The dragon or serpent is a figure commonly found throughout various religious texts, myths, and legends. Often the antagonist of the hero in the story, in these stories the hero is slaying the beast in order to save the kingdom or the fair maiden. Often, this monster is overlooked as a simple task for the hero to become the hero, and yet the dragon or serpent represents so much more. This mythical, fictional monster or the “Shadow” is a part of us all, as Jungian psychology would suggest. Although a universal character in many different religions and myths, the dragon is unchanging across all tales in that it symbolizes the side of the self that we repress and exemplifies the need to conquer and face the repressed side of our selves. In almost …show more content…
In fact, we try to not acknowledge that they are even part of us. This can be both the good and bad things we repress, but the dragon or serpent symbolizes those which are negative. Take Typhoios for example. In Hesiod’s Theogony, Earth gives birth to a terrifying creature that is said to have many heads like that of a terrifying dragon and out of its mouth comes a cacophony of ear splitting noises (Hesiod). These noises are chaos, representing our own chaotic voices that we try to subdue with happy thoughts and avoidance. Furthermore, in The Epic of Gilgamesh, the serpent isn’t a main antagonist, and yet it is what ultimately steals Gilgamesh’s immortality from him (Thompson). Once Gilgamesh retrieves the plant that is to grant him immortality, a serpent eats it and gains immortality (Thompson). The serpent symbolizes the negative characteristics that we try to repress, like greed and jealousy. Similarly in Conversations with Ogotemmeli, the serpent is a thief representing greed (Griaule). In addition, one of Loki’s children in Bulfinch’s Mythology is the Midgard serpent which is cast into the depths of the sea and is said to stretch around the world
These detailed descriptions of a simple tattoo create a vivid image of seemingly mythical proportion. The words “neat lines” and “blue swirls” suggests that the setting of the scene is supernaturally created, as lightning strikes are seldom “neat” nor are ocean waves “blue” in reality. Yet, this supernatural setting provides a fitting backdrop, for the violence and struggle in the foreground. Serpents and dragons are certainly supernatural beings: both are associated with great power, violence and destruction. The word “twist” may describe the natural movement of the body of the serpent, but can also suggest that its body is twisted out of shape from great exertion or from sustained injuries.
In the novel Grendel by John Gardner, the protagonist is a beastly creature, of whom the title of this novel takes after. Grendel closely follows a monomyth formed by Joseph Campbell. This monomyth is based on the belief that “the mind of each person has inherited archetypes that are either repressed or manifested through the experiences of the individual.” Something incredibly significant in the interpretation of this theory is “The Shadow.” Based on this monomyth, this is the part of the mind that contains our darkest desires and urges. The novel Grendel provides numerous examples of which the protagonist battles this part of his mind.
The dragon is portrayed as the undefeatable evil. He is nearly invincible, breathes fire, and manages to fatally wound the ultimate hero of the poem. This makes him the ultimate evil Although Beowulf does defeat the dragon, the battle ends in a tie, since both sides perish, which shows the never ending balance between the two extremes: good and evil. The theme of loyalty is also explored here. When the battle between Beowulf and the dragon first begins, “[his] hand-picked troop/ broke ranks and ran for their lives” (1129). This is a common archetype that allows the hero to face the antagonist alone, all while having assistance during the journey leading up to the final battle. The author used this to emphasize the Anglo-Saxon belief of fate. Beowulf was supposed to face the dragon alone, thus his comrades had to disappear. The two ways to do this would have been to have Beowulf go alone, which would conflict with the belief of Warrior Culture, or portray his allies as cowards which would also help reinforce the Anglo Saxon values regarding courage. Thus by adding in the archetype of the cowardly allies, the author creates an emphasis on the important parts of Anglo-Saxon culture without relying on
Across different works like Virgil’s Aeneid and Aeschylus’ Eumenides, In these representations of monsters, the initial relationship between gods and monsters is simple: all monsters derived from the gods. However, as soon as distinguishing features set the monsters apart, they prove Clay’s point that monsters are seen as threats who need to be contained and whose powers need to be exploited by the gods. The close reading of both texts reveal the relationship between gods and monsters along with the power structures between
When I was little, I used to stay up late at night, watching old movies with my father. He worked at night, so on his nights off, he often could not sleep. Our dad-daughter bond was, no doubt, forged by our love of old black and white and even cheesy films. It was on one of those late nights that I first saw a huge snake coiled next to a tree, draped in a glittery sheep’s fur. I am sure that my eyes were big in awe the whole time, for to this day, when I watch or even read mythological stories, I feel the same childhood awe.
