Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and the Dragon in Beowulf

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Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are all Beowulf’s enemies who all wreck havoc on innocent people. This causes the Geat warrior Beowulf, to come and fight them up until his death in battle.
When Beowulf is at a young, strong age, all he wants to do is fight and seem larger than life to everyone around him and to those who hear his story. The first monster he encounters is a demon named Grendel. Grendel wreaks havoc on Danish warriors being jealous that he is a spawn of Cain which causes him to be forced to drift around the world with no companions and be alone forever (Bodek). Grendel’s family lives in middle earth and all they do is plan and attack man (Lee). Grendel is mad at all humans and instead of trying to make peace, for which he has no reason to, eventually, he decides to kill (Irving). The torture Grendel had been putting on Herot had grown so popular; stories were traveling to other countries (Beowulf).
Because stories had traveled all over, Beowulf soon hears about the torture put on the innocent people. Beowulf, being full of him, tries to prove his heroism by fighting in dangerous ways that often does not prove his heroism (Vaught). With this mindset, Beowulf decides to fight Grendel with no armor, weapons, or help. The night before, a great party is held in the meed hall to draw Grendel out of his hole in the ground. Everyone there is interested in Beowulf’s travels and previous victories. As Beowulf tells his tale, he then trusts himself and is no longer afraid or nervous about his encounter with Grendel (Tolkien).
When Grendel finally shows up at the meed hall, no words are exchanged. Beowulf, completely bare, goes on the attack. The fight between Beowulf and Grendel is an all out fight to the de...

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... of Eden: Four Essays on the Design of Old English Poetry. Alvin A. Lee. Yale University Press, 1972. 171-223. Rpt. in Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Ed. Dennis Poupard and Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1988. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
Tolkien, J. R. R. "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics." Proceedings of the British Academy 22 (1936): 245-295. Rpt. in World Literature Criticism, Supplement 1-2: A Selection of Major Authors from Gale's Literary Criticism Series. Ed. Polly Vedder. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1997. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
Vaught, Jacqueline. "Beowulf: The Fight at the Center." Allegorica 5.2 (Winter 1980): 125-137. Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Ed. Carol T. Gaffke and Anna J. Sheets. Vol. 22. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.

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