Category: Grendel

Zac Efron will be portraying the beast villain, Grendel, in the 2019 reboot of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem BEOWULF, and many people are speculating if the choice was right. While most people view Zac as the comedic relief or the Epic Hero, the directors of this new version have decided to take a different route and choose someone who they know, and we know, will surely deliver an award-winning performance. Some say that they know that their crush from 15 years ago will bring a new light to the beast villain archetype.

But we will never know until the movie hits the big screen later this year. People will admit that Zac Efron should be playing Beowulf, but if you sit back and take a look at his career, you’ll see that he is really destined to be playing the villain of Grendel. And frankly, he’s the only choice for this massive beast. He Looks like Grendel Grendel, the beast villain that Efron will be portraying, looks much like a man, however he is all beast. He was born from the monsters banished with Cain, who is the son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel out of anger and jealousy.

He is overall extremely hateful toward mankind, possibly because he feels that God gives humans everything they want but that he himself never can be happy. “A powerful monster, living down in the darkness, growled in pain, impatient…(lines 1-2).” this is sharing how Grendel is a terrifying monster growing angry and mad. He superbly hates anything associated with joy and happiness. He is a big creature with claws for hands and man like feet, but according to the text, he is nothing like a man at all. Grendel is a big, strong, and scary monster and can easily kill 30 men with his bare hands. Now that doesn’t sound like Zac.

A fun hating, angry monster obsessed with killing people? Nope, not at all. But as far as the look goes, now that is something we can work with. Zac is extremely muscular and strong physically and mentally. He may seem like a smaller man ranking in at only 5 foot 8 inches, but as we’ve seen in more modern movies, the beast villain doesn’t just have to be a big, strong, and creepy looking person. They can simply be an average person that could turn into a scary monster.

Many movies nowadays have the technology called CGI to make a person look completely different. Take the 2017 version of Beauty and the Beast, Dan Stevens doesn’t necessarily look like a beast, but computer-generated technology allows the actor to look like the beast. Sadly, we will just have to wait and see where the directors take this role. Either way, he will surely bring a new light to the average beast villain we know.He Has Experience Playing a Dark Villain. Grendel is your stereotypical beast villain and possibly the first villain to ever be discussed. Without even watching the movie or seeing a picture, you know that Grendel is a dark and messed up character. Grendel is the first thing we see as a villain, and we are always here for it. In some ways, Grendel is the most interesting creature in the poem. He is a mix of man and beast but his anger is based on a very shaky understanding of human feelings of bitterness.

Zac Efron is not your usual villain but he is sure to creep out an audience and pull the fear factor as in his recent movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile which premiered earlier this year. He made an incredibly creepy and perfect impression of Ted Bundy, and I have a strong feeling that he will pull through again and scare the audience with his role as Grendel. Efron usually plays roles where he is perceived to be the ultimate good guy and a positive role model(High School Musical 1, 2, 3).

However in this film, he will have to dig into that same headspace he was in when shooting his most recent movie. As a trained actor, he is skilled in the ability to be terrifying and is sure to prove that to us all when the film hits the big screen. He Knows How To Prepare For an Emotional RoleBeowulf is chalk full of intense battle scenes and emotional fights between the Villain Grendel and the hero Beowulf. Grendel goes through a somewhat emotional crisis being that he is understanding that this will be his “last human feast”. Grendel knows he is either going to be killed by Beowulf or he is going to kill Beowulf and become ultimately victorious and go to attempt to conquer another place. His emotional conflict is a lot of what makes him so vicious and cynical.

Zac Efron has also gone through multiple emotional fights, whether it is in a movie or in preparation for a role, he seems to always get emotionally attached to a character. In the movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile Zac plays Ted Bundy, a serial rapist. In an interview with Variety, Efron said that he did cardio exercises and used a stationary cycle every morning for an hour in order to achieve the “light” physique Bundy had in the 70’s. In that same interview, Zac claimed that he also “lost 13 pounds by avoiding carbs and relying on a plant-based diet”. Also, he wore fake teeth for his bottom row, gathered information by speaking to people who knew Bundy, and also spent about 2 weeks in an abandoned prison, just to get into character for the role.He always gives a captivating performance.Grendel, although stated as the villain, gives an interesting side to the story of Beowulf.

