I noticed that there was a switch in emphasis on the Christian notion of god rather than the pagan ideals of multiple gods as we saw in earlier stories. In this world of early Christianity, as well as in the stories where pagan gods were worshipped, there is favoritism, and most importantly a just victor and this is attributed to gods favoritism upon the hero. In this case, Beowulf defeated -Grendel not only because Grendel was evil, but also because Beowulf was granted/ the glory of winning. (Lines 817-818) In this story, Grendel is cursed from the beginning and he has no chance of being a useful contributing member of a society that does not accept him, so in turning away from god, he became a monster, hell-serf, and captain of evil. I felt sorry for this character because, even though he performed horrific acts of mutilation (which are beautifully described in lines 740-745), he was never invited to be a part of the community and a part of the people who are in gods favor.When Grendel suffers and dies alone, although he is supposed to be a terrible monster, I still felt sorry for him. He drowned out his life/ and his heathen soul: hell claimed him there. (Lines 850-851) The way Grendel is describes does not allow the reader to feel any sympathy for him, and yet I felt like he was done a great injustice by the Christian god who cursed him. Maybe if Grendel had been invited to partake in the jubilation at the mead hall, he would not have been so focused on destroying it.There is repeated emphasis on the Almighty Father, and the Heavenly Shepherd, which greatly contrasts with the epithets assigned to poor Grendel. When anything good happens, it is attributed to the divine, and proper thanks must be given, but not in the form of a sacrifice as we saw in earlier heathen examples.My point that Grendels pre-destined path of evil is proven in lines 1260-1276 where we learn the history of the bible story Cain and Abel, and see wher...
