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A study of the evolution and character of heroes from ancient times to the present
Why is beowulf significant
Good and evil in literature
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The most important events in Beowulf’s life seem to all be a matter of Dichotomy. Good versus evil. Beowulf encounters perilous monsters throughout his life that no man or woman would ever stand a chance of defeating. Beowulf embodies the classic storybook hero, whom is built with a strong body and a pure heart. Throughout this epic, Beowulf must harness his heroic body and pure heart into destroying the forces of evil in the world. Grendel is a horrid monster filled with evil and bloodthirsty rage; Grendel terrorizes the men of Heorot when he deems them as being too loud in the meadhall. He snatches them up with his bare hands and devours them. Grendel murders fathers and sons, brothers, and uncles. As far as anybody can see, he will never …show more content…
We have a concrete hero character in Beowulf, and a concrete villain in Grendel. We see this as a theme throughout the epic poem. The dichotomy of good versus evil is the fundamental backbone of this piece of literature. It is so significant due to the fact that everything that happens in this book is someway related to good versus evil. If Beowulf wasn’t so good at heart, he would not even be enticed to leave his homeland and go help the danes. Without the drive in Beowulf 's heart to do what is right, all of his heroic moments of glory would not exist. Once this is pointed out to the reader, it becomes so clear that one could wonder why the book isn 't just named: “Beowulf, a Story of Good vs. Evil.”. To Prove this, let 's pretend that Beowulf is evil and see how different this epic poem would become. Beowulf never goes to Herot to defeat Grendel. Therefore he never saves all of those men, and gains the honor and glory he desires. Without Beowulf being pushed to do what he believes is good, the legend behind his name ceases to exist. Beowulf wouldn’t have earned all of the honor and respect that he had, and he would not be a hero or a …show more content…
evil in Beowulf is during his fight with the dragon. The dragon is a venomous serpent hoarding tons of gold and treasure. Beowulf at this point has defeated Grendel and Grendel’s mother, so he has no need to prove his strength or bravery to anybody. The dragon is so scary and evil that almost all of Beowulf’s “loyal” men abandon him. Beowulf refuses to give up against the forces of evil so himself and his most loyal companion: Wiglaf, pursue the dragon. Beowulf clearly doesn 't have as much strength as he used to, as his strikes just deflect off of the dragon’s scales. Beowulf refuses to give up and he ultimately kills the dragon at the cost of his own
Before discussing the evil within Beowulf, what is “good” should be clarified. Beowulf is the main character of the poem. Through the story he fights off the monsters plaguing his and Hrothgar’s people. He is the embodiment of what is thought to be good. “‘Nor have I [The watchman] seen a mightier man-at-arms …
...ash between good and evil. Beowulf is a representation of a Godly figure, possibly Christ, whereas his enemies represent figures of darkness, possibly Satan. Due to his battle with Grendel, Beowulf realises the true abilities of Gods power and develops into a more Saint like character who is more concerned with giving help rather than Gaining fame. He seeks Gods guidance, but looks to pagan ideals when he deems so. Although he never completely takes complete advantage of Gods power, he does earn the fame and glory that he fought bravely for.
The story of Beowulf is incontrovertibly a story of greatness. There was a time when no man was superior to this awesome man. Beowulf led a remarkable life, one that was polarized between his early years of prosperity and virtue and his later years of prosperity, virtue, and downfall.
Beowulf is heroic, so good, so pure, in the book he is light. When he, Beowulf encounters bad or dark, it turns light or good. For instance, when he hears a raven’s hoarse singing and he says “you sound like my toothache…..the raven managed notes of great purity” (77). This shows how heroic he is because the black bird becomes able to be “white” and pure. The fact is that Beowulf is a presence in which evil will succumb. This is also memorable, because evil goes away when Beowulf speaks ,because he has honey in his blood, evil vanquishes and this is how he kills Grendel and Her. In addition, Beowulf is such a hero, for even coming to try against Grendel, he is almost sent by god. The book mentions that Beowulf’s sword “shone in the sunlight
God gives Beowulf the strength the kill Grendel. “Like a man outlawed for wickedness, he must await the mighty judgement of God in majesty.”, this quote shows that even though Grendel is big and scary, he is no match for God. Another “evil” he encounters is Grendel's mother. After hearing her son had been killed, she made sure she would be the one to kill Beowulf. Beowulf is beat up and tired after fighting Grendel but still fights Grendel’s mother to save everyone else. She manages to kill one man, but was not prepared for how strong the Geats warriors were. She retreats to her lair under a lake filled with sea monsters. Beowulf tells Hrothgar to give the treasure that he offered him to his Hygelac if he doesn’t return. Even before going into battle, he is still thinking about other people. “In a corner, Beowulf sees Grendel's lifeless body. Still in fury at Grendel's awful deeds, he cuts off Grendel's head.”, even though Beowulf is good, he still has flaws. He still has anger but that doesn’t make him as evil and Grendel and his mother.
Beowulf is an epic hero who is strong, brave, and courageous. However, the reasons why he fights evil is only to gain fame and reputation, not for moral reasons. Yet Beowulf is still the ultimate victor every time. In the epic poem, Beowulf the major theme is how good always defeats evil no matter the reason.
Beowulf, A New Telling by Robert Nye, shows how that although he had many weaknesses, by acknowledging them they became his strengths. Beowulf cages his own evil, and by doing so, he allows himself to fight the other evils of the world. Beowulf, although he had his own evil, chains it. This separates him from the evil beings of the story, such as Grendel and She, and allows him to fight them without losing his life.
