Examples Of Evil In Beowulf

In the Epic Beowulf, composed in the 8th century, the reader follows the protagonist, Beowulf, on a series of adventures to defeat three key monsters. This old English poem uses a series of motifs to help develop its themes, known as dichotomies. Dichotomies, defined as “opposites on the same spectrum,” range from good and evil to young and old, light and dark to Christianity and paganism. All these dichotomies are represented clearly in the text; however the concept of Heroes and Villains can be pulled in many different directions. Although Beowulf is always the hero, it is questionable as to if his three opponents are simply “villains.”

In the epic poem Beowulf, there is an obvious distinction between good and evil. The hero and his foes play roles that are commonly associated with Anglo-Saxon literature. The lines are clearly drawn and expressed in the poem. As the story moves, the reader cannot mistake the roles being played, based on the characterizations in the epic, one recognizes each character for their purpose and place.

The battle between good and evil and the inevitable victory of the good is very evident in Beowulf. There is a power struggle between the divine and the sinister throughout the novel, and the divine come out on top, every time. No matter who Beowulf decides to fight, he always leaves victorious. It also shows how disgusting, cruel, and dehumanized all of his opponents are. This all ties together to show us this idea of a struggle between the good and the evil in Beowulf.

    Heroes can be in our everyday life or someone you’ve seen only once but all of our heroes have something in common. Their heroic traits make up who they are and some character traits my heroes have in common are kindness, courage, intelligence, and empathy. Beowulf is also a hero in my eyes because he possesses all of these traits and more. What traits do your heroes have in common? Robert Nye’s long poem, Beowulf: a New Telling, is a fictional long poem about a hero, Beowulf, who constantly battles the face of evil in many forms. The theme of this text is about good vs. evil which shows up many times, one after another. To start, Beowulf as a young warrior portrayed many traits of a hero such as brave and fearless

While the initial judgments of the main character Beowulf were that he was seen as the hero of the fictional epic poem “Beowulf” by an anonymous writer, this assertion may be skewed with the information of the reasonings alluded by the narrator as to why this character vanquished the monsters. The evidence of Beowulf showing that his actions of slaying the monsters were for the prominence of the title shows that Beowulf cannot be portrayed as a true hero for he did not have the selfless characteristics a warrior at this timeline would usually be seen possessing.

Throughout history we have seen different kind of battles and duels, but all of this confrontations have always represented the good vs. the evil. There has been demons, monster, and even the mind of a human itself, but good has always found a way to keep the world balanced. There has always been different ways in which evil has been presented, but I believe that the most awful and dreadful one is the devil. The devil controls every other dreadful creature in the world, he is the reason why evil exists. Even though we always picture monster and demons as the representation of evil, humans can also be evil, and we can be even worse.

     Some literary scholars maintain that Beowulf developed character flaws through the course of the long narrative poem, and that at the time of his death he was a victim of pride, avarice, selfishness and an inordinate craving for glory. The purpose of this essay is to show that he was a tremendous hero from beginning to end.

Whether you are arguing with your siblings, with a stranger at a baseball game, during a debate, with your parents or children, you are fighting for what you believe is right. You perceive yourself as the “victim” in the situation by trying to justify your reasoning behind the argument. Some people may perceive you as the good or as the evil because they believe that you have done nothing wrong, you were being perverse or fighting for the wrong reason. The epic poem Beowulf, is a super-eminent literary example that represents the good and evil in the characters and what they are fighting for. In this fictional poem, in which the author is unknown, the protagonist Beowulf encounters three major battles with a monster named Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and a dragon. Each character is fighting for a certain reason and believe their reason is more dominant. The two audiences that view the characters as good or evil is the Danes and the narrator. Since the characters in the poem believe they're justified in their actions, they prove to not be all evil or all good. In fact, they should be judged based on the rationale behind their actions to fight.

Throughout the story of Beowulf the main idea in the story is the constant battle between good and evil. Beowulf, the main character in the story is the so called hero in the people's eyes because of his bravery and skill to go and fight the evil forces ruining people's lives and defeat those forces in order to make things better for those that are being harmed. The battles of good vs. evil in Beowulf can be compared to many different things we have going on in modern day all around us. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the battle of good vs. evil in modern day would be the constant battle of the good people as in the Armed Forces fighting the evil, that being terrorism. The United States Military would be the Beowulf of modern

The first example of a force of evil in Beowulf is the monster Grendel. Before Beowulf shows up in Denmark, Grendel has been terrorizing the mead hall there, killing the men who guarded it, “the God-cursed brute was creating havoc: he grabbed thirty thirty men from their resting places and rushed to his lair” (Heaney 121-123). Grendel continues terrorizing the Danes for twelve winters before any sort of help shows up. When Beowulf shows up to the Danish lands, he waits for Grendel to strike before making his move to fend himself from Grendel’s brutishness, “His talon was raised to attack Beowulf/ He was bearing in with open claws when the alert hero’s comeback forestalled him utterly” (745-748). Grendel was ready to strike down Beowulf where he rest but Beowulf was able to protect himself from his vicious attacks. After Grendel was slain by Beowulf, the balance was shifted towards the good and Beowulf is showered with praise after defeating a large force of evil: “You have won renown: you are known to all men far and near, now and forever” (1221-1222). After defeating the beast that no one else could that had terrorized the people for many winters and restoring balance, King Hrothgar compensates Beowulf with glory and riches.

Goodness is also showed throughout the story as having the ability to cleanse evil. For example, when Beowulf defeated Grendel with his bare hands and then only to defeat Grendel’s mother no matter how tired he was from fighting Grendel. It showed how good could overcome evil entirely. Evil presented in the poem of Beowulf, is shown in some characters such as Grendel. Grendel is someone who is feared by

The poem of Beowulf is supposedly about stories of dreams and legends, of monsters and of god-fashioned weapons. This poem gives a great example of good versus evil, basically between Christianity versus paganism comparisons. Beowulf gives much heroism by being brave, confident, and being bold to anybody who he meets; besides to his enemies. Beowulf knows that it pays to be loyal to good people, especially to the people who he saves. However, the man-eating monster named Grendel is described as a demon, a fiend, and just pure evil.

   Brian Wilkie and James Hurt in Literature of the Western World discuss what is perhaps the overriding or central conflict in the poem Beowulf, namely the struggle between good and evil, and how the monsters are representative of the evil side:

Good and Evil in Beowulf       In Beowulf, the conflict between good and evil is the poem's main and most important aspect. The poet makes it clear that good and evil do not exist as only opposites, but that both qualities are present in everyone. Beowulf represents the ability to do good, or to perform acts selflessly and in help of others. Goodness is also showed throughout this epic as having the ability to cleanse evil.

Beowulf is an epic Anglo-Saxon poem, which tells a story of a hero who is destined to defeat several monsters in order to save a kingdom from peril. The underlying meaning is good versus evil with good always prevailing in the end. The theme of good versus evil was portrayed through the characters and events. Beowulf is the good guy fighting against evil. Beowulf is not just one person fighting against the evils of the world. In many cases, he is fighting for humanity’s sake.