Grendel Chapter 2

Grendel's first encounter with humans:

In Chapter 2 of Grendel, Grendel's upbringing is shown. His first human interactions are exposed, as well as his relationship with his mother. After he goes out of his cave and explores the world above, he realizes that he is alone. The underground creatures down in the cave do not really see him, but instead look through him.

Grendel finally looks at his mother and realizes that he has the fate of becomming just like her. She is the creature, who forces Grendel to stay below the outside world. He continues to go back to her, even though she does not do much for him. She only comforts him by pressing him to her chest.

Grendel encounters a newborn calf in Chapter 2 after he wanders away from his cave. He gets stuck up in a tree, and cries out for his mother to come, but she does not. Then a bull charges at Grendel, which is symbolic of how Grendel is in the outside world where he is unprotected. Grendel learns that the world is violent after this incident. The human world is a cruel place, and Grendel knows that he has to be independent. Since his mother does not save him now in his time of need; no one will.

Grendel encounters men later after he had just awoken from sleeping. He sees that the men are not so different from himself because they speak his own language, even though it sounds strange to him. Later it is apparent that the humans can not truly understand Grendel, after they try to attack him for mistaking his intentions. Overall, Grendel is misunderstood in the human world.

Symbolism of Aries (the ram) and Taurus (the bull):

Aries – The Ram Aries is the first sign of the zodiac. As such, the Ram represents someone who is like a new born infant. An Aries person is always demanding attention. His needs always come first. He is aggressive and committed to his cause. He is firm and independent and an idealist. As the Ram is the symbol of Aries, you may often find the Aries person to have sharp features with well marked brows. The horns on the Ram symbolize that he means business. Since his ruling planet is Mars, this person is absolutely direct and to-the-point about everything that he wants.

Taurus – The Bull Taurus is the second sign of the zodiac. Like their symbol, the Bull, Taureans are always steadfast and solid. He likes to be left alone. If pushed, he can be obstinate. And if he is pushed a little more, then he will charge like a raging Bull. Taureans normally don’t speak much, and if they do, they make do with small and crisp sentences. They can be brooding and stoic, but never nervous. With Venus as the ruling planet, Taureans love grand things and doing things in grand style.