Although evil always looks to be an unstoppable force at times, good always prevails and comes out on top and it is displayed in the epic Beowulf. In the epic all hope looks to be lost by the powerful evil presence, but good jumps in and triumphs over the evil and secures a victory over the evil. With having a theme of good versus evil the main characters Beowulf and Grendel serve purpose to the story's resolution and for their fighting side.
The fight with the monster, Grendal; the fight with Grendel’s mother; and with the dragon all show the qualities of a strong responsible leader. Beowulf is a epic hero who performs great deeds throughout this poem. Beowulf would always be remembered as a strong, responsible leader who risks death for glory. The definition of a hero according to Merriam Webster dictionary “is a person, typically man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievement, or noble qualities.” The definition of a hero shows that Beowulf has all of the qualities of a true
Lurking evil combatted by bravado and strength appears throughout the poem. Right from the start, the author addresses the conflict. “Times were pleasant for the people there,” the epic begins, “until finally one, a fiend out of hell, began to work his evil in the world.” However, Beowulf quickly rushes to the people’s aid. “When he heard about Grendel, [Beowulf] was on home ground, over in Geatland. There was no one else like him alive. In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth.” Two other villains in the story also utilize this same theme, Grendel’s mother and the Dragon. This tenuous balance between forces of good, and the underlying malice of the villain resolves only with the mutual death of Beowulf and his final foe, the Dragon.
The author applies character to show his theme where there’s evil there’s good to fight it. For example “ that agony hung on king and people alike, harsh and unending, violent and cruel and evil.In his far-off home Beowulf, Higlac’s follower and strongest of the Geats--greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world--heard how Grendel filled nights with horror” (lines 106-112). Beowulf heard about the troubles King Hrothgar was having in his kingdom that Grendel, this unstoppable monster was killing the king’s men in their sleep and Beowulf being the cocky hero he is must kill Grendel. Grendel the monster which is evil and doing cynical acts is found out by Beowulf and now Beowulf has to defeat him to protect the king and his people also to get more fame.
evil in the conflicts in the two main characters who represent good and evil in Beowulf. For Beowulf, his conflict meant overcoming obstacles. This can be most directly seen in his battle against Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. However, overcoming other obstacles that made him the man he is explain how good he really is, such as fighting the sea monsters underwater. Also, when Beowulf does overcome these external conflicts, there is never much internal conflict, mainly because of how brave he is. This makes Beowulf seem as if he is some sort of superhuman, however as is shown in the end, he is not superhuman. The fact that he is not superhuman makes his bravery and strength even more unbelievable. The enormity of his strength and bravery with the lack of internal conflict truly exemplify how Beowulf represents all that is good in the world. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Grendel, the first enemy we are introduced to, has conflicts as well. Other than Grendel’s fight with Beowulf, before that Grendel attacks the Danes because of jealousy. Since all descendents of Cain were banished from going outside during day, Grendel is jealous of the Danes, because they can lead a happy life on the earth. Instead of controlling his jealousy, Grendel decides to terrorize the Danes during night time. The final example of Grendel showing non-heroic or evil themes is his cowardice when he battles Beowulf, and at the end of the battle instead of finishing it, he runs away. The qualities of cowardice and jealousy, as well as committing murder, show how Grendel is the opposite of Beowulf and the representation of evil in the epic
In the epic poem Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney; the protagonist Beowulf is a hero “whose name was known for courage,” (340) and who travels across “the swan’s road and search out that king, / The famous prince who needed defenders,” (199-201). Beowulf knows he will have to come face to face with a beast he hasn’t met yet. However, Beowulf is not afraid, his purpose in life is to serve others in any way possible even if he has to pay the ultimate sacrifice to do so. These qualities make Beowulf a hero. Unlike Grendel “a powerful demon” (86), who is part of “Cain’s clan” (106) whose ultimate goal is to terrorize the Danes by any means possible. Grendel has been outlawed by the creator, so he spends time “haunting the marches” (103) and
In many ways, Beowulf, as translated by Burton Raffel, the fight good versus evil is the poem's main and most significant focal point. This poem tells the conflict between a brave, loyal warrior and the monsters and demons from hell itself. The forces of good battle the forces of evil again and again, knowing that one day they’ll be defeated, but at least they will die fighting. The multiple battles fought between good and evil aren't very much about morals as it is about fate, or even reputation. Although his super-human capabilities are expressed, Beowulf embodies all that is good. The monsters fought, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon, all embody evil, and in battling
Grendel is a mean, vicious monster that killed 30 danes late at night when he went out hunting. He got furious with the danes dancing, singing and drinking late at night while he was trying to sleep. For instance, the author says, “A powerful monster, living down in the darkness, growled in pain, impatient as day the music rang loud in that hall, ‘the harp’s rejoicing call and the poet’s clear songs” (Beowulf 1-5). Grendel has a fear unlike Beowulf. The moment he first meets eyes with Beowulf his first thought was to run and go hide back in his lair with his mother (Beowulf 540-541). Once that thought came to his mind it was too late for him to return home to his mother. Soon enough, Beowulf was fighting him and he tore his arm off of his body. After, Grendel got away and ran to go hide. Very soon after Grendel died from loss of blood and his mother was furious and went to avenge her only son. Beowulf won this battle, but he would need to be able to win against Grendel’s furious, evil