The poem Beowulf suggests that Beowulf is the hero and Grendel is a villain, or the "bad guy."" Some try to sympathize with Grendel as a victim of circumstance, a lonely outcast. Yet the poet himself shows no sympathy for Grendel, even when he is hurt and killed. The poet seeks to present Grendel as pure evil. He lives by a force that governs his will and gives rise to constant wickedness and sin. His evil is the source of sorrow and distress within himself and within Hrothgar's kingdom. In my view, the poet is correct in presenting Grendel. Grendel is an unfortunate and suffering creature by his own free will. Angry and irritable at everything good, he murders innocent men. Neither the poet nor I sympathize with these actions. Though he is a very complex and mysterious creature as a descendant of Cain, nevertheless he is human and he freely chooses to be evil. .
Grendel is first introduced as mankind's enemy and the physical embodiment of evil, of humanity gone wrong. Grendel's massacre of the Danes extends beyond his bloody hunger. Seeing as, he attacks the Danes because he does not understand them and the core values of civilization among them: allegiance, honor, and community. He instead devotes himself to nothing but himself and evil, has no respect for others, and is incapable of working for and with others. The poet tells of how the peace and contentment of Hrothgar ends because Grendel comes and brings misery to the Danes: .
And then as now warriors sang of their pleasure: so Hrothgar's men lived happy in his hall till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend, Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild marshes, and made his home in a hell not hell but earth. He was spawned in that slime, conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God, punished forever for the crime of Abel's death. (lines 98-108) .
Because he murders unsuspecting, loyal and helpful warriors and chooses to disregard their values, he makes a hell.
