Grendel’s Darkness as a Path to Perfection

Smother light, and the world becomes perfect. The sun cedes no mercy; it shines upon everything and everyone, unflinchingly exposing the flaws of humanity. Night on the other hand does not judge; it does not discern the beautiful from the ugly, the corrupt from the pure. Grendel by John Gardner is a presentation of the dark, the misunderstood, and the ugly, speaking always for itself, urging empathy for its pain, and claiming some rightful place in the shaping of whatever is real. Or perhaps human.

The Nature of Light and Darkness

Light in humanity corrupts reality, adopting evil as a false connotation for darkness, undeterred by the pain it causes. Artists, such as the Shaper, “stare strange-eyed at the mindless world and turn dry sticks to gold” (Gardner 48). They set the darkest of places ablaze, and enliven the inanimate. Instead of seeing the world in all its ugliness, they choose to morph it in their eyes to form a dazzling image, an illusion far from reality. As Grendel watches and listens to the shaper, he sees the lies and the corruption, and knows that “all he said was ridiculous, not light for their darkness but flattery, illusion, a vortex pulling them from sunlight to heat…” (Gardner 48). Grendel knows the light to be false, yet even he cannot resist the urge to succumb to the impossibility of the beauty. Immediately the “harper’s lure drew [Grendel’s] mind away to hopeful dreams” (Gardner 54). Essentially, the shaper taunts Grendel. He makes Grendel want to see everything in light; he wants to see the world in the heavenly manner as the shaper describes it. Yet he knows he cannot, he knows the impossibility of the idea of living with the humans in harmony. He sees the treachery, the greed and misery of humans. Yet still he dreams of the perfect images the shaper forms, he “even rushes into the midst of the villagers and asks for their forgiveness for his role in the fable, but they simply hack at him with swords” (Stromme).

The Paradox of Acceptance

Sadly, where there is light there must also be darkness. The shaper has decided that the day should represent the good, and the night should represent evil. So in order for Grendel to accept the glorification of humankind and accept the light, he must also accept the darkness that resides within himself, the darkness bestowed upon him by man. It is a paradox. Grendel is caught in between it. He wants to assimilate into human society in all its pride and glory, but he is misunderstood; he is the other. He sacrifices himself for humankind so that the shaper’s idealistic image on the world might come true. He conforms to the image of evil not because it was innate nature but “because it gives some order and purpose to the world, even if the order demands the vilification of his image” (Stromme). He is a martyr of humankind, just like certain versions of Batman who accepts his role not as a superhero but as an outcast who keeps Gotham City running.

The Glimmer Within Darkness

Easily spotted in blackness, a glimmer of light exists as a target for all who reside in the dark, and vice versa. Grendel sees the light and wants to be a part of it, but his role is not of light but part of “the dark side…the terrible race God cursed” (Gardner 51). Grendel’s “mother’s fur is brisly…her flesh is loose” (Gardner 29). Darkness does not criticize. Grendel’s mother is ugly, and so is he. After seeing the light, Grendel can no longer view his mother in quite that same way; he sees her ugliness despite his own terrifying countenance. Grendel is also surprised “if anything in [himself] could be as cold, as dark, as centuries old as the presence [he] felt around [himself]” (Gardner 54). He wants to believe he is not truly as dark as humans see him. He almost wishes he were human. He simply wants to belong.

The Human Aversion

Grendel is everything humans despise. Grendel’s darkness is their own. Artists such as The Shaper create idealistic images of reality rather than depicting actual scenes that occur within society itself. This skewed perception serves as one key reason why human society shuns Grendel: he breaks every rule; he embodies everything they want to deny about themselves—their fears manifested into him. They are from opposite ends of existence's spectrum while desperately trying to shy away from their own "dark side." There is no support for Grendel; no one vouches for his existence or his values or intentions.

Redefining Existence Through Nurture

Even in his frustration when trying to communicate with others around him—“the accursed didn’t even have words for swearing in” (Gardner 52)—it seems futile; how could someone perceived only through darkness ever connect with those blinded by their lights? Ultimately this leaves Grendel with no foundation upon which to build an identity rooted within humanity's acceptance—a fundamental desire since childhood—to exist among them instead of being pushed further into isolation due solely because all humans are terrified hate him & nothing can change that fact.

In our world we acknowledge our own lofty ideals yet turn around rejecting others’. We see darkness & assume evil whilst looking towards illumination assumes goodness—the concept we all cling onto tightly! If only we paused long enough peer behind stereotypes discrimination: perhaps something transformative could arise out this complex web woven over ages past? Ever wonder why people turn out exactly way they do? It's less nature itself since many folks embody goodness while some embrace negativity suggesting nurture shapes surroundings instead whether 'human' societies constructed realities matters little—what counts undeniably—is people are precisely what we've made them out TO BE!