Beowulf: The Others

647 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Concepts of heroes

The Others Beowulf, was written around 700- 750, the setting was in the 500s and it takes place in Denmark. There is no known author of the epic poem. In Beowulf there is a monstrous creature named Grendel, he is considered an “other” because he doesn’t follow the beliefs the Anglo-Saxons have. Grendel, who lives in the wilderness, is dishonorable and monstrous, he is casted as the other due to not adhering to Anglo-Saxons values. In the epic poem, Beowulf the Anglo-Saxons were considered to be very honorable people. Grendal lived with his mother at boiling lake in a cave, he lived away from the Anglo-Saxons due to his differences, making him a “other”. Grendel’s cave was disgusting, he would have dead Anglo-Saxons scattered all over. …show more content…

Grendel was a very angry person in the poem, if he would hear people listening to songs, or being loud he would get triggered. Grendel would go to the mead hall at night and attack the people sleeping there, making them easy to get ahold of without them fighting back. Grendel was afraid to fight an honorable combat, which made him a coward. Beowulf goes to find Grendel so they can have a face to face battle. In the battle Beowulf tears off Grendel’s arm and keeps it as a souvenir. Instead of dying in battle, the way a Anglo-Saxon should, Grendel left to die somewhere else, “Grendel escaped, but wounded as he was could flee to his den, his miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh” (Beowulf 341) Grendel died not giving a blood price. Making him a coward for not dying honorable in …show more content…

Grendel was very big, he had enough power to kill thirty men at once. When Grendel would sneak into the mead hall, he casted a spell on all the warriors weapons so they couldn’t hurt him “The hardest iron could not scratch at his skin”. Even though Grendel was big he was also very quiet not waking up anyone sneaking into the mead hall . Smashing thirty Anglo-Saxon men “slipped through the door and there in the silence snatched up thirty men, smashed them” (Beowulf 36) and carrying each of them back to his cave, Grendel would feast on their flesh; tearing them limb from limb. Grendel was big and considered to be monstrous but he wasn’t brave or honorable. Being a coward is what “othered” Grendel from the Anglo-Saxons, due to their beliefs in being

Show More
Related

  • Character Archetypes In Beowulf

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first battle in the poem occurs between Beowulf and Grendel because these characters best embody the Anglo-Saxon value of courage. Beowulf is the perfect representation of this value because he is reckless and says, “No weapons, therefore,/ for either this night: unarmed he shall face me” (Heaney 683-84). Thus when Beowulf proclaims that he is not using weapons he displays both honor and courage since it takes guts to go against a monster without an advantage. This quality was respected in his culture and the Anglo-Saxons made sure to make their epic hero a perfect fit for this trait. Grendel however, is the complete opposite

    Read More

  • Beowulf, Burton Raffel: Definition Of An Epic Hero

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the beginning of Beowulf, the character Beowulf shows courage in everything he does. This is proven when he battles Grendel, a descendant of Cain that haunts the halls of Herot. Beowulf being a mighty protector of men, holds the monster down until his life leaps out (Beowulf lines 472-475). As Beowulf battles Grendel, he is determined to

    Read More

  • Beowulf and the Dragon

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf is a poem about strength and courage. This is illustrated in the eighth section of the story called “Beowulf and the Dragon.” A slave, a hero and a dragon play a big role in this section. The characters are well developed, as is the setup for the conclusion of the poem.

    Read More

  • Grendel As A Psychopath Essay

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel is depicted as an evil monster that destroys Herot-hall and kills people for no reason. In the poem, Grendel had filled the Danes with terror as he ravaged their mead-hall and killed their men again and again. He did so without remorse and even took joy in killing, and even eating them. He had stopped, because a great hero, Beowulf, caught and killed him. However, what readers do not hear is why and how Grendel was treated by the Danes. When he was a young little creature, Grendel had been ignored, humiliated and bullied by Danes in Herot-hall. He wanted to fight back, but instead, he decided to give them a second chance. However, the Danes began singing the “Song of Creation” which totally

