Beowulf encounters three monsters that make him the epic hero that he is.
In the beginning of the story he faces Grendel a descendant of Cain, the father of all demons. Grendel has all the characteristics of a monster, but he also shows many qualities of a human. The reason for his terror is his loneliness, jealousy, and being an outcast. For Beowulf, the news of Grendel is hard to ignore, so he comes to Heorot to kill Grendel. Foster, an expert on all things literature says, “... Someone tells our protagonist, our hero, who need not look very heroic, to go somewhere and do something” (Foster 3). As soon as Beowulf hears about the thirty men that Grendel killed and the abandoned mead hall, he makes it his mission to kill the evil monster. This fight between Beowulf and Grendel is a hand to hand battle, showing the pure,brute strength of Beowulf. “ And I shall fulfill that purpose, prove myself with a
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Fifty years has passed since Beowulf defeated Grendel’s mother and a lot has changed. He is now the ruler of his own empire. His time as king is peaceful until a dragon emerges from its hole that he has been hiding in. The dragon creates havoc and burns down everything including Beowulf’s mead hall. For Beowulf, this is unacceptable and he gathers a few warriors to help kill the dragon. During the fight, Beowulf’s sword is no match for the dragon. This is when Wiglaf, the bravest of his men comes to help Beowulf kill the dragon. The duel between Beowulf and the dragon is his third and final battle that eventually ends his life. “So every man should act, be at hand when needed; but now, for the king, this would be the last of his many labors and triumphs in the world” (183). This fight is similar to the other fights in the sense that Beowulf is willing to risk his life for the greater good of the people. He will win the fight or die
In Beowulf there are three archetypal types of monsters. Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and The Dragon. Each one of the monsters symbolized a factor of Beowulf’s life. Grendel represents the sin in a man’s life. Grendel’s mother represents evil of the people in the anglo-saxon age.
The fight with Grendel happens and when it is over Beowulf is celebrated for winning against the heinous demon. When he returns home, his is greeted by his people and is crowned king of the Geatland, ruling for fifty years before the fateful fight with the
In the story, Beowulf, Beowulf’s first motivation, when fighting the monster Grendel, is his duty. Beowulf has been told by his people that he should fight this great monster. Beowulf possesses the strength and skill to defeat Grendel, therefore he should. This is crucial
Beowulf hurried to the adventures when help was needed. Not only was Beowulf was brave he found fourteen of brave and best Geats and continued to Herot. The battle between Grendel and Beowulf showed bravery with Grendel’s sharp claws and teeth and only Beowulf’s physical strength. While Grendel is snatching at Beowulf he is able to bring his claws back and battle him until his screams and shrieks showed defeat. At the beginning of the battle with Grendel’s mother, he jumped into the lake without an answer.
Beowulf is willing to risk his life by battling battles to protect the people. There are three main battles. The first battled Beowulf had to fight was against Grendel. The second battle, Beowulf had to fight was against Grendel's mother. The third battle, Beowulf fight was against a dragon.
That technique that Beowulf used was something a ninja would do when he is waiting for his pray. Beowulf was able to bend back Grendel claws by using his hands instead of any weapons,that shows me that you sometimes don't need weapons to beat monsters,Also Beowulf by bending Grendel claws was able to scare Grendel so bad, that Grendel wanted to run away from him,so Beowulf put fear into Grendel that's a really good technique. The second battle that Beowulf fought in the epic poem was against Grendel's Mother who wanted to kill Beowulf for killing her son. In this battle Beowulf didn't not wait for Grendel's mother to come to him, he came to her. The weapon that Beowulf used in this battle was a sword and his hands.
Now, he uses Grendel’s magic sword doused in his blood and is ultimately victorious. This victory is, in essence, Beowulf’s entry into adulthood. He now faces complex choices and decisions. The war wounds and the fact that Beowulf is a mere mortal have awakened a deep sense of righteousness in the
The news then eventually reaches Beowulf and he travels with his men and comes to ask permission to fight the monster Grendel and end the bloodbath of the kingdom of Heorot. Hrothgar allows Grendel to attempt to kill Grendel but warns him of the many men that have tried and failed. So when Grendel first attacks the mead hall Beowulf wounds Grendel enough to know that he will not survive his injuries but grendel gets away before Beowulf can give the head of grendel to the king. Thesis:The revenge in Beowulf plays a vital role throughout the story when Grendel 's mother attacks Heorot, when Beowulf takes revenge on grendel 's mother and when a dragon takes revenge on Beowulf 's people because a servant stole one of his magnificent treasures.
Being an epic hero, Beowulf was very brave and battled many immortal creatures. One monster he came across was Grendel. “Conceived by a pair of the monster born of Cain, murderous creatures banned by God..,”(44), Hrothgar’s men would say. This is a reference from the Bible, showing the evil portrayed in the monster Grendel. This monster went to Herot and killed thirty men just because he was hungry.
In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, faces three “monsters” at different times in his life. The poem begins with Grendel, a monster who attacks only in the dark of night, tormenting the kingdom of Hrothgar. The last two sections of the epic detail the conquering by Beowulf of Grendel’s mother and the dragon. The battle between the monsters and Beowulf represent the theme of good versus evil in the poem, as well as the fusion of pagan and Christian ideals in the changing Germanic society. Grendel’s mother’s actions directly juxtapose the role of a woman in this time period, and the greediness of the dragon with his treasure contrasts with the virtues of what would be considered a good king.
His loyalty could be supernatural, relating to his unknown supernatural powers. Therefore, Beowulf tries to prove himself a hero through his three conflictual battles; the Battle with Grendel, the Battle with Grendel's mother, and the final battle with the Dragon. Beowulf proved himself a hero in the Battle with Grendel by showing immense strength. He was so confident in himself that he said, “Why would I let my sword go where my feet are afraid to,”(170); therefore, he was courageous enough to fight the powerful monster with his bare hands.
As the story progress, Beowulf became king of the Geats for 50 years when suddenly a dragon emerged from slumber began to burn down villages. However, Beowulf didn’t pay the slightest attention, but instead ignored what was happening. Finally, when the dragon burns down Beowulf’s throne room Beowulf decided that he needs to deal with the dragon. In Beowulf 's eyes, the lives of his citizens couldn’t even compare to his throne room. When Beowulf prepared to fight the dragon he said, “Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning” (lines 2512-2514).
Beowulf slayed them because he believed it was his duty. No one could defeat these monsters like he could. There had to be a reason Beowulf fought these monsters because he never did it for himself. He put others ahead of himself because he believed it was his moral obligation to. When he fought Grendel he had to defeat him to balance good and evil.
Near the end of his life as a king, Beowulf found that his citizens were being terrorized by a dragon. Although he was old and grizzled, the king took it on in battle. He showed tremendous courage even when knowing the odds were not in his favor. Previously, during his time in Denmark, Beowulf killed Grendel’s mother with the sword made for a giant. This showed his superhuman strength because as an ordinary human being Beowulf was able to handle and control the giant’s sword.
Beowulf went through so much to prove he was worthy enough to protect their kingdom and defeat Grendel. The story Beowulf was a great story to read and a great movie to watch; however, the battles were very eye catching and had a lot of extravagant and heroic doings of Beowulf. The first scenario that I’m going to discuss in the movie and story of Beowulf is The Battle with Grendel. In the movie Grendel attacked Beowulf in the Heriot while everyone was dancing and singing.