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. To begin, the setting of where Beowulf and Grendel live, are very distinct. Beowulf creates a lavish hall, called Heorot, to house his army of men, when the hall is finished the Danish warriors gather together …show more content…
under it’s roof to celebrate. The hall is filled with loud joyful music and singing of the ancient beginnings. The story explains, “The almighty making the earth, shaping theses beautiful plains marked off by oceans, then proudly setting the sun and moon to glow across the land and light it” (Burton Raffel 1). To clarify, this part of the story, Beowulf is a generous hero who is good to all of his people. His people lives happily in his hall. On the other hand, a man eating demon named Grendel, lives with his mother and other monsters at the bottom of a nearby mere. The story illustrates, “Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild marshes, and made his home in a hell, not hell but earth” (Burton Raffel 1). To elucidate, this creature lives unhappy, lurking in the darkness, plotting his next attack. Grendel is a monster that represents evil, who poses great danger to the people that live at Herot. Moreover, “Burton Raffel” incorporates divergent tones in the story of Beowulf.
Unferth is son of Ecglaf, who spoke bitterly and sharp of Beowulf’s adventure. Unferth announces, “You’ve been lucky in your battles, beowulf, but i think your luck may change if you challenge Grendel, staying a whole night in his hall, waiting where that fiercest of demons can find you” (Burton Raffel 8). To illuminate, Unferth is utilizing a tone of jealousy toward Beowulf, and he envies him, because no one in Denmark has ever acquired glory and fame greater than Beowulf. Unferth came up with an evil plan, challenging Beowulf to defeat the powerful monster, Grendel. However, Beowulf proves Unferth wrong, by explaining the real truth. Beowulf claims, “What man, anywhere under heaven’s high arch, has fought in such darkness, endured more misery, or been harder pressed? Yet i survived the sea, smashed the monsters’ hot jaws, swam home from my journey” (Burton Raffel 9). To interpret, Beowulf implies a tone of confidence. Beowulf expressed, that he fought nine giant sea monsters in the darkness, showing good vs. evil. There is no other man who could have survived the sea of evil creatures and still make it home after his
journey. Furthermore, there are various qualities to a character, like in the story Beowulf. Grendel is an enormous evil creature who possesses superhuman strength. The story surmises, “Their points could not hurt him, the sharpest and hardest iron could not scratch at his skin, for that sin-stained demon had bewitched all men’s weapons, laid spelled that blunted every mortal man’s blade” (Burton Raffel 14). To construe, Grendel, is characterized as an evil demon that no man can destroy. He was raised to be wicked, and never had a chance to become good. Grendel seeks vengeance on good rather than evil because of his family history. However, Beowulf is strong and courageous, he is also the prince of Geats. He is considered as the hero of all heros. The story articulates, “ Beowulf’s followers rode, mourning their beloved leader, crying that no better king had ever lived, no prince so mild, no man so open to his people, so deserving of praise” (Burton Raffel 26). To define, Beowulf’s people praised him and will always remember the great hero he always was. His followers will never forget that Beowulf fought against evil for the sake of his people. In conclusion, many fairy tales, stories, and legends have a similar theme, where good goes against evil. There will be a hero who plays good, while a demon plays evil. In this case, Beowulf is the hero who defeats the demon, and Grendel, who is the evil monster that causes danger to all people. No matter how strong evil is, good will always find a way to destroy it, and will bring integrity and generosity back to life.
Unferth seems to be jealous of the courage that Beowulf has to kill Grendel. This jealousy is demonstrated through the distorted version of a swimming race between Breca and Beowulf. Also Unferth wants to be the one who kills Grendel for his king, Hrothgar. This goes along with Thesis VI: Fear of the Monster Is really a Kind of Desire, which Beowulf is a symbol of something that Unferth desires he could be.
In times before printed books were common, stories and poems were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. From such oral traditions come great epics such as England’s heroic epic, Beowulf. In Beowulf, the monster Grendel serves as the evil character acting against the poem’s hero, as shown by his unnatural strength, beast-like qualities, and alienation from society.
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.
Beowulf is a classic hero in Beowulf for he fits the epitomized romantic mold so perfectly. His appearance is that of a hero, he is large, muscular, and intimidating. His intentions are also in the right place, he wishes to free Hrothgar’s people from the evil that is Grendel. He is a mature man, one who in the face of belittlement responds respectably and effectively. “Then up spoke Unferth…”Are you that Beowulf who with Breca swam on the broad sea-swell struggling together proud wave-wrestlers wagering your lives with reckless boasting risking for praise deep water-death?...” Beowulf answered…”and you were never known for such deeds nothing to brag of renowned as you are for killing your brothers…” (p.17-18 Beowulf) Beowulf doesn’t put Unferth down; rather he reminds him that he has no place to talk of heroic deeds and moves on.