    Read More

  • Beowulf And Grendel Comparison Essay

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the poem, Beowulf, Grendel is depicted as a monstrous, evil villain that possesses a few human-like qualities: such as the ability to walk on two feet. However, his most notable characteristic that occupies his mind and body in the poem is the constant mindset and actions of primitive human tendencies. This quote conveys Grendel’s primitive ways as the humans perceived it. “The monster’s thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws: he slipped through the door and there in the silence snatched up thirty men, smashed them unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies…” (Raffel 8). His lust for blood of the human race, alongside their Christian views, forced Beowulf and others to view

    Read More

  • Characteristics Of Anglo-Saxon Heroism In Grendel

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Staring at his grotesquely muscled shoulders--stooped, naked despite the cold, sleek as the belly of a shark and as rippled with power as the shoulders of a horse--I found my mind wandering...He was dangerous” (155). Even from the first day Beowulf showed up at Hrothgar’s kingdom, Grendel knew he was dealing with something worse than a hero. Once they finally start to battle, the monster in Beowulf is fully revealed to Grendel and Grendel sees again the stupidity and meaninglessness in the human’s definition of a hero.“Grendel, Grendel! You make the world by whispers, second by second. Are you blind to that? Whether you make it a grave or a garden of roses is not the point. Feel the wall: is it not hard?...Hard, yes! Observe the hardness, write it down in careful runes. Now sing of walls! Sing!” (171). Beowulf forces Grendel to make a fool of himself and unlike Unferth who longs for a heroic death, Beowulf knows he is going to win and has no desire to die. His mindset of victory, groups him with monsters who have one goal, to kill and never be killed. This shatters the Anglo-Saxon ideals of heroism and in Grendel’s death, when he is surrounded by oblivious creatures who don’t have a purpose, the meaninglessness of it all, including the meaninglessness of heroic deeds becomes evident to the

    Read More

  • Theme Of Cruelty In Beowulf

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    Grendel, the monster terrorizing Heorot, is introduced as being estranged from the rest of the world. He is described as an outsider, a descendant of “Cain’s clan” (107). Grendel’s outcast status leaves him living in darkness, his envy growing the more he hears the celebrations of the Danes. Envy and social status motivate Grendel’s cruelty, filling him with anger towards those who are human. When Beowulf and the Geats arrive, it is not solely out of honor that Beowulf vows to kill the beast. Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow, had an unpaid debt at the time of his death. Beowulf’s pledge that he would kill Grendel was a repayment, as well as an honorable feat. However, as Beowulf is introduced, the boasts he makes of his heroic feats and his “awesome strength” (29), only prove his barbarity. He boasts that “they had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea brutes” (419-422). He goes on to blame the enemies for the vengeance that he wrought upon them. Beowulf dehumanizes his enemies, states that they were foul beasts who tainted the land, and he purified it. This is a sadistic view of life and battle, contrasting cruelty for the

    Read More

  • The Epic Of Grendel's Metaphamental Monsters In Beowulf

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    Grendel represents everything that an Anglo-Saxon warrior should not be. As he is introduced into the story, he is characterized by having, “…no idea of the

    Read More

  • Beowulf The Hero

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Beowulf, the protagonist Beowulf is shown as a hero with extrodinary strength. This is not what makes him a hero. By definition, a hero is a man of exceptional quality. However this term does not do Beowulf justice. His self-imposed purpose in life is to help others, and eventually sacrifices his own life in doing so. Beowulf’s battle with the dragon serves as a critique of the notion that Beowulf is a hero. The Dragon section displays many of Beowulf’s heoric characteristics. Beowulf establishes himself as a hero by fighting the dragon, exemplifing strength and courage when fighting the dragon, and sacrificing himself so that others can live.

