According to Dictionary.com Sympathy can be defined as “the fact or power of sharing the feelings of another, esp. in pain or trouble; sympathy, compassion or commiseration”. (dictionary.reference.com/browse/Sympathy) This definition is relevant, as is the information provided after reading both, The Poem Beowulf Translated by Burton Raffel. and the novel Grendel by John Gardner, it is clear that the character Grendel gets more sympathy from the reader than the character Beowulf. The definition of sympathy, as stated previously, implies that one, in this case the reader, can share feelings with another, Grendel, the feeling most often said being that of grief. One example, where you can particularly sympathize with Grendel, happens when he gets stuck in a tree, and Hrothgar and his men, come across him, about to be attacked: I shouted at them, trying to scare them, but they just hiding behind bushes and taking long sticks from horses' saddles, bows and javelins. … I had never screamed so loud in my life. Darts like hot coals shot through my legs and arms and I howled even louder. (27) The reader can interpret and feel the pain and fear that Grendel must endure being subjected to, as well as the confusion as to why these men are attacking him, when he was only begging for food. As the story progresses, Grendel becomes enchanted by the Thanes and maintains constant vigilance over them, one night Grendel follows the Thanes when they begin to defeat another group, the Hemlings, because they are growing large and the king fears that they may take the upper hand. Once they appeared at the Hemling camp, the two kings talked about the imminent clash, Hrothgar wanted the clash, while... middle of paper... path, peering like an old, mustachioed, wet voyeur With lips, eyes red , my chest full of senseless anguish, I watch the old man find the courage to make his heart stop. (143) Grendel becomes overwhelmed by the sadness surrounding the Shaper, and is overwhelmed by grief, once again allowing the readers to share his feelings about the situation. Then, once the old man is dead, Grendel watches as a messenger goes to tell the news to a woman, at which point Grendel seems to come to a revelation: "So we must all die sometime." (145)Works CitedBateson, F . W. "Grendel and Beowulf were two handsome boys." The New York Book Review. 3rd. New York: 1971. Print.Gardner, John. Grendel. New York: Vintage Books, 1989. Pgs.27, 100, 109, 110, 143, 145. Print.“Sympathy” Dictionary.com, LLC http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Sympathy