Examples Of Good And Evil In Beowulf

1244 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The conflict of good and evil

Hello today I’m going to talk about the sciences of good vs evil in the story “Beowulf” when you read the story Beowulf, you automatically get the feeling of the two sides, good and evil. When you read the story you get the sense of feeling that Beowulf is a good person with a very bright heart, and a very great warrior. On the other hand Grendel is a very evil person with a very bad spirit the story recalls Grendel killing multiple people for no apparent reason.

When Beowulf beat Grendel, and her mother this shows that the power of good always can and will beat the power of evil. Even though Beowulf is killed by the dragon in the end, his brave and fearless death shows that Beowulf had courage and glory in his heart and his soul, making him …show more content…

The evil monsters of Grendel and her family sucked the blood and wantonly until the arrival of Beowulf, the noble retainer, has both strong strength and great wisdom. Once he seizes Grendel, he rips Grendel’s right claw from his shoulder by bare hand. Grendel is being defeated, he flees with fatally wounded.

Beowulf’s victory over Grendel is an example of good prevailing over evil. Beowulf’s victory over Grendel’s mother is another example of good prevailing evil. Grendel’s mother is the “monstrous woman” (Chance 108). Her son’s death motivates her to revenge. As in scholar Jane C. Nitzsche’s critical essay, The Structural Unity of Beowulf: The Problem of Grendel’s Mother, states, “Later that night, Grendel’s mother intent on avenging the loss of her son in the present attacks Heorot, her masculine aggression contrasting with the feminine passivity of both Hildeburh and …show more content…

They erect over his ashes a royal barrow in which they hide the dragon’s treasure. Twelve warriors circle the mound on stalwart seeds, praising the virtues of their slain leader (15-16). This is also an example of good prevails evil since the evil dragon is being defeated even though Beowulf, the epic hero sacrifices himself in the end.

Through Beowulf’s battles against those three evil monsters, Grendel, Gendel’s mother and the fierce dragon, exposes the major theme in the epic, “Good vs. Evil”. Beowulf, the epic hero remains loyal to his kingdom and his people. He performs God’s duty to eliminate all the evil forces in order to save God’s people. His victories on Grendel and his mother show the power of goodness prevails evil. Even though he sacrifices himself, the evil dragon is killed in the end. His heroic death is fulfilled with glory and praise. Work Cited Beowulf. Trans. by Burton

Show More
Related

  • Beowulf The Hero

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    society. In Beowulf, Beowulf shows extraordinary courage and strength that gives him special status. This notion is shown, when Beowulf fights Grendel and Grendel’s mother, but it is especially noticeable when he fights the dragon. When Beowulf fought Grendel others had the courage to attempt to fight him. The same is true with Grendel’s mother. When Beowulf goes to fight the Dragon, the other warriors cower away into the woods. Beowulf shows his courage by fighting the Dragon. Even when Beowulf is fighting the Dragon and realizes that his sword can do no damage he continues to fight. After Beowulf is on the verge of death he shows a combination of courage and strength by delivering the death blow to the Dragon, and not just laying down to die. Beowulf’s strength is shown when he is able to actually do battle with the Dragon; any normal man would have fallen to the dragon immediately.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Nihilistic and Christian Archetypes in Beowulf and John Gardner's Grendel

    2157 Words  | 5 Pages

    The philosophies expressed in the Beowulf epic complement the exploration of existentialism throughout the modern work, Grendel, by John Gardner. Both works portray different perspectives of the same story, involving the same characters; Beowulf, the ancient Anglo-Saxon hero who destroys Grendel, and Grendel, the monster who terrorizes Hrothgar’s hall. Beowulf and Grendel act as archetypes that explore humanity’s perception of the world. In the Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf and his companions represent good, and the monsters, including Grendel, represent evil. When Beowulf kills Grendel, the world is less evil, but since Beowulf’s companions die in the struggle, the world is also less good. Ultimately, the two forces of good and evil will destroy each other, but the story maintains that God will interfere and save mankind from destruction. In Gardner’s story, the progression of society begins when mankind creates a monster and then creates a hero to fight the monster. Once the greater power of the hero had been established, once the conflict’s resolution strengthened society’s power, than a greater monster developed ...

    Read More

  • Good Vs. Evil In Beowulf And Burton Raffel

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the beginning of time, fairy tales, stories and legends have shared a common theme where good and evil are played against each other. In the story of “Beowulf”, translated by, “Burton Raffel”, there is a hero who plays as a good character, and there is also a demon who rules the dark side. The hero Beowulf, agrees to take a journey to conquer the evil monster Grendel. But when Beowulf is trying to defeat the beast, Grendel fights back, causing integrity and generosity to vanish. The common theme in various tales like in Beowulf is, good vs. evil.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Dichotomy In Beowulf

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf is widely regarded as a classic “good versus evil” story. The Beowulf-poet depicts Grendel, his mother and the dragon as the “evil” of this dichotomy. This raises an interesting question concerning the idea of a community: How exactly is “good” distinguished from “evil” in an absolute sense? Given that the Beowulf-poet expresses a tone suggesting that the pagan figures are the evil ones, it is clear that he is biased in his treatment. Still, this tone contradicts some of the events that play out in the epic.

