Beowulf External Conflict Analysis

In Beowulf, conflicts play a large part both within the main character and in the environment around him. In Literature, these are called internal and external conflicts. External conflicts in Beowulf occur when Beowulf fights Grendel and when Beowulf fights with Grendel’s mother. Beowulf feels he has social responsibility for the safety of himself and many others, which constitutes as his conflict within himself.
The first conflict Beowulf encounters is one of his many external problems. Grendel haunted Herot and after two nights left barely anyone. He came back every night, haunting the people of Herot, the kings warriors, anyone he could. The only exception was the King for he was protected by God himself. This shows one of Grendel’s external conflicts in story which is between himself and God. For years and years, this went on and the people, the king and his warriors lived in misery for twelve long winters. After Beowulf, who was stronger than any other warrior , got word of how Grendel was terrorizing Hrothgar, he set off with fourteen other warriors to bring peace to the Kingdom of Herot. This fight is the first example of the external conflicts that Beowulf has.An external conflcit is one that is a problem that comes up people two different things. In this case it is a literal fight between Grendel and Beowulf. This initial

conflict opens the door for many other conflicts along the story, like his fight with Grendel’s mother and his internal conflict. It is also Beowulf’s largest external conflict in the story.
Beowulf fighting Grendel and eventually killing him brings him upon his second conflict.

This second example of the external conflicts was between beowulf and Grendel’s mother. She was set on revenge for her loss and she started her journey to Herot. She was only after one thing though, and that thing she got. She killed the King’s good friend and took the only thing she could have of her son back to her den, Grendel’s claw. The King called again upon Beowulf to avenge his friend’s death and Beowulf accepted to fight her. He travels alone which ties this battle in with his internal battle and sets us up for the rest of the

story.
Conflicts come in two different types and so far the only conflict amongst the story was between two different objects. The other type of conflict occurs within just one object. A perfect example of this type of conflict in this story was Beowulf feeling the responsibility of the people of Herot’s safety not just once but over the course of the tale. A hero to this caliber usually does not have many internal conflicts but this one is often a recurring one. Feeling like the safety of others is in their hands alone puts a large burden on their shoulders and often they make oaths they cannot keep or are extremely difficult to keep true to them. For example, Beowulf brags about not using a sword to take down Grendel. This is key in this story because it shows he is being overly confident for the people.
Across the story, Beowulf encounters many problems. In writing, these are called conflicts. Conflicts can present themselves in many different ways and this stays true for Beowulf. Both internal and external conflicts arise in this story, whether they be one of the many fights or the internal battle within himself. Beowulf takes the responsibility to rid a place of the evils haunting it and he does, but at what cost?