Do you sympathize with Grendel's mother? Why? Or why not?
Jeyson
9/19/2014 12:50:31 am
Yes actually. People cannot assume monsters don't have human instincts. When her son was killed by Beowulf, it is natural for her to fight Beowulf. I sympathize with Grendel's mother because i think she is doing the right thing to avenge for her son. By killing her, Beowulf just made a new enemy somewhere else.
Clifford
9/19/2014 12:56:05 am
I agree with you. When we talk about monsters like Grendel, we tend to associate them with heartless objects as Grendel was shown tearing people apart. But i think Grendel's mother was right for fighting Beowulf because it was out of motherly love and the sorrow of having a dead family
YuJin Yang
9/19/2014 10:37:35 pm
I agree with Jeyson. Grendel's mother lost her only son. This means that she does not have anyone to rely on. She was fighting for herself and her dead son. This shows her unconditional motherly love towards Grendel. I sympathize with Grendel’s mother because I strongly believe that Beowulf started everything, thus he should take the blame of his comrades’ death.
Kim Steve
9/21/2014 01:37:16 am
I agree! Monsters also may have feelings and emotions like any other human being. Even if they do not have complex emotions like human do, they must have something psychological that moves them, and make them feel connected to each other.
Han Joo Kim
9/21/2014 01:43:29 am
I agree with you that I feel some kind of sympathy towards Grendel's mother; however, that does not mean I think she is not the antagonist. Definitely, Grendel was the antagonist and of course, an enemy's friend is also an enemy.
Belle
9/19/2014 11:51:05 am
I only sympathize with her when Grendel died, but after she killed Hrothgar's trusted adviser, I do not sympathize with her anymore. This is because she was doing the same thing what others did to her son, taking people's friends and famiy away from them. If she is sympathized when Beowulf killed her son, why shouldn't people sympathize with the people she killed?
Ariel
9/19/2014 09:24:51 pm
Yes I do. Any mother can become really emotional when her son is killed. Maybe Grendel's mother killed men simply because she wants to show them that she also has strength, so don't try to disturb her; maybe it's her way of self-protection. She is fighting for her family.
Ian Jang
9/21/2014 12:18:27 am
I agree with your idea Ariel. Fighting with Beowulf was the only thing that Grendel's mother could do for her son. Also, revenging on the people probably was meant to pacify the dead soul of Grendel.
Alex
9/20/2014 02:52:45 pm
No, I don't. Grendel killed too many people to be sympathized. According to the book, people were suffering from Grendel's indiscriminate decimation for more than "ten years." Moreover, Grendel had been killing many people just for his pleasure. I think Grendel's mother is responsible for all these wrongdoings, and so she deserves to lose her spoiled son.
Guillaume
9/20/2014 03:15:59 pm
I do sympathize with Grendel's mother greatly. Despite the fact that Grendel killed a lot of people during his visits to Herot, his mother is not the reason for his crimes. Grendel's mother never participated in any of her son's activities, and thus there's no reason for her to be held responsible for all the deaths that occurred. Additionally, Grendel's mother must care a lot about her son because she's willing to avenge him after Beowulf had defeated him. This shows that Grendel's mother also has basic maternal affections, and that she is not that different from a human mother in terms of her emotions.
Alex
9/20/2014 11:32:35 pm
I agree that Grendel's mother was not engaged in any of Grendel's activity. However, if Grendel's mother is a true mother, she should have prevented or stopped Grendel from committing those atrocious crimes. So I still think that she is responsible for her son's actions.
Ian Jang
9/21/2014 12:15:23 am
Grendel himself has no right to be sympathized, for he had indiscriminately killed people for more than ten years. However, Grendel's mother absolutely deserves sympathy for her actions were solely based on the revenge for her son's death. Even though her son caused scourge of death in the Danes society, not a single mother in the world would not be mad. Her actions were in fact obvious and should not receive blame.
Kim Steve
9/21/2014 01:28:32 am
I agree with you completely! Her actions were sprouted entirely from maternal love, and any other mother could respond the same way. Her death in response to her actions is something to sympathize.
Kim Steve
9/21/2014 01:23:59 am
I do sympathize with Grendel's mother. Although Grendel kill many people and became a major threat to the people, I do not think that Grendel's monster should also be the subject of revenge. Her affection towards her son is shown when she decided to seek revenge, so brutally killing her was a little inhumane
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