Everyone remembers the nasty villains that terrorize the happy people in fairy tales. Indeed, many of these fairy tales are defined by their clearly defined good and bad archetypes, using clichéd physical stereotypes. What is noteworthy is that these fairy tales are predominately either old themselves or based on stories of antiquity. Modern stories and epics do not offer these clear definitions; they force the reader to continually redefine the definitions of morality to the hero that is not fully good and the villain that is not so despicable. From Dante’s Inferno, through the winding mental visions in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, spiraling through the labyrinth in Kafka’s The Trial, and culminating in Joyce’s abstract realization of morality in “The Dead,” authors grapple with this development. In the literary progression to the modern world, the increasing abstraction of evil from its classic archetype to a foreign, supernatural entity without bounds or cure is strongly suggestive of the pugnacious assault on individualism in the face of literature’s dualistic, thematically oligopolistic heritage.
The epic poem Beowulf, an abundance of apparent evils such as the monsters. What about the not-so-apparent ones? Often the true evil hides behind what is obvious to us. In modern society, evil is everywhere because it resides inside society itself. Although the story of the warrior Beowulf is riddled with evil monsters, the true evil lies just beneath the surface.
Ethics is a wide field of philosophical study to which the core of every question within falls to one side of a blurred line. On the right, is good; the value which is popularly believed to be the correct alignment for which a person should live their life according to. On the left, is evil; that which is the cause of most human misery, and prevents peace on earth. In John Gardner’s book Grendel, the retelling of the ages old story Beowulf, further blurs the line between good and evil. Circumstance and perhaps a confused view of reality allow the monster, Grendel, to conceivably defend his evil beliefs. In order to better understand evil, using Grendel as a guide, I intend to attempt to justify it.
In the epic poem Beowulf, the struggle between good and evil reveals its omnipresence in even the oldest of tales. The many allusions and symbols throughout the story relate to Christianity and other Pagan beliefs. By looking at them, it becomes apparent that the author of Beowulf believed that the constant war between good and evil is not only fought by the common man but also in the ranks of their highest esteemed rulers and warriors, and even in their dreaded nightmares where monsters lurk and wait for the death of man. Beowulf was written during the budding of Christianity in England, when it was newly forming. In the story there are obvious references to Christian rituals.
The character Beowulf, “a man of great strength and bravery” (Magill 388), is a hero in the way he defends his neighboring country, Denmark. When the word that a hostile creature, known as Grendel, was killing tons in Denmark, Beowulf set sail to help defend the people and rid them of the hideous monster.
Beowulf begins with a history of the Danish kings. Hrothgar is the present king of the Danes. He builds a hall, called Heorot, to house his army. The Danish soldiers gather under its roof to celebrate and have fellowship with each other. Grendel, who lives at the bottom of a nearby swamp, is awakened and disgusted by the singing of Hrothgar's men. He comes to the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. For the next twelve years Grendel stalks the mead hall known as Heorot.
In the the epic poem Beowulf, several contrasting symbols and pieces of imagery contribute to the overarching theme of the fight between good and evil. Whether comparing the characters in Beowulf, their respective environments, or their motives, it becomes very clear that an immense separation between the worlds of good and evil characterizes the story.
Beowulf was seen as a good hero throughout the whole epic, and light was seen as a symbol of good like his armor was light and shining. Grendel was seen as an evil monster that attacked, murdered men and brought terror to Herot. Darkness was seen as a symbol of something evil lurking nearby and Grendel’s lair. Good and evil took place between Beowulf and Grendel, Beowulf and Grendel 's mother, and Beowulf and the dragon at the end of the poem when he was really old. The theme of good versus evil had an overall effect on the epic poem by stating that no matter how much evil is in the this earth, it will always lose against good. This was demonstrated and portrayed when Beowulf defeated the dragon. Even though he was also killed, the loyal Wiglaf carried on the goodness and became king. In the end good won over evil just like it always
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.
Unferth tries to put Beowulf down by saying that Beowulf once risked his life for pride and foolish boast. He also points out that Breca has beaten Beowulf in the swimming and that he therefore expects him to lose the fight with Grendel as well. Unferth is arrogant, obnoxious and the only one who challenges Beowulf. However, later when Beowulf fights with Grendel's mother, Unferth lends him his sword. This can be seen as a noble gesture, and a redemption of Unferth for the way he has behaved. However, it can also provide further proof of Unferth's incompetence as a warrior. Because he is scared to fight himself, he passes on his sword to Beowulf.
The story of good vs. evil is one that dates back to the beginning of time itself. In the epic Beowulf this is no different; the forces of good and evil are in constant conflict with each other. Beowulf, the good hero, is “praised over and over again” for his glorious and continued victories over the forces of evil (Heaney: Celebration at Heorot: 131). On the other hand, the evil characters, such as Grendel and Grendel’s mother, are not only “malignant by nature”, but also constantly terrorize the citizens near them, defiantly rebelling against the forces of good. (Heaney: Heorot Is Attacked :131). Grendel is a demon, the descendant of the cursed Cain from Biblical times, is seen as the embodiment of evil, and none but Beowulf can overpower