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Emily Byrne

Mrs. Hudak

English III

11 June 2021

Monster or Misunderstood?

“He was the ultimate experiment in Nature Versus Nurture, and she imagined he must be

engaged in a constant battle between what he was and what he wanted to be” (Ione). The idea of

nature vs. nurture is a recurring theme throughout literature. Nature is the influence of genetics,

while nurture is the influence of the environment (McLeod). John Gardner takes the story of

Grendel from Beowulf to provide an alternate perspective, which shows how Grendel becomes a

brute as the result of his environment. Mary Shelley creates Frankenstein as a double-frame

story to give the reader all views on the creature and the effect of his upbringing. The authors of

Grendel and Frankenstein explore the psychological theory of nature vs. nurture to create

monsters whose fiendish behavior could have been circumvented had they been treated more

humanely by those they encounter during their existence.

In introducing Grendel and the creature, the authors describe their nature, which is a

predisposition to evil. Nature is the effect of genetics on how one is perceived based on their

genetic inheritance or other biological factors (McLeod). After his creation comes to life, Victor

Frankenstein describes the atrocious sight in front of him: “No mortal could support the horror of

that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that

wretch” (Shelley 49). Frankenstein refers to his creation as repulsive, and if he cannot see the

beauty, then who will? The creature is susceptible to rejection from the beginning, merely based

on his appearance. The author of Beowulf begins the story with a description of Grendel, saying
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that “He was spawned in that slime,/Conceived by a pair of those monsters born/Of Cain,

murderous creatures banished/By God…” (Raffel 21). Grendel is the product of two monsters

who are the descendants of Cain, a biblical figure known for murdering his brother, Abel. Thus,

the author is saying that Grendel is susceptible to savage behavior based on his genetics. These

opinions, however, came from the stigma that Grendel is “pure, 100% villain—he is a monster,

and he is evil by nature. Gardner takes [Grendel’s] backstory and spins it in a different way by

asking a big question: how can it be fair to inherit wickedness genetically?” (Shmoop). If it is

impossible to inherit wickedness, then can Grendel and the creature be evil by nature? The brutes

may not have the best genetics or family history, but it does not make them villainous. Overall,

the effect of nature is minuscule compared to the influence of nurture.

When Grendel and the creature tell their perspectives, the impact of nurture and their past

experiences comes into sight. Nurture is the effect that external forces and experiences have on

our personality and future actions (Mcleod). When the Shaper’s song disheartens Grendel, he

approaches the castle. Grendel describes, “drunken men rushed me with battle-axes. I sank to my

knees, crying, ‘Friend! Friend!’ They hacked at me, yipping like dogs” (Gardner 52). Grendel, in

attempting to befriend humans, defends himself while the men attack him. His defense concludes

with the death of at least two men. This action was not evil, but in the eyes of the humans,

Grendel attacked them, becoming a monster. This thought of Grendel’s attack remains, and the

humans label him as an aggressor, not a victim. Grendel realizes that there is no point in

attempting to alter the prejudice of the humans and falls into their stereotype. In Frankenstein,

the creature attempts to become friends with a family. Rather than accept him, they attack the

creature and chase him out of their house. The creature is searching for friendship, but instead,

he finds that “despair had not yet taken possession of [him]; [his] feelings were those of rage and
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revenge” (Shelley 137). The creature needs his friends to receive and embrace him. The

outcome, however, was fury and vengeance: the driving force of a fiend. This incident, along

with many others, turns the creature into a murderous monster. In the beginning, however, the

creature is not virulent, and “while Victor’s creation takes the form of a grotesque-like creature,

the reader discovers, that despite its deformed appearance, the being possesses kindness, intellect

and above all a curiosity concerning the society that surrounds it” (Liou). The creature was not

evil by nature, expressing care and an interest in knowledge. Victor does not breed the creature to

execute and the creature even attempts to avoid this path and stereotype society places on him.

All of humanity did not see him that way, which unfortunately results in his abuse and guides

him towards a dreadful path. Grendel and the creature were not born evil, but their nurture

experiences led them to fiendish behavior.

Grendel and the creature are the results of nurture, not nature, proving that humanity can

avoid their atrocities if society does not provide harsh treatment. With humane treatment, the

brutes will not be as villainous as they resolve to be. After killing Victor’s brother, the creature

finds Victor to explain the events from his perspective. The creature threatens to kill anybody

that Victor loves but is willing to negotiate: “I am content to reason with you. I am malicious

because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind? You, my creator, would

tear me to pieces and triumph” (Shelley 147). The creature explains that he is evil because he

receives cruelty since he was brought to life. The creature’s inhumanity is the result of

maltreatment. If the humans do not neglect or spurn Grendel or the creature, they will not be as

violent. A scientific study showed that “every child has the potential to become a responsible

adult provided the environment is conducive for his or her development. Therefore, catering to a

given child's needs will facilitate the blooming process” (Sravanti). A child can grow up to be
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benevolent and humane provided the proper environment. Every child has specific necessities.

Not meeting these necessities results in improper child development, which can have

consequences. Similarly, any monster has the potential to become a responsible and kind being.

However, in the wrong environment, the monster can grow to become maleficent. Nurture has a

greater effect than nature because nurture directly influences how one acts as they age, whereas it

is nearly impossible to be born evil. If Grendel and the creature receive ethical guidance, then

their stories would be completely different.

The authors of Frankenstein and Grendel manufacture the creature and Grendel, who,

despite being fabricated with the intent of malevolence, search for upright lives before leaning

towards wicked existences. Mary Shelley and John Gardner create characters who are evil in

nature and nurture. However, it is almost impossible to be born evil, and hence, impossible to be

evil by nature. Thus, it is at the fault of nurture that Grendel and the creature behave the way

they do. The use of nature and nurture in Frankenstein and Grendel develops the idea that a

child, or monster, is the result of their environment. Each distinct person requires their unique

habitat to become a responsible adult. The experiences one has, especially while aging out of

childhood, will affect them forever.

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Works Cited

Gardner, John. Grendel. Vintage, 1989.

Ione, Larissa. Pleasure Unbound. Grand Central Publishing, 2014.

Liou, Carter. "Nature Versus Nurture (or How Society Reacted)." The Colby College Community

Web, 2 Mar. 2018,

web.colby.edu/st112wa2018/2018/03/02/nature-versus-nurture-or-how-society-reacted/.

McLeod, Saul. “Nature vs Nurture in Psychology.” Simply Psychology, 20 Dec. 2018,

https://www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html.

Raffel, Burton. “Beowulf.” Holt Elements of Literature, by Kylene Beers, Holt, Rinehart, and

Winston, 2003, pp. 21–46.

Shelley, Mary W. Frankenstein. Edited by Tom Doherty Associates, Aerie, 1988.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Grendel in Grendel." Shmoop, 11 Nov. 2008,

www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/grendel/grendel.

Sravanti, Lakshmi. “Nurture the Nature.” Indian Journal of Psychiatry, Medknow Publications

& Media Pvt Ltd, 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5659093/.