The author could have easily just proclaimed Beowulf an epic hero by allowing him to go and kill a bear and prove how amazing he is. But instead they gave him a challenge to prove that he was truly a hero. Grendel serves as his foe who is trying to destroy him, and although he does not succeed, he does accomplish the fact of being able to captivate the audience by fighting Beowulf, until he defeats him. In a lot of different ways, Zac is much like Grendel because in many roles he is trying to prove how amazing he is. In The Greatest Showman Zac plays a character named Philip Carlyle who is trying to become the head circus runner for P.T. Barnum, a wealthy circus owner. Throughout the movie, Philip is trying to prove how he can help PT and be a valuable addition to the plot.

Battle Between Human and Monster

John Gardener, in the story Grendel, explores how the infamous antagonist Grendel became who he was, through both nature and nurture. Nature vs nurture is the battle between a person’s genetic predispositions’ impact on human traits, and the influence of learning and one’s environment. Both can be used to describe and explain why someone is the way they are. Gardener creates situations that highlight the complexity of Grendel’s mind and the two forces in it, which helps develop the angsty tone. Grendel is described as part human and part monster. He is a descendant of Cain, who was human, he is also said to walk around, have shoulders, and have hands. But he is a monster because he has claws, and spikes and is huge.

Gardener wishes to highlight the complexity of what makes someone who they are and how that can change based on influences that they had or did not have. Grendel comes from long-line monsters. Assuming his father is also a monster, Grendel’s genes are wired in a different way than the Danes. Aggression can be passed down through generations and can build up. It is in Grendel’s genes that he is going to be aggressive, but those genes do not have to be acted on. Grendel is also a descendant of Cain, who is a part of one of the oldest myths in history. Cain was human, but he was also the very first symbol of true evil. Even though it seems like being evil is innately in him, Grendel could go his life with the evil inside him but never acted on it. Cain while also being viewed as a monster, was still a human and a direct descend of God. Cain was created in God’s image and was holy, and then he turned violent.

The goodness that was in Cain, was still there, therefore it was passed down to all his ancestors, including Grendel. His mother remembers this distant “ancestral crime” (Gardener #). His mother was affected by this crime and passed down the mutated genes that have been affected. All of Cain’s descendants have had to hide away from society because they are outcasts, and they have become accustomed to this, altering their genes, similar to how natural selection changes humans. While most of Grendel’s genes predisposed him to aggression and anger, it is a possibility that they also predisposed him to righteousness and goodness. Grendel is part human, even if it is distant. Humans have a psychological need to be liked and to be around others. Grendel from a young age was isolated, from his mother, from the Danes, and from everyone. He lived in a swamp and was isolated so much so that his shadow was his “only friend and comfort” (Gardner #). Being isolated can cause humans to become violent and angry. Harry Harlow, a psychologist, did a study on the effect isolation has on the development of monkeys, and found that the more isolated monkeys were more likely to have misdirected aggression. This helps explain Grendel’s actions and feelings towards, the Danes, and why he blamed them for everything. When Grendel was young, he found a bird lying in the path, and Grendel “let[s] he lie” (Gardener #). Even if Grendel only did this so that when a wolf comes, they have easy access to food, Grendel still showed compassion and was not only thinking about himself, when he grows up, he becomes more concerned only about himself.

Grendel’s mother during his childhood was cruel and unresponsive during his upbringing. All living things need love and attention, especially in the first years when most brain development takes place. His mother never told him about the beauty of the world or the Danes or anything, allowing Grendel to explore and figure it entirely out for himself, which is dangerous. For example, when Grendel was a child and he was attacked by the bull, some humans found him lying by the tree, and when Grendel tried to ask them for a pig, the humans got scared and threw an ax at young Grendel that cut his shoulder. This is one of Grendel’s first interactions with humans, and because Grendel had never learned about people, he assumes all humans are the same, which starts laying down the foundation for his hatred of the Danes. If Grendel had been taught about love and understanding, there is a possibility that he would not have reacted with an extreme amount of hatred. Grendel is constantly trying to fit the part he believes that he is meant to play. When the humans constantly talk down to him, that causes Grendel to start acting like their assumptions, because when everyone labels someone as one thing, they start to believe in that label and it soon becomes you. Due to Grendel’s isolation, unnurtured upbringing, and Dane’s constant fear of him, Grendel’s aggression was bound to come out.

