Beowulf vs. Beowulf

In the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf is described as a strong character with good morals and a sense of right and wrong. He comes to save Hrothgar's kingdom. He is characterized as somewhat of a super human. He is not animalistic in any way. In fact, he is somewhat of a saint like character or Christ-like figure. This "Beowulf" contrasts to the Beowulf character presented in the book Grendel in that in Grendel, the character Grendel describes Beowulf as a dragon or a snake like figure. Grendel recognizes Beowulf as dangerous and realizes that logically, he should stay away from Beowulf. However, Grendel is not logical so he goes to attack the mead hall. Here is where he uncovers Beowulf's true character. While watching Beowulf, he is described as inhuman and mechanical. So before Grendel even enters the mead hall the reader knows that Beowulf will be a different kind of person, much contrasting to the pleading and cowardly Unferth. Unferth questions Beowulf of his journeys, specifically about one where Beowulf swam in the sea for 7 days and fought off many creatures. Unferth claims that Beowulf in fact did not win this battle. However, Beowulf replies with a seemingly real life account of what happened in this battle. He claims that he killed creatures that will now never harm sailors again. That is what makes him the victor. Grendel listens to these super human stories and thinks that they are utterly ridiculous! In response to these crazy, hard-to-believe stories Grendel says, "I understood at last the look in his eyes. He was insane" (pg. 162). Despite Grendel’s earlier logical thinking, he decides to raid the mead hall. When Grendel finally enters the mead hall he discovers that Beowulf is a trickster of sorts. He had pretended to be asleep when in reality Beowulf was simply lying in wait for Grendel to attempt an attack. As soon as Grendel finds Beowulf to be awake, he realizes that he has made a mistake. Beowulf's grip on Grendel is described as "dragon's jaws" (pg. 168). Beowulf is also described with snake imagery. His eyes are slanted downward like a snake, he "hisses" into Grendel's ear telling him to sing, he tricks Grendel into thinking that he is asleep. The trickery is a direct allusion to the snake in the story of Adam and Eve. Snakes are known for their trickery and Beowulf is that. There is further dragon imagery of Beowulf as Grendel begins to have illusions of Beowulf with "fiery wings" (pg 169), and "let[ting] out fire" (pg 171). Beowulf is also crazy as he makes Grendel sing and as he talks to Grendel about how hard the wall is. John Gardner describes Beowulf as a blood thirsty animal with only strength. Grendel claims that Beowulf would've lost the fight if Grendel had not made the mistakes he did. According to Grendel, Beowulf's victory was simply an "accident" (pg. 173).