Discrimination has been known to cause trouble within groups since the beginning of time. The scenario always begins with someone showing dominance over others, which then leads to conflict between the dominator and submissives who seek equality. Sadly these stories always end tragically as the superior being is always overthrown and brought back to where they came from, or worse. Throughout both novels, discrimination is exhumed by the main characters of the novels The Poisonwood Bible, Grendel, and Beowulf. In The Poisonwood Bible, Nathan Price can be seen patronizing himself because of his religion and physical being. On the other hand, the Geats from Beowulf and Grendel set themselves as worthier individuals because of their combat skills. …show more content…
In both novels, the community of Geats see themselves as better individuals than the supposed “monster” named Grendel. Just because Grendel is a descendant of Cain, a cursed descendant of Adam and Eve, people discriminated against him calling him an “evil monster who was out for blood” (Clark). In the novel Grendel, Grendel is telling the story of Beowulf from his point of view. From this, you could see that people misunderstood Grendel for who he was. Just because Cain was his ancestor, people just assumed that he was evil too. From Hrothgar’s speedy departure from the dining hall to Grendel’s deadly entrance into the hall shows “the way both novels narrate the story of Beowulf balances the audience’s apprehension at the monster’s inexorable and malevolent approach with dramatic irony based on the audience’s foreknowledge” (Ruud). Grendel’s arrival to Heorot “creates a sense of terror or apprehension” when in reality Grendel was just trying to explore the human world, because “if Grendel was a symbol of evil, then the pattern of irony that hangs heavily upon him as he proceeds to Heorot and his unexpected execution powerfully communicates an optimistic reading of this event and of the world” (Ruud). Everyone knew from the beginning that Grendel was doomed based off of Christian insight. To the Danes, Grendel is a descendant of Cain (Hanning). “The battle itself and Beowulf’s victory, though seeming to represent the defeat of evil and to confirm an optimistic reading of the world, unravels the true story of Grendel”