Humans are a combination of nature and nurture, and Gendel is no different. Two major themes in the novel are free will and fate, which contradict each other. Grendel constantly worries about free will and fate and which one will take over his life. Free will and fate are being used as a metaphor for nature and nurture. If everything was made and predetermined by genes, that would be fate, but if it was free will, then nurture would kick in and make Grendel a product of his life experiences. Both are important, but the human and monster sides of Grendel are both trying to be shown, and due to his circumstances and the way he was treated the monster side was highlighted. Gardner’s novel about free will and fate can be used to spread a larger message of anti-bullying. It is very important today that nobody feels isolated because this can cause them to become violent, and tragically there have been many far too many examples of this happening in recent years.

John Gardner’s fiction novel, “Grendel” is the retelling of the epic poem Beowulf, However, this stance has changed. Grendel is said from this standpoint of one of Beowulf’s adversaries and the titular role of John Gardner’s work, “Grendel.” In “Grendel”, Gardner humanizes Grendel by emphasizing parallels between Grendel’s time and experience. Through Gardner’s observation of human perceptions, human development, and human flaws in “Grendel,” the seemingly incompatible, evil character grows realized and created cause. This tale is told from Grendel’s viewpoint, so he is not regarded as the killing machine. In Beowulf still, it is the exact opposite. Grendel is pictured as the giant who is terrifying Hrothgar’s people. The way Grendel is portrayed in “Grendel” is distinct from the way he is represented in Beowulf considering his endeavor and use. Grendel is depicted the same in both tales when it comes to his activities and his world. Grendel’s first appearance in Grendel is primarily self-defense. Grendel was the one who was mistreated first by these humans. It began when he was just observing that humans and he had caught in the tree.

Firstly, Grendel the hero and storyteller of the novel. A phenomenal bear-like mammoth Grendel is the first of three brutes squashed by the Geatish legend Beowulf in the sixth-century work Beowulf. in Grendel, he is a desolate creature who searches for cognizance of the evidently immaterial world around him. as an untouchable Grendel watches and gives an investigation on the human advancement he battles, While Hrothgar is Lord of the Danes. Hrothgar keeps up a profoundly incredible and prosperous kingdom until Grendel starts threatening the territory. In Grendel, he is increasingly imperfect and human. Grendel regularly portrays his war with the people as an individual fight between Hrothgar and himself, However, Beowulf, a Geatish legend goes over the ocean to free the Scyldings of Grendel. Gigantic and exceedingly solid, Beowulf is cold and mechanical, indicating little feeling or character. In the climactic fight with Grendel, Beowulf seems to grow wings and talk fire, provoking correlations with the mythical beast. Grendel lives in a cavern where he and his mom escape the world. Covered up underneath a tricky unimportant dull, disallowing swamp, the cavern permits them a level of well-being and security in a world that they see as antagonistic. Grendel has experienced the latest twelve years verified a war against a band of individuals.

Secondly, the guideline move of Grendel makes a place in the latest year of that war, the novel maintains a strategic distance from back in time to illuminate the wellsprings of the conflict similar to Grendel’s very own history. The contention is between the subjects of light and dull, Paganism versus Christianity, and Man versus Monster. Grendel, the primary character in Grendel faces outer fights however the most significant fight occurs inside. John Gardener perceived the reason for Grendel’s quandary which is ‘His difficult stick to doubt and chilly, hard reason.’ The battle between great and fiendishness is a significant subject in this novel. This contention is settled by the utilization of imagery. Grendel’s journey for learning drives him to search for reality with regard to himself and his past. Grendel was respectful and caring because of backing down a little from the battle VS. Hrothgar’s clan. Respectfulness and Caring was shown in this story by Grendel as the protagonist because Grendel was taking a role in the war for about twelve years until it came to an end

Lastly, the beginning of Grendel was confusing because Grendel was seen to be a protagonist-like character in the fiction novel “Grendel.” In my opinion, I liked that Grendel was a human-like creature but looked monstrous at the same time.

In conclusion, Grendel is the protagonist, and Beowulf and Hrothgar are the antagonists. This book is based on Beowulf, except that the roles are reversed and Grendel is the hero of the story. In the story, “Grendel” written by the Author, John Gardner, where Grendel explores the consequences and power of using different and many forms of language. Grendel and his mom face isolation and loneliness, and during the war, they are heroes. They face nature and belief too as being in isolation and of being lonely.