e Grendels roots lie. And from Cain there sprang/ misbegotten spirits, among them Grendel, / the banished and accursed (Lines 1265-1267). Once again I feel sympathy for Grendel because it seems he did not have a choice but to be the enemy of mankind. (Line 1275) Good could never come from these people of Cain because they fell from the grace of god, but it appears that Grendel never directly did anything to deserve this fate, he was a victim of circumstance and was trapped in his monstrous position. Grendel did not kill Abel, yet he suffers for Cains behavior.If Grendel were truly such a monstrous and evil beast, he would have done more damage to Beowulf in their battle. As soon as Beowulf grabs Grendel and he feels that iron grip, he wanted to retreat; which makes me think that Grendel is actually a coward who is angry with his lot in life and wants to make other people suffer because he suffers. The main reason Grendel attacks the mead-hall in the first place is because he wants to live in peace and quiet, yet the Danes are constantly rejoicing and being loud at all hours and disturbing him. I sympathize with the tyrant because I think he was not given a fair chance to be in gods graces. Most feuds are based on a misunderstanding that could most likely be solved peacefully, but egos and warrior mentalities block communication. Maybe simply inviting Grendel to the parties in the mead hall would have been the Christian duty and we would have a more politically correct relationship between Grendel and the Danes, but no great epic poem to be passed down through generations....
