Grendel Lesson Plan

How does Grendel feel about the Shaper’s death? Why does he react as he does?

Grendel claims that he wishes he had violently killed the shaper—is this, perhaps, his way of grieving? And if Grendel grieves the death of another person, what does this say about his adherence to his nihilistic worldview? The fact that the shaper died was out of Grendel’s control, and Grendel wishes he could have had control over it. Grendel feels like he has control because he has the power to kill and the power to spare the lives of those he could kill; ultimately, though, he only has the power to spare people from death for so long. Eventually, the Shaper simply dies from old age, and...