    Read More

  • Similarities And Differences And Challenges In The Tale Of Beowulf

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the feast Beowulf states he will fight Grendel not only alone but also unarmed. This shows his courage and honor because he does not want any of his men to get hurt and Grendel does not use weapons. When Grendel arrives to the mead hall that night, he is met by the strongest warrior in the land. Beowulf and Grendel wrestle inside the mead hall where the strength of Beowulf prevails when he rips the monster 's arm off its body. The injured monster retreats back to his mother 's house in the swamp where he ends up dying. As a symbol of the victory against Grendel, Beowulf hangs the arm on the wall for all the Danes. To celebrate the heroic actions of Beowulf the Danes hold a celebration where they give thanks by giving many gifts to the Geats. The battle with Grendel is just the first challenge the brave and courageous warrior

    Read More

  • Corruption In Beowulf Essay

    1546 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beowulf is an epic poem that explores many themes and motifs within the Anglo-Saxon society. The Author, who remains anonymous, composed the epic around 1000 A.D. The literature focuses mainly on a Scandinavian warrior named Beowulf, who comes to the aid of Herot, a small town ran by King Hrothgar. Beowulf arises to rid the town of evil forces, such as the demon monster Grendel, and his savage mother who seeks revenge for the death of her son. As he ages, Beowulf presumes his title as king of Geatland, still eager to protect his loyal followers from danger. Though he is viewed as a godly force, the situations and the behaviors that Beowulf expressed, sometimes deviate how the Anglo-Saxons viewed his character. From this, the theme of "Good vs. Evil", which can be easily depicted in the literature piece, was constantly contradicted throughout the entire poem.

    Read More

  • Sympathy in Beowulf

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    While the classic battle between good and evil forces is a major theme of the medieval epic Beowulf, one may question whether these good and evil forces are as black and white as they appear. Scholars such as Herbert G. Wright claim that “the dragon, like the giant Grendel, is an enemy of mankind, and the audience of Beowulf can have entertained no sympathy for either the one or the other” (Wright, 4). However, other scholars such as Andy Orchard disagree with this claim, and believe that there is “something deeply human about the ‘monsters’” (Orchard, 29). While Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are indeed portrayed as evil and violent foes, there are parts within Beowulf that can also lead a reader to believe that the “monsters” may not be so monstrous after all. In fact, the author of Beowulf represents the “monsters” within the poem with a degree of moral ambivalence. This ambivalence ultimately evokes traces of sympathy in the reader for the plight of these “monster” figures, and blurs the fine line between good and evil within the poem.

    Read More

  • Beowulf is an Anglo Saxon Hero

    1791 Words  | 4 Pages

    To gain the respect and glory that a person of power needs, one must earn it. There is only one way to achieve respect in the times of the Anglo-Saxons. Only Beowulf was the most honored man throughout all Anglo-Saxon history. He performed three straightforward tasks to reach his level of admiration. In the time of The Anglo-Saxon?s, men lived by the Comitatus Code. One avenged the death of their king. Men lived a lifestyle of boasting and violence. Beowulf?s first major feat was undoubtedly through violence. An evil bloodthirsty creature named Grendel haunted the mead hall of Heorot. Upon hearing of this ghastly monster, Beowulf found it too ?hard to ignore? (Lines 409-410). Many claimed it was an impossible feat to go toe to toe with Grendel (Line 473). ?No one has ever outlasted an entire night with Grendel? (Lines 527-528). Hrothgar said that he would hate to burden anyone with such a great task. For many have tried, yet none have succeeded in killing Grendel. However, Beowulf took on Grendel and ripped his arm off as a sign of his sheer strength. Upon accomplishing this act, Beowulf did what was a customary action for this time. He bragged, boasted, and did not downplay the praise he received. He had just ripped the arm off the monster that had been previously tormenting Heorot?s mead ...

    Read More

  • Beowulf as a Reflection of Anglo-Saxon Values

    451 Words  | 1 Pages

    Anger then yields itself to insecurity and low self-esteem. The moment Grendel realizes that there is someone just as strong as him, he tries to run away, ". . . Grendel's one thought was to run / From Beowulf, flee back to his marsh and hide there:" (437-438), but it is too late. Just like when the average bully meets his match, he runs in fear of not being able to win. Grendel does not have the audacity to stand up to Beowulf with all his might and therefore falls to Beowulf.

    Read More

  • Depictions of Grendel in Beowulf by Seamus Heaney

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, Grendel is a slimy green swamp monster that has human emotions but is portrayed as a hideous beast and an outcast of the Anglo-Saxon society.

    Read More

More about Beowulf: The Others

Open Document