In the last and final phase of the sequence, according to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality, the Superego is the component of personality composed of our internalized ideals that we have acquired from our parents and from society. The Superego works to suppress the urges of the id, and tries to make the ego behave morally, rather than realistically (Friedman). The fight with the dragon is the ultimate test of Beowulf’s maturity. Beowulf grew
Knowledge of historical literature gives us insight into the traditions and societal conventions of the time in which the piece was written. One outstanding example comes from Anglo-Saxon times. Beowulf is a literary work which enables a reader to glimpse not only the societal customs but into the savage and seemingly uncontrollable environment of the first century. Literary historian, Raymond Chambers points out that in the fight between Grendel and Beowulf it appears as though Grendel is representative of the degraded form of human life attempting to gain power through violence, in his attempt to overthrow Hrothgar and take control of Heorot he is fatally wounded by Beowulf. Beowulf is a character who exemplifies the collective societal agreement as to the role of a hero and his duty to control a seemingly ungovernable environment (Chambers 46). The Beowulf poet describes Grendel and Beowulf as "Both ..enraged, fury filled, the two who meant to control the hall." (Beowulf 36). The fight for control of the hall could be seen as representative of the struggle between good and evil or perhaps the control of the king over an uncontrollable people. Taking into account Mr. Chambers explanation of Grendel, a reader may also reason that the dragon symbolizes a threat from outside the human realm. One notes that the dragon is not given the humanistic qualities of Grendel, he has no kin and appears to have no mortal thoughts. Due to his lack of humanistic characteristics, the reader may believe that the dragon is less representative of a human threat such as an enemy warrior, etc.
In contrast, Beowulf is seen as a hero, even when exemplifying the violent and dangerous qualities the dragon is feared for. Anglo-Saxon society prized loyalty, personal valor, and fame. In order to be a hero, one must recognize the need to act, and not shy away from it. The dragon, based on that definition, embodies the Anglo-Saxon idea of a hero: it is loyal to its cause, it is a good warrior, and it recognizes the need to act. It even has a sense of justice and a sense of wrong, shown by the way it reacted to the theft of the chalice. The dragon becomes vengeful and defensive, using cruelty as a means to correct the wrong. Described as “the guardian of the mound” (2302), the dragon’s intent is identical to Beowulf’s. Beowulf is seen as a hero not only because of his actions, but because he is human. The only thing that makes the dragon different is its inhuman qualities, and therefore it is a monster, a “ground-burner” (2713). Heroism in Anglo-Saxon society is a concept embodied by warriors and guardians, who would vie to be the most well-known. Heroism, to the Anglo-Saxons, is an excuse to use cruelty as a way to further one’s fame. It is a social crutch of sorts, leaned on for the vain chance to be immortal. When Beowulf agrees to fight the dragon, it is to have a heroic death, so he may be remembered. In the battle, just as with Grendel and Grendel’s mother,
One of Grendel’s archenemies is the human. Humans refuse to look beyond Grendel’s unattractive exterior, and spend most of their days trying to kill Grendel. One night when Grendel is watching their mead hall, he sees them “treating their sword-blades with snake’s venom”(Gardner 29). Another conflict between humans and serpents develops when Grendel is watching the Shaper for the first time. As he listens, he “snatche[s] up a snake from beside [his] foot”(40), and holds it in his fist as he listens to the Shaper sing. The snake represents the deceptive weaving of history that the Shaper performs in Hrothgar’s mead hall. Grendel interacts with one of the priests, Ork, in the circle of Gods, by pretending to be the Great Destroyer. Ork predicts that the Great Destroyer will eventually fall, foreshadowing Grendel’s battle with Beowulf. Ork tells his fellow priests about his conversation with the Great Destroyer, but they just “look down at him as they would at a wounded snake”(118). In Grendel’s eyes, all humans are evil, because they refuse to take the time to understand him. Because of this, Grendel battles the humans throughout the novel until one of them finally takes his life.
Beowulf’s life was truly epic struggle. The monsters he battled made it so. Grendel and the dragon, capable of crushing men physically, stood for evils that could just as easily crush men in spirit. These two beasts represented society’s greatest fears, as well as detriments, and Beowulf fearlessly took them on. Grendel taught the hero a valuable lesson about maintaining one’s humanity in a world dominated by the dogs of war. The dragon, showed Beowulf’s mortality, his imperfection, but the hero eradicates it nonetheless, saving his people from not only physical threat, but sin. Bringing in such spiritual and moral dimensions, these two beasts certainly give the story of Beowulf depth.
epic poems, dragons play major antagonistic roles. The foe of Beowulf and the two dragons in The
Yet this slave does more than stumble upon the dragon’s mound; he also “[handles] and [removes] a gem-studded goblet; it gained him nothing, though with a thief’s wiles he [outwits] the sleeping dragon” (ln. 2216-2219). Thus disturbed, the dragon is enraged. It is due to this slave’s selfish motives—and those of the men with whom he returns to pillage more—that the dragon’s wrath on people burns. Thus, out of revenge “[the] hoard-guardian [scorches] the ground as he [scours] and [hunts] for the trespasser who had troubled his sleep. Hot and savage, he ke[e]p[s] circling and circling the outside of the mound” (ln. 2293-2295).
The Genus Varanus komodoensis, or more commonly known as the Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard on Earth. The Komodo dragon belongs to the class reptilian and the phylum Chordata. They are a species of Monitor Lizard that have been isolated for millions of years on the islands in Indonesian Archipelago and were not discovered until the First World War (Diamond, 1994).
We carry our past with us, the primitive and irrational mind with its inner desires and emotions, and it is only with an enormous psychic effort that we can detach ourselves from this burden. And when masks shatter down like in Sagazan’s transfiguration, there is our shadow to remind us that we are the monsters. In the very end this is like the process of covering and uncovering, a way to adopt a role, to perform a raw character, to paint our self-portrait.
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