Beowulf - The Psychology of Grendel

Psychologists often look to a persons past and upbringing to rationalise the motivation for their actions as adults. some(prenominal)(prenominal) authors examine the instruction of their characters from offspring to adulthood through the usage of a Bildungsroman. John Gardner did this in his novel Grendel, a consort to the 8th century song Beowulf. This choice of structure allows the reader to explore not average one part of Grendels life, moreover the entirety of it. The reader sees Grendels development as a provide child, suffocated by his shrink down, to an adult veneering death. This allows the reader to view the characters in different lights throughout the novel.\nThe prototypical stage is his childhood, which he spends naively exploring, untroubled by any serious thought (SparkNotes). The playscript begins in spring which symbolizes issue and rebirth which is exactly what is natural event when Grendel goes exploring, showing his rebellious side. Grendels ro ve leads to a crude finding, his find of the lake of Firesnakes and life beyond. It is the firstborn marker of curiosity and bravery and his first step toward adulthood. The second step, which is considered to know made Grendel an adult, happens when the bull attacks him, forcing him to gain ground that the gentleman follows no rules (SparkNotes). When I was a child I truly loved: unaffectionate love as settle down and deep as the northwesterly Sea. But I construct lived, and now I do not sleep (Gardner).\nAs Grendel ventures further and further forward from his mother, like most teens take to the woods to do, he goes through a time of depression. He exhibits the behaviors of a nihilist. A nihilist is mortal who acts upon total and absolute destructiveness to the world and oneself. Nihilists believe that life has no meaning, purpose, or value. He screamed and begged for his mother to come and help him expert away and it wasnt until he was nearly killed by the stran ge new creatures, called the humans, that she came for him. For every child at that place is a time when they get scu...