Week 11 Story: Grendel

Far away in the land of Daneland, lived an unusual creature. Not many knew what to think of him, for he was unlike anyone people had ever seen before. Rumors flooded the land that it was an evil beast out to get everyone. The monster-like human was known as Grendel. Hair grew from every inch of his massive stature. His build was mighty and although he did not intend to scare people, the way he looked frightened those around him. Grendel was an outcast, and for that he stayed isolated.

His isolation made him a more reserved character. Grendel never thought of himself as mean, but the people of Daneland made him more protective over himself. There were many days and nights that people came after him because of what he looked like.

Grendel's mother knew what her son was going through, so early on she taught him how to defend himself. He trained unlike any other and had to always be prepared for battle. Grendel tried to do nice things for the town and offered to defend Daneland, but the people were still too afraid of him and ridiculed him for the way he looked even more.

With low self-esteem and no friends, Grendel resorted to his isolated home. Grendel and his mother had to build it far away from civilization so that they would not get terrorized on a daily basis. The house was cozy to them, but to outsiders, it was dark and cold. It looked as if it was an uncompleted puzzle. The house was patched together with parts from all over and gave off a feeling of fear to those that were around it because it wasn't exactly like their home.

As years went on, Grendel got extremely lonely which transitioned into his anger for people that weren't accepting of him and the way he looked. He didn't understand why society was so fearful of him and even after trying to change his appearance, nothing worked. He grew back his hair after shaving almost immediately and his build wouldn't change no matter how little he ate. The combination of people afraid of him and him not being able to change had a huge impact on his life.

What triggered his rampage was the people of Daneland taunting him. Grendel then devised a plan. He thought that maybe he could terrorize the people so that they would stop making fun of him and not allowing him to do the things he wanted to do. In planning out what he would do, he hoped that in doing this no one would get harmed, but that they would make him the protector of their land instead.

Well... things didn't go as well as what was anticipated for Grendel. He was right about the people being fearful, but that made them dislike him even more. They wanted Grendel dead, and would do whatever it took to make that happen. This is what led to the people of Daneland to send the wanderer off to find someone to fight the mighty Grendel.

This is also what led to the Beowulf coming to fight Grendel. Maybe if Beowulf really knew what Grendel was going through things might have turned out differently for him...

(Grendel the mighty)

Author's Note: After reading the story of Beowulf, I was inspired to tell the story from a different perspective. In the original story, we do not learn much about Grendel or why he is causing havoc towards the Danes. In this story I wanted to explain why Grendel was so angry. I feel like for every underlying anger there is a reason behind it. Grendel was feeling like an outcast and society didn't help him to be a part of it. The moral of the story is to be accepting of other people and to not judge a book by its cover. Although Grendel went around terrorizing people, the whole situation could have been prevented.

Bibliography: The Story of Beowulf by Stafford Riggs

Reading Notes: Beowulf; Part B

Part B continues the story with Grendel coming to attack Beowulf. Grendel is depicted as this great huge beast. It appears that Beowulf is not yet prepared for the battle. They begin to fight in Heorot, with the scene being set as something dark and mysterious. I like how the author was able to make the scene more realistic. I think that is exactly what my stories need, so that people become more invested in what I am writing.

(Grendel)

The battle between Beowulf and Grendel went back and forth, each causing havoc on one another. The fight was very gruesome, but in the end, Beowulf was able to pull off the unthinkable. I think if I was to write this I might change what happens a bit. What if Grendel won? What if he made Beowulf his slave? That might be a fun twist to not always see the hero win. 

The story continued and Beowulf got much praise for his victory. That didn't last long, however, as news came that there was still a monster out there. The monster still causing havoc was Grendel's mother getting revenge over her son. Beowulf thought to himself to go after the mother alone. I think it would be interesting to tell the story from maybe the mother's point of view? I like the idea of explaining the problems that her son was facing and go in depth as to why he was acting crazy. 

The end of the story was victorious for Beowulf, as he was able to defeat the mom and the people were overjoyed for the victory the Danes received. For a period of time, Beowulf went back to his land and eventually ruled over it when king died. No one had come to challenge Beowulf for a while even though he had a lot of enemies. Eventually, towards the end of the story, Beowulf had to battle a dragon and was unsuccessful. He was still remembered as a great hero and was celebrated by his people. 

Bibliography: The Story of Beowulf by Stafford Riggs

Reading Notes: Beowulf; Part A

The story begins setting the scene of Geastland. This area had a ruler named Hygelac. I think it my story I need to put a little more focus into setting up my characters and giving them fitting names and qualities. The intro continued with a great description of the land and the creatures that lived there. There were seamstress and and other creepy characters that make for a spooky kind of story. I like how well the descriptions were attributed to each character and the scene, making it more realistic to imagine being there. I need to work on that in my writings and include better descriptions.

There were many youths, or rather younger men, that were under the Kind Hygelac. One of the men under him was known as Beowulf. Beowulf is appointed the thane of the kind (his uncle). Beowulf had a strong stature, but also had much to learn from the king about war and hunting. Many people were envious of Beowulf because of how close to the king and queen he sat at the feast. People though that he didn't deserve it. Although he was strong he was somewhat "cowardice".

The story continues with a wanderer coming to sing about troubles going on in their land. The wanderer (also a minstrel), pulled out a harp and sang and sang about a monster named Grendel. Grendel brought a great amount of destruction to the land and the people feared him.

All while the wanderer was singing, Beowulf was thinking to himself that he could take on the terrible monster known as Grendel. He then proclaimed that he would go to the land of the Danes and serve as their king to defeat the great Grendel. People didn't know whether to laugh or to cheer.

(Beowulf proclaiming his fight) 

People were then excited for the bravery that Beowulf showed. I think if I am to change the story around, I should maybe change up Beowulf's character or make him a girl fighting for battle. It would be interesting to see this through a female perspective. I could also tell the story through the monster Grendel. That would be an interesting point of view. 

Continuing with the story, Beowulf then prepares for his journey to defeat the great Grendel. Special stuff was made for him and he was also sent with an army of people. I think the story could be made different if Beowulf just fought with what he had himself or with his wits. 

Bibliography: The Story of Beowulf by Stafford Riggs