What impact does the dragon leave on Grendel?

Arguably one of the biggest turning point in John Gardner’s book, Grendel, appeared to be the most intuitive, thought-provoking one: the meeting with the dragon. I feel that chapter 5 in particular is what convinced Grendel to bring the monster – or his natural instinctive self – out of him. What was supposed to be a brief encounter ended up becoming a deep philosophical discussion. Grendel realized that after his encounter with the dragon, it changes him not only mentally, but physically (a charm that he would be impervious to cuts). This brings to light the question asked, what impact did the dragon leave on Grendel? It was obvious that Grendel’s mindset, and who he defines himself as a “person” completely changes through a few words. Days later, Grendel unleashes his anger on humans and starts his raids against the Danes, so it was an interesting to know how dynamic of a character he is.

As a side thought, as I was reading the texts between Grendel and the dragon, it reminded me of the dragon from the movie, The Hobbit. Both not surprisingly breath fire, both dragons were sitting upon a pile of gold, both were known for taking cruel pleasure in fright and discomfort, and both were known for being clairvoyant, as it was mentioned by the dragon in Grendel, “My knowledge of the future does not cause the future. It merely sees it, exactly as creatures at your low level recall things past” (pg. 63). They both had numerous experiences and cynical views of man. They both were involved in fights between man and ended in death and destruction. Most famously, the dragon in Grendel slaying Beowulf in Beowulf, but also getting killed itself. Most importantly, I felt the dragon was a symbol of death and evil, perhaps even the devil himself. Through his words, he can convince those to perform the cruelest of things. I compare Grendel’s encounter with someone who tries a drug for the first time. It will make one addicted over time and make them feel empowered to it. In this case, the dragon is the drug to Grendel, and his addiction is his raids on the Danes.

The dragon’s view was contradictory to the Shaper’s concept of God, saying that the universe is nothing more than entities put together. Each thing has its place in the universe, including Grendel. He is known as the monster, or the adversity that would bring the human race to think, create, develop – basically “all that makes them what they are for as long as they last” (pg. 73). The dragon went on to calling him the “brute existent” to mankind, which I understood it as the bane of man’s existence. But like some people who may get confused after an enlightening talk, Grendel felt almost the same way. He had difficulty understanding what the dragon was saying, and as a result he couldn’t except his place in the universe. He does not appear to be completely sold on what the dragon preaches and decides to fully give up on humanity.

However, the meeting with the dragon would only further separate him from the human race, as the meeting with the Dane guards who he slaughtered with the help of his “magic shield”, made him the “monster” he was meant to be, and it looked like he embraced it.