They are both beastly, she more than him, and both have different ways of life. Grendel is curious and wants to know more about his life and the purpose of living it; while his mother remains in the cave and asks no questions. At first he is afraid of being without her and does not leave their cave, but as he grows up, his curiosity also increases. Grendel always relies on his mother to get him out of any dangerous situation he puts himself in, even though she rarely does. Many times throughout the story we see Grendel's disgust towards his mother due to her inability to speak. He hates how much more monstrous she is than him, and would rather leave alone, but deep down he knows he really needs her. Although she cannot actually speak, she tries to communicate with her son by caressing him and sometimes smothering him in her breast. One of the only times we see her speak is when Grendel asks his mother why they are here and living in the cave and she replies, "Don't ask!" (11). Grendel cannot understand why they live in such terrible conditions and wonders what it would be like to live in a nice place like humans do, but he never goes against his mother..