Modern Day Monster

Countless changes may occur in a span of 1500 years, such as the status of empires or the acceptance of religions. With literature, this duration of time is enough to even modernize the archetypical monster. With Grendel in the "Dark Age epic of Beowulf" and the crime lord Tony Montana in the 1980's gangster motion picture "Scarface", it is simple to understand that despite the parallel murderous attitudes, there is a difference in moral values, intelligence, …

…moneyed position of Tony is what separates him from the disgusting, bog-living Grendel. Grendel and Tony Montana are two different monsters with different ethics, amounts of cleverness, and ways of life. The new monster, Tony, is now adored in comparison to the rejected Grendel. One and a half millenniums really have changed the classic monster in literature to be more congenial. It's thought-provoking to ponder how the modern-day monster will change in the generations ahead.