You and Me: Two Sides to Every Story

A common occurrence in most trials is the presence of more than one story. The victim tells one story, and the defendant tells another version of the story. The entire situation becomes a mess, with the jury trying to figure out who is telling the truth. A case of two conflicting stories occurred in the legend of Beowulf. After seeing the movie Beowulf and then reading Grendel by John Gardner, I found two different stories as to how Beowulf defeated Grendel. While there were some similarities, the stories actually went farther into why the confrontation occurred and how it was finished.

In Beowulf, Grendel was portrayed as a mindless demon and killing machine, who's sole purpose seemed to be the destruction of Hrothgar's kingdom and mead hall. Grendel attacked nearly every night, just to slaughter Hrothgar's men and cause destruction, with senseless abandon. But this was not the case in Grendel. The first time Grendel went to the hall, he was actually curious, like a child would be in this case. He tries to peacefully join the people at the hall, but, because of his hideous appearance, they attacked him, making Grendel retaliate. Grendel actually feels remorse because of the killings, at least until he speaks to a dragon, who tells him that humans are stupid, senseless creatures who should be destroyed. Grendel doesn't believe this, until he witnesses the people fighting a war. He is appalled by the senseless death they cause, just to gain more gold. Something in Grendel's mind finally snaps, and he makes it his mission to terrorize the people at the hall, to show them that they are monsters just like they think he is. The difference in the reasons for Grendel's killings shapes the views of Grendel by the people. In one, he is a monster; in the other, almost like a teacher trying to show the people the error of their ways. It almost creates pity for Grendel, like he was misunderstood, similar to Frankenstein's monster.

Another example of conflicting stories in Beowulf and Grendel were how Grendel was defeated. In the movie, Grendel attacked the hall and killed a few of the men there, before Beowulf fought him, and defeated him by simply overpowering him. Beowulf tore off Grendel's arm and then began to tell everyone how he defeated the monster. Because most of the people at the hall who saw the battle were either dead or Beowulf's own followers, everyone believed him. In Grendel, however, the story of the battle was different. Grendel snuck up on the hall that night and killed only one man, who was sleeping at the time, before Beowulf attacked him. Using surprise, he caught Grendel off guard and got a good lock on Grendel's arm. Then, to make matters worse, Grendel slipped on the blood of the man he had killed, letting Beowulf gain the upper hand. Despite Grendel's pleas for mercy, Beowulf twisted Grendel's arm off literally, and Grendel escaped into the woods to die. So, one account says that Beowulf out-manned Grendel, while another says that Beowulf used treachery. No one will be able to know which story is true because there were not very many people to witness the battle, and each side will stick to their own story.

This situation reminds me of a certain team that we play in basketball. The team thinks that they are unstoppable and can't be beat, but this usually only occurs at home. The rest of the time, they are fair game. The teams that play them know that the biased officiating is what gives them this advantage at home, while the team thinks they are just that good. Without fair officiating at their home court, the team can not prove whether or not they are that good, or if they are just cheaters.

Well, the legend of Beowulf will forever be somewhat controversial in my mind, but it also gives a new dimension to the story. Was Grendel truly the villain of this story? Or was he just extremely misunderstood? Either way I did enjoy the movie and book, so it all works out for someone in the end.