The Role of the Hero in Beowulf

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ABSTRACT

Beowulf is a warrior of Hygelac who was the strongest of men alive in that day. Beowulf was mighty and noble. He learns that a monster named Grendel is terrorizing King Hrothgar and his people, the Danes. He swears to kill the monster with his bare hands and travels to Herot to do so.

Grendel is a terrible and strong monster that terrorizes the Danes. Beowulf becomes a hero when he confronts Grendel and grabs him making Grendel afraid for his fate. Nevertheless, who is the real hero? Some think Beowulf is, but others, think is Grendel. No warrior before Beowulf dared fight Grendel, and Beowulf is able to kill Grendel. Grendel’s mother is angry with Beowulf for he has killed her only son. She attacks the Danes too and Beowulf fights her, killing her also. Grendel is bad because he attacked the Dane warriors and eats them. These attacks make the people and the king fear him.

It is obvious that Beowulf is the hero of the poem. Nevertheless, he becomes a hero for killing both monsters and therefore saving the Danes from the attack. Is the good guy the one who kills the alleged enemy or the one who allows them to live? Is this one the bad guy? Beowulf is the bad guy for he kills Grendel with fierce and no compassion. He prepared himself and planned how to kill Grendel before he arrived in Herot. He also kills Grendel’s mother who wanted to avenge her only son’s murder.

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INTRODUCTION

Beowulf is an anonymous heroic epic poem from the 11th century. It tells the story a brave Hyelac’s warrior who fights a monster named Grendel. Grendel is terrorizing King Hrothgar a...

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...d all that is good. His whole existence is grounded solely in the moral perversion to hate good simply because it is good.

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Grendel is the embodiment of what is dark, terrifying, and threatening. He cannot know God’s great love; therefore he is not a creature of God. He is a powerful ogre that resides in the dark. He is a shadow of death impatient with the Danes. He delights in their blood. Grendel is a shepherd of evil and a guardian of crime. Grendel exhibits his envy towards the warriors as Cain did to his brother. He is jealous of their happiness and attacks wile they have a party or when they sleep or rest. Grendel is lonely.

Beowulf is a great epic depicting the forces of good and evil. It teaches us to stand and fight for what is morally right to face the monsters in our lives and win as Beowulf did.

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