it is a Christian poem, but no-one in the poem is Christian. Also, the burning man on the cross? Was that Unferth? The perspective was often completely wrong and he rarely managed to seem like a great monster — he seemed more like a misguided child most of the way though.

If the movie was aiming to present Grendel as a pathetic character, deserving of our pity, then they manage to make Beowulf into a completely heartless git. On the other hand, he kills people, so then one is forced to watch a rather pathetic, drooling, lopsided, mis-proportioned 5 year old. He was giving me a headache, and my hearing is in the normal human range. Then, when his eardrum is punctured, he shrinks — first down to normal human size, then eventually to fetal size though, interestingly, when his arm is hanging on the wall later, it is huge, even though he lost it after he shrunk.

So … his size is in his ear? Also, the choice of the directors to add in occasional speeches in Old English was quite pleasant. However, the accents left a lot to be desired and I could tell that much of the audience were having problems with it.

They are creations born from an older-age of heroism, just as Beowulf states when he laments the loss of the heroic ideal from the land — but are they as old as humans themselves? Are they representative of our deepest desires?

GM is a figure of lust, she hoards treasure and is quick to action — G represents anger and both causes and revels in the fall of the hall of sloth and gluttony he both is angered by their pleasure and kills more than he can eat. Perhaps they are material representations of the seven sins? Scientific advances:.

Says it all really! I loved Wealhtheow for her few touching moments, even though the rest of the time she was seen as a glorified waitress, not the queen of the hall. Also, women are not hot water bottles.

I certainly am seeing this movie from an accuracy perspective, and I fully appreciate that this clouds my vision somewhat.

Grendel, and for that matter, the horses were annoyingly proportioned, and seemed to vary in size throughout the movie! And as one last comment, there was one particular part I adored. The storytelling. I loved the use of rhythm, the communal aspect, the shouting — it is just as I imagine it would be. Although perhaps less on the grunting side of things. The rather overly-sexual story placed halfway though just before the battle with Grendel was a little annoying, if potentially accurate.

Something rang true in that scene. Perhaps a great story needs to be retold, even if it is within a rather crap movie. Or rather, several great lists! November 27, at pm. Very well-composed criticism of the movie. I just saw it and I thought that my memory must be failing me. Basically, it was a mess. This goes on for the next 12 long and bloody years, with nobody being able to stop Grendel. Eventually, King Hrothgar tires of this, so he sends for a champion to final rid him of the monster.

The mighty Thane warrior Beowulf and his men are eventually called upon and sent to the kingdom. Once they arrive, they make merry in the meadhall to get Grendel's attention. Later in the night, Grendel sneaks in and begins eating Beowulf's men. Unfortunately for him, Beowulf had been waiting for him and when Grendel tries to eat him, Beowulf grabs him by the wrist and they begin to fight. A horrific battle ensues, climaxing with Beowulf ripping off Grendel's arm at the shoulder socket.

Grendel retreats to his cave where he bleeds to death in his mother's arms, having just enough life left in him to tell his mother the name of the man who killed him.

She later confronts Beowulf for revenge. His most famous media portrayal was in the rendered 3D motion capture film directed by Robert Zemeckis, where he was played by Crispin Glover. He is portrayed as King Hrothgar's illegitimate son after an affair with his mother. Essentially in this version, he is a very thoughtful and sympathetic villain because he is an outcast. When not attacking the Danes, he is shown as a timid and quiet creature that speaks in Olde English around his mother.

The reasons for his attacks are due to having hyper-sensitive hearing from an exposed eardrum, and the racket from the meadhall was causing him physical pain. Despite being more sympathetic, his fate is still the same as in the poem.

Beowulf slams the door into his arm with enough force to take it off, and hang it over the meadhall door. The philosophy professor Stephen T. Asma argued in the December 7 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education that, "Zemeckis's more tender-minded film version suggests that the people who cast out Grendel are the real monsters. The monster, according to this charity paradigm, is just misunderstood rather than evil.

The blame for Grendel's violence is shifted to the humans, who sinned against him earlier and brought the vengeance upon themselves.

The only real monsters, in this tradition, are pride and prejudice. In the film, Grendel is even visually altered after his injury to look like an innocent, albeit scaly, little child.

In the original Beowulf, the monsters are outcasts because they're bad just as Cain, their progenitor, was outcast because he killed his brother , but in the newer adaptation of Beowulf the monsters are bad because they're outcasts [