    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

  • The Dichotomy Of Good Vs. Evil In Beowulf

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.”.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Evils In Beowulf

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 …

    Read More

  • Greedy Dragon In Beowulf

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Villains in classical epics often serve the purpose to enhance the hero’s reputation and add to their grandeur. In Beowulf, Beowulf faces two villains as a young warrior: Grendel and his mother, who are both descendants of cain and outcasts of God. Fifty years later, as a king he goes on to face his final villain, the dragon. In a fairly matched battle, Beowulf manages to slay the dragon but also gets killed in the process. The dragon is characterized as greedy, impulsive and wrathful. He enhances the novel by developing themes of mortality, pride, and loyalty.

    Read More

  • The Epic Of Grendel's Metaphamental Monsters In Beowulf

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    While Grendel may possess a brute strength, his lack of wit and logic is what ultimately leads to his downfall and demise. In Beowulf, the actions and character that of Beowulf, or an Epic Hero, define the perfect Anglo-Saxon warrior. Epic heroes are indicated by a variety of traits, including that they, “must look like a hero, they must be noble, famous, strong, courageous, humble, prideful, thick-skinned, self-sacrificing, faithful, focused, be a leader, and have a tragic flaw” (Jones 3). Unfortunately, aside from the ‘tragic flaw’ and ‘strong’ categories, Grendel’s character is antithetical to all characteristics of an Epic Hero. This makes him quite the villain, and a generally despicable character. “Suddenly then, / the God-cursed brute creating havoc: / greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men”

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Epic Of Gilgamesh And Beowulf

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf was a true hero, in the eyes of many, through said traits. He fought a number of battles and was triumphant in all, except his last battle. Beowulf possessed the skills and power necessary to kill Grendel, the monster who had been terrorizing the Danes for over a decade, with his bare hands. While fighting, Beowulf detached Grendel’s arm from his shoulder, which was later hung up as a trophy. Beowulf eventually put an end to Grendel’s life, and naturally, Grendel’s mother had pursued Beowulf. Although Grendel’s mother was an even deadlier monster than her son, Beowulf once again proved his abilities by slaying her, as well. He slashed her neck with a sword that carried unbearable weight. Afterwards, he carried her head with only his own arms, while it took the a...

    Read More

  • The Symbolism in Beowulf

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this reimagining of the roles of good and evil, we see that there is a similar struggle in both stories. Beowulf mirrors it so closely, in fact, that careful consideration of the information plainly available can cause the lines of good and evil to blur perceptually. It is clear that the author of Beowulf had a deep understanding of the concepts of the Biblical creation story and took great care to recreate the struggle of good and evil in his epic.

    Read More

  • The forms of literary evil

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most distinct and obvious forms of evil in literature is physical evil and this takes the forms of many things from the Grim Reaper to monsters. The latter of the two is what we see in the Anglo-Saxon heroic story, Beowulf. In this story we see not just one physical evil, but three: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. All of these creatures were described in their own terms, yet all of their nicknames show that they are pure evil. First we have Grendel who was named the “fiend out of hell” (Heaney 9) and also the “corpse maker” (Heaney 21). While Grendel’s mother was called the “monstrous hell-bride” (Heaney 89) and the dragon was called the “nightmarish destroyer” (Heaney 191). These few nicknames barely scratch the surface of describing how truly evil each of these creatures was, yet even though they were pure evil they were still important to the story. Without these evil creatures Beowulf would not be the hero that we know him to be because he would not have anyone to defeat in battle. It is also because of these different physical evils that we get to the end goal of all evil: death. In this case of Beowulf it comes with the death of all the monsters at the hands of Beowulf in various ways, including ripping off Grendel’s arm...

    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

  • The Battle Between Good And Evil In Beowulf

    472 Words  | 1 Pages

    Good and Evil- The entire poem of Beowulf deals with the battle of good verses evil, good being Beowulf, his followers, Hrothgar, and Hrothgar's people, and evil being Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. In this poem the power of good overcomes all the evils, but not without the lose of life. These lives include that of Beowulf, Aeschere, and many of Hrothgar's people. The clashing of good and evil forces was the main method of creating interest and suspense in the poem.

    Read More

  • Beowulf as an epic

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf’s first accomplishment as an epic hero was his battle with Grendel. Grendel was a huge beast, a descendent of Cain, who ruthlessly murdered innocent Danes because he felt pity for himself. Upon hearing of the Dane’s problem, Beowulf set off to help the Danish without having been called upon. Even though Beowulf had men backing him, He drew battle with Grendel alone and without armor or weapons. Yet, Beowulf emerged victorious with the arm of Grendel as his trophy. Beowulf then went on to kill Grendel’s vengeful mother and a huge fire-breathing dragon who thought it had been done wrong by the Geats. Alas, the killing of the dragon would be Beowulf’s last great battle for the dragon took Beowulf’s life in the struggle for his own.

    Read More

More about Examples Of Good And Evil In Beowulf

Open Document