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Gender roles in the twentieth century
Compare and contrast essay beowulf translations
Gender roles within society during the early 20th century
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As society progresses in time, so did the means that make up society in the twenty first century, we see women having a job with a steady income to be admirable. Stealing and killing are extreme examples of what is immoral. Society are of people who share a common value, if there is a clash of values, one becomes an outcast, a lone wolf peering in from the outside. We see a similar notion in Beowulf where religion plays an important part in making the rules of society. The monsters are outcasts from the men who follow and are adored by God. In the following analysis, I will demonstrate how Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf uses Grendel's attack on Heorot to reveal how society defines what is right and wrong which apparent to who is welcomed into society.
Beowulf translation by Heaney's has an unambiguous style to
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It's after the making of Heorot that is threatened by "a powerful demon, a prowler through the dark, / nursed a hard grievance. (86-87) The use of imagery emphasizes the threat that Grendel imposes, with this, the reader is able to perceive that Heorot is outstanding in this society as its "meant to be a wonder of the world forever" (70) and when a "demon" who is "a prowler through the dark" (86) it emphasizes the differences between Grendel and Heorot. Heaney's translation of Grendel's introduction into the poem implies that Grendel is the other, suggesting evil. This is evident were Grendel "dwelt for a time/ in misery among the banished monsters." (105-106) The notion of 'the other' is the alienation of a person. The utilize of allusion to Christian and Pagan explains why Grendel is viewed as the other in terms of nature and religion. The monsters are outcasts because of Cain's clan whom God "had outlawed" because "for the killing of Abel the Eternal Lord." (107-108) Due to the killing, it reveals the seven deadly sins are
Our first character, Grendel, is an exceptionally diverse character. It is implied that in both book and poem, Grendel is a blood-thirsty monster. All Grendel does is go through meadhalls and kill the drunk, often asleep people. But when narrated through the eyes of Grendel, the true nature of this beast is discovered. The author of Grendel entails that Grendel is a depressed and misunderstood monster, restrained to the confinements of his own underwater cave. He is a lot like the monster in the book Frankenstein. Both Grendel and Frankenstein are born with no real purpose to life, going off of what they hear other people say and taking it as the truth. Both monsters, knowing that everyone detests them for being unattractive and different, retaliate by way of murder and mayhem. From the perspective of the people in the stories itself, Grendel is exactly how the narrator in the poem Beowulf makes him out to be. The people, or the thanes, of Hrothgar’s kingdom see Grendel as a demon from hell, representing all that’s evil in the world. He’s a supernatural creature and in this time period anything supernatural that wasn’t human was considered a spirit, a god, evil or, in Grendel...
There is an epic hero in almost every legend ever told. The hero could be a mortal human who came from nothing, a creature that used to be evil, an immortal god, or even a group of people. In Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf, the mortal man-of-the-hour is Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow. After he settled the feud for his father, he then carried out more amazing deeds and accomplishments. Beowulf portrays great strength, bravery, and is also very faithful to his kingdom. The totality of these qualities is not just a large mass of adjectives; each characteristic plays a special part.
Rudd cites various sections of the poem, describing Grendel as a “night-monster of the border lands” (Rudd 3), and the translation of the poem says that Grendel was, “...Conceived by a pair of those monsters born Of Cain, murderous creatures banished By God…” (Raffel 42). Rudd also gives evidence for Grendel being seen as demonic, and reasons that Grendel attacks the Danes out of “...not mere thirst for gore, as we might suspect… but rather… envy of the Danes’ happiness- and envy was a chief characteristic of the medieval devil.” (Ruud 5). He then ties this devilish persona to Grendel’s humanistic aspects, stating Grendel has a heathen soul, and therefore he must be human. Ruud also notes, however, that there are critics who question the validity of portraying Grendel as this three-sided figure, asking questions such as, “How can Grendel be a devil when he has a physical body? How can he be a man when he is so manifestly bestial?” (Ruud 7). Ruud believes that the original poet of Beowulf is doing this for effect rather than consistency, but a more reasonable explanation that encompasses all three characteristics is that Grendel represents the evil in
As the poems of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight show, women have always had power, yet not as overt a power as wielded by their masculine counterparts. The only dynamic of women’s power that has changed in the later centuries is that the confines and conditions in which women have wielded their power has become more lax, thus yielding to women more freedom in the expression of their power. The structure, imagery, and theme in the excerpts from Beowulf (lines 744-71) and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (lines 2309-30) support the concept of more power in the later centuries, by contrasting the restriction of Wealhtheow and the power she practices in Beowulf with the Lady’s more direct assertion of power in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight five centuries later.
