Beowulf: Good Vs. Evil

Christopher Reeve once said “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endures in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” In other words, a hero is a normal person who is able to be strong and persevere despite difficult obstacles preventing them. In the book, Beowulf, the the nephew of the king of the land of the geats, helps Hrothgar, another king, kill a series of monsters that threaten his kingdom. He helps Hrothgar kill Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and The Firedrake. Beowulf is a hero because he is just an ordinary person who finds the strength to persevere and endure despite the overwhelming obstacles preventing him from doing so. Beowulf embodies Christopher Reeve’s definition of a hero because he defeated the flesh-eating Grendel, who could not be stopped even by groups of elite soldiers. Beowulf also killed Grendel’s mother, a much eviler being who lived in a cave in an endless pool of blood that led to hell. Finally, he defeated The Firedrake, who swelled up and breathed fire when angry.

A final example of heroic qualities shown by Beowulf is his power. The mental and physical strength is mandatory to being a hero. No Dane, before Beowulf’s arrival, is able to defeat Grendel because of fear and

Another heroic trait of Beowulf is his ability to put his people’s welfare before his own. Beowulf’s uncle is king of the Geats so he is sent to help kill Grendel. His actions toward Grendel show that he is willing to help others. In an epic it is usually found that the hero often determines the fate of a nation or group of people. He uses his super-human physical strength

The next example of Beowulf being a hero, are his acts of friendship. Beowulf is able to relate to the people more through his friendship. He shows this when he talks to the king and the king says, “Beowulf you’ve come to us in friendship, and because of the reception your father found at our court” (Beowulf 222-223). This shows that the king was very grateful that Beouwlf made the journey and as a result the king saw Beowulf as a great friend. Beowulf shows his trait of friendship by coming to save the people of Hrothgar even though he did not have to. He wanted to because the people of Hrothgar are his friends and wanted to get rid of Grendel. All of these characteristics and examples show that Beowulf is a true hero by showing his trait of friendship.

A hero is one who is not only strong, but one who uses his strength to uphold others. A hero is humble, philanthropic, magnanimous and selfless, a humanitarian at best. In the unprecedented epic Beowulf, the tale’s namesake exemplifies every characteristic befitting an Anglo-Saxon hero. He is honest, loyal, and courageous. He portrays these characteristics in the battle against Grendel, the affray with Grendel’s mother, and the fight against the dragon that inevitably ended his life.

Morality and society can often refer to the words good vs. evil. People who abide to a certain set of rules reflect good, while others who go against them are immoral. All of us have the capability of doing good and bad things, but whether we choose to be overcome by evil or overcome evil with good, can determine our fate. Much like what Beowulf experiences whenever he goes against Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon. In the novel Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, the clash between good and evil shows Beowulf’s thirst for power and fame.

Everyone experiences the demands of their inner monsters but the one who suppresses the demands of the evil, shapes himself with a heroic figure. Beowulf, an epic poem encircles the inner conflicts encountered by the warriors due to the hindrance of monsters, in the way of attaining treasure. Moreover, the epic also depicts warrior's triumph and attainment of fame, by defeating the physical monsters as well as by overcoming his inner monsters. The valiant warrior, Beowulf attained victory against the three monsters - Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon. His success reflects the accomplishment of bravery, strength, loyalty, generosity and fame, the five significant values of the Anglo-Saxons. Though, these monsters were obstacles in warrior’s path of attaining his

Beowulf is the first story to that was ever written and it set the stage for other stories to come. Good versus evil is at the heart of the epic, and the main character, Beowulf, is the ideal hero for his own story and the right to rule any nation. His bravery, cleverness, and superhuman strength makes him the right man for the job.

The exploits of an epic hero can be seen all throughout the poem, Beowulf. This poem contains the universal theme of good versus evil. Beowulf’s success or failure will determine the fate of the people/nation. Starting the narrative in the middle of the action makes it unique and then, that there is superhuman action occurring just adds to the wonder of the poem. Beowulf contains monsters, dragons, and descriptive battles between man and beast.

The concepts of good and evil are presented all throughout the story of Beowulf. They’re very important to the story and is a consistent theme throughout the text. Beowulf and his battles describe the historical war between those who are fighting for God are good and those who are opposing God are evil and religion is consistent with their roles in Anglo-Saxon society.

Beowulf is an heroic story which has conflict with good and evil That show violence and morality. The symbol that represent good in beowulf. Beowulf show himself as a purity and light Beowulf action show his evil side by defeat a ferocious monster in order to save a kingdom from destruction and death. Beowulf battle with being mean which mean “ Strong, Generous and proud, he try to be the perfect hero because of his life begun as a foundling an infant abandoned by his parents Beowulf have taking upon himself by doing good deeds that will perform to help his countries in need.

Around the time Beowulf was put to paper, the Anglo-Saxon culture in Britain was beginning its transformation into a unified society. During the Early Middle Ages Charlemagne, the Frankish Emperor, initiated a widespread campaign intended to convert the masses to Christianity. As Thomas Noble explains, in an article published by Church History, “The Carolingian period, roughly the eighth and ninth centuries, was dynamic and decisive in European religious history. The ruling dynasty and the clerical elite promoted wave after wave of reform” (287). Noble’s implications about the Carolingian influence in Christianity helps to paint the picture of what life at that time might have looked like in terms of religious landscape. The author of Beowulf

Throughout many forms of literature a common theme that can be seen across books is that no matter how great and evil may be good will always triumph in the end. A similar case of this can be seen in the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf.

motives behind the actions of the good and the evil are related in many ways. People

To defeat the dark and badness of the world you need to first find and adknowledge the darkness in yourself, in the book Beowulf, a New Telling readers will travel with the hero Beowulf as he fights away monsters while also ridding himself of his own, personal demons. Beowulf a new telling is modernized remake of the original medieval epic, Beowulf. Throughout the book readers will find a theme of good versus evil but as they look more closely will also see the theme of man versus self.