finally given to him as he announces his suicide in the name of his father, the late Dr. Frankenstein. On the other hand, Grendel makes numerous attempts to assimilate into society, but he is repeatedly turned back. Early in his life, Grendel dreams of associating with Hrothgar's great warriors. Nightly, Grendel goes down to the meadhall to listen to Hrothgar's stories and the thanes' heroism, but most of all, he comes to hear the Shaper. The Shaper's stories are Grendel's only education as they enlighten him to the history of the society that he yearns to join. "[The Shaper] changed the world, had torn up its past by its thick gnarled roots and had transmuted it, and they, who knew the truth, remembered it his way- and so did [Grendel]"(Gardner 43). Upon Grendel's first meeting with Hrothgar, the great hero tries to kill him by chopping him out of a tree. "The king (Hrothgar) snatches an ax from the man beside him and, without any warning, he hurls it at [Grendel]"(Gardner 27). After being attacked by those he so admires, he turns against them to wreak havoc on their civilization. The more that society alienates Grendel and Frankenstein, the more they come to realize the invalidity of "social heroism." As Grendel's oppressors see it, heroism consists of the protection of one's name, the greater glory of their line, and most of all, their armor collection. "Beowulf, so movingly compounded with self-vindication, looks to care for his own name and honour"(Morgan xxxi-xxxii). According to Frankenstein's time, a hero is someone who protects their lady's name, earns greater glory for themselves and their country, and has a large collection of prestigious degrees to hang on their walls. Social heroism is not a single event, it is properly defined as a "revolution." It is an on-going, ever-changing series of "heroic" events. This "revolution is not the substitution of immoral for moral, or of illegitimate violen...