The way one is seen by others, might not be the way one see one self. Grendel is described as a monster who is only trying to fit in and get along with the people from Hrothgar’s hall. He lives at the bottom of a nearby mere, where he grows to be an “evil” monster. Without having anyone to talk to or anyone to answer his questions, he grows up turned away from all humans where he grows up feeling lonely, “And I, Grendel was in the dark side, he said in effect” (51). Grendel’s life turns out to be the outcast of what he wished it had, that when he turns out to the humans they are scared of him. When Grendel attempts to conduct himself to the humans they show their ignorance and simple-mindedness by getting startled. Grendel’s appearance to the humans is evidence of what makes him evil only because they do not know what he is. They assume he is evil and dark because of his appearance and actions. Grendel, who is left out from the people of Heorot, chooses to take revenge and show the people what evil and dark is. If one is treated wrong one might react “evil” and one will see it as a defense but to others it will be perceived as wrong and mean. One will always s...
Beowulf outlines turmoil between three opponents: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon. These separate discords each serve to fulfill different metaphoric purposes. Grendel’s character epitomizes the adverse persona of how an Anglo-Saxon warrior should not be. His mother represents everything that a woman during the time era should seldom be. Lastly, the Dragon embodies all the values that an Anglo-Saxon king should not dare retain. Without a doubt, the symbolic implications of the monsters in Beowulf bring the context to a new level of understanding.
The fictional world of Grendel has great divides between male and female characters. While the novel is written in a fairly contemporary society, the world that Gardner constructs still follows under the same logic and principle as the ancient writings of Beowulf. The men are overtly masculine and tough, and the women are constructed with extreme passivity; there is marginal middle ground in both worlds. The constructions of how certain genders act are crucial to interrogate in order to understand one’s bias and become cognizant of the variety of gender roles men and women can endorse. The world of Grendel is full of symbols that construct men as violent, sexual creatures and women as passive objects.
...owards Grendel. Gardner’s retelling of Beowulf reinforces the universal idea that there are two, if not more, sides to every story. It is prudent to remember that what is monstrous to some may be perfectly normal to others and recognizing all viewpoints can help bring about a truth: good and evil are not always clear-cut.
As a result of the missions of good and evil forces is completely divergent to one another, there is continuously a battle stuck between the two. This equilibrium of good and evil rise and fall over time is never stable. The effects of good and evil are felt transversely all the sections of the world. The classic Beowulf makes an effort to illustrate both sides of these cultures of good and evil. It also conveys the eternal battle between the two. “Grendel, a monster who lives at the bottom of a nearby mere, is provoked by the singing and celebrating of Hrothgar's followers” (http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projf981e/story.html). Beowulf, prince of the Geats, hears about “Hrothgar's troubles, gathers fourteen of the bravest Geat warriors, and sets sail from his home in southern Sweden” (http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projf981e/story.html). In Beowulf, the author uses light and darkness to accentuate good and evil in the world.
