What made Grendel attack the Mead Hall?
The most obvious motive for Grendel’s attack is envy and a sense of exclusion. He hears the laughter in the mead-hall, hates the Danes and their merry-making from which he is excluded, and
How does Grendel’s first meeting with men affect him? As Grendel watches them plan their attack, he realizes that the humans are no dull-witted animals, but thinking, pattern-making beings, and therefore more dangerous than any creatures he has thus far encountered.
One of the things that makes him scary is his usage of violence. That seems like an odd thing to be afraid of considering how much violence that the Dane warriors can dish out. The difference is that Grendel uses large amounts of violence for no other reason than because he likes the violence.
Grendel terrorizes Heorot because he is envious of the people’s happiness. His jealousy consumes him, and he decides to attack Heorot.
So when night came to Heorot, Grendel came also. The great shaggy beast burst into the hall and grabbed the warriors where they lay sleeping. Thirty men he clawed and killed, carried their bleeding bodies to his own dark home.
Grendel is jealous of the people celebrating in Heorot. The warriors sing and make merry in the mead hall until one night Grendel decides to attack. Grendel is driven by evil, and he seeks to disrupt the Danes’ way of life and cause them lasting torment.
o Hrothgar’s people lived well, feasting and laughing in the warm firelight of the hall, never thinking of trouble. Each evening the sounds of their happy talk, the poet’s singing and people’s laughter floated out from the hall.
Grendel especially resents the light, joy, and music that he observes in Hrothgar’s beautiful mead-hall, Heorot. The scop’s “Song of Creation” (90-98) especially enrages him because it tells of the beauty and light of God’s creation.
Basically, Grendel attacks humans for one reason. He, a descendant of Cain, has been exiled into darkness. Therefore, as a foe of God, Grendel is angered at the fact he cannot exist in light. Given that he cannot enact his revenge upon God himself, Grendel enacts his revenge upon God’s people.
Grendel stalks outside the building for a time, spying the warriors inside. He then makes a sudden attack, bursting the door with his fists and continuing through the entry. The first warrior Grendel finds is still asleep, so he seizes the man and devours him.
Grendel attacks because he is jealous and not welcome in Herot. He is powerful and a sly creature; he has no respect for life. Grendel hunts the people in Herot when they sleep.
The most obvious motive for Grendel’s attack is envy and a sense of exclusion. He hears the laughter in the mead-hall, hates the Danes and their merry-making from which he is excluded, and resolves to kill them. Even slaughtering thirty does not satisfy him and he returns night after night to drown his misery in blood.
