Essay On Grendel Good Or Evil

Human nature is molded by society. Certain events can shape whether a person is good or evil. John Gardner uses the novel Grendel to show how the way we grow up influences what type of person we become. Grendel is not born evil. He is made evil through his mother’s lack of nurturing and his rejection from human society. Humanity’s rejection and his mother’s lack of nurturing influences the creation of the evil monster that the humans fear. Grendel feels disconnected from society and, in turn, becomes evil, revealing that the nurturing we either receive or do not receive molds our ultimate character. Grendel’s evil nature is a product of his mother’s lack of proper nurturing. The lack of structure during Grendel’s childhood shapes him into the evil creature he becomes. Grendel’s mother does not know how to communicate with …show more content…
He is alone, and he envies the other animals and humans for having companionship and communication. Grendel questions his existence and screams into the sky, "Why can't I have someone to talk to?" (Gardner 53). Grendel is jealous of other people in that they have people to talk to. He wants to be like them and feels alone in the world and not loved by society. Grendel hates everything in the world because he feels that everything ignores him. He talks to the sky, even though he knows it serves no use because “The sky says nothing” (Gardner 6). Frustrated, Grendel “make[s] a face, uplift[s] a defiant middle finger, and give[s] an obscene little kick” (Gardner 6). Grendel is lonely and envies others’ relationships. He yells at the sky in hopes of a response; however, he knows nothing will respond back. Grendel is alone in the world, and this solitude creates envy and greed in him. His reclusiveness fuels his evil, driving him to hate everything. It makes him resent all people and animals which attributes to move toward