TRUTH

There is no absolute truth. There are so many versions of ‘truth’, that we can never really know which is completely correct. Same goes with Grendel. He faces so many different versions of the truth.

There is his mother’s truth: Nothing matters but them. Why should he bother with the outside world when they have everything they need right there? I believe she wishes he would just spend time with her and stop rushing to understand the humans, “…she would smash me to her fat, limp breast as if to make me a part of her flesh again” (p. 17).

There is the shaper’s truth: The Danes are heroes, Hrothgar is the greatest king, Grendel is the spawn of evil. “He would sing the glory of Hrothgar’s line and gild his wisdom and stir up his men to more daring deeds, for a price” (p.42).  Yet at the same time, Grendel knew that the shaper was telling lies. The Danes weren’t always heroes and Grendel himself wasn’t as evil as he was being depicted by the Shaper’s song.

There is the dragon’s truth: The world is so timeless, everyone is barely a blink of an eye. Humans don’t know the truth either. All they have is random facts that they try to piece together. God does not exist. The future is predetermined (pg.64-68).

In the end, Grendel has to decide what he believes in. He needs to piece everyone’s truths and create his own. Good luck on that one, Grendel!