Pagan concepts are intertwined in this work, as is the nature of the time period. Fame was very important. Receiving status allowed one to prosper in this time and receive the best out of their life. Beowulf is enthralled with the idea of fame as he fights Grendel, but it is balanced out and reconciled with Christianity by his desire to protect his people. Vengeance was brought out when Beowulf tells Hrothgar to not grieve and that “It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning” (72 Simpson & David). Honor is disregarded when Beowulf’s men leave him to fight with the dragon. Wilgaf shames them and it can be inferred that they will be disregarded as warriors and nobles for their behavior. Protecting one’s master was essential during that time to receive food and shelter, in addition to having the Gods’ favor (Lawson). Christianity makes an appearance when it references the antagonist, Grendel, “a fiend out of hell” (43 Simpson & David) and the protagonist, Beowulf, whom the “Holy God, in His goodness, guided…to the West-Danes, to defend [Hrothgar and his subjects] from Grendel” (49 Simpson & David). Christianity was a prominent influence for authors of the Anglo-Saxon time period. The Christians had faith in God’s ability to determine their fate. If they lost a contest then God has decided they are not worthy of winning. Every day they will try to prove they are holy enough to have God’s grace and be saved from eternal damnation. The literature written was a reminder to the people to always do what is right and to avoid sinning. Because the only people who could write were priests, religion was added into stories when they were written and when previous works were transcribed. The presence of the church was ever present to ensure the obedience of the people. If all they were exposed to was religion that
In his translation of the excerpt, Raffel uses dark diction to introduce Grendel and his perspective in this poem. He describes Grendel as “Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred”(Raffel 1-2), immediately informing the reader that Grendel is a negative character. Lucien Dean Pearson uses the same dark diction while introducing Grendel, saying “Grendel
One of the first literary work studied by our class was “Beowulf,” the longest and greatest surviving Anglo-Saxon poem. The poem is packed full of Christian and Pagan elements that are constantly fighting for the dominant position. In order to understand these thematic elements portrayed throughout “Beowulf,” we must first discover
One of Grendel’s archenemies is the human. Humans refuse to look beyond Grendel’s unattractive exterior, and spend most of their days trying to kill Grendel. One night when Grendel is watching their mead hall, he sees them “treating their sword-blades with snake’s venom”(Gardner 29). Another conflict between humans and serpents develops when Grendel is watching the Shaper for the first time. As he listens, he “snatche[s] up a snake from beside [his] foot”(40), and holds it in his fist as he listens to the Shaper sing. The snake represents the deceptive weaving of history that the Shaper performs in Hrothgar’s mead hall. Grendel interacts with one of the priests, Ork, in the circle of Gods, by pretending to be the Great Destroyer. Ork predicts that the Great Destroyer will eventually fall, foreshadowing Grendel’s battle with Beowulf. Ork tells his fellow priests about his conversation with the Great Destroyer, but they just “look down at him as they would at a wounded snake”(118). In Grendel’s eyes, all humans are evil, because they refuse to take the time to understand him. Because of this, Grendel battles the humans throughout the novel until one of them finally takes his life.
His contemplation results in the ADD TRANSITION. As Grendel acquires knowledge of the story of Cain and Abel, he discovers himself in a new light: as a dark evil creature. The Shaper explains “an ancient feud between two brothers which split all the world between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was on the dark side...terrible race God cursed. I believed him. Such was the power of the Shaper’s harp” (Gardner 51). The ‘power’ of the Shaper’s songs, full of creatively crafted words, emphasizes that the Shaper possesses the ultimate power to convince Grendel that he is created from darkness. The ‘darkness’ referred to in this statement represents the evil of humanity such as violence which serves as the primary reason for Grendel’s purpose to kill. Although Grendel is categorized into this evil since he’s a descendant of Cain, at this point, his actions do not embody qualities of evil. Grendel’s realization of the darkness within himself alters his perspective of his purpose in life as the creator of the world into a monster cursed by God into isolation. Grendel is easily convinced by the new knowledge provided by the Shaper due his lack of full maturity. In accordance to maturing teens, Grendel also has not completely transformed into an adult so is more facile to
Grendel is the embodiment of all that is evil and dark. He is a descendant of Cain and like Cain is an outcast of society. He is doomed to roam in the shadows. He is always outside looking inside. He is an outside threat to the order of society and all that is good. His whole existence is grounded solely in the moral perversion to hate good simply because it is good.