The Epic Of Beowulf And Grendel

What does it mean to be a hero? Like anything else in this world, the definition of the word hero can be argued. Some may say that a hero can be passive, that is if he or she refrains from doing a certain action it makes them heroic. Others would argue that to be truly heroic the character must never turn tail and always face the obstacle head on even though he or she may die in the process. So is Beowulf a hero? Yes, Beowulf is a great epic hero, but his greatness comes only from his sword and not from his mind.

What do Achilles, King Arthur, Harry Potter, and Beowulf all have in common? They all demonstrate the qualities of epic heroes. Beowulf represents several characteristics of an epic hero and demonstrates the values of the Anglo-Saxons. He is the main character of his story, he has a main goal, he travels and fights with a group of people, and he accomplishes many valorous deeds; the values of the Anglo-Saxons are also shown through the actions of Beowulf, such as courage, loyalty, and fame. For example, when Beowulf heard a cry for help in a far off land, he answered. He fought larger than life monsters, and won. His exceptional strength proves his epic courage and heroism.

The character of Beowulf demonstrates several characteristics that make a great epic hero. Throughout his lifetime he displayed several characteristics such as honor, bravery, physical superiority, leadership, and glory. These characteristics all formed how the Anglo-Saxons believed one should live their life. Along with the valorous deeds that Beowulf accomplished he is considered to be a prime example of an epic hero. Beowulf would have even been considered a model human to the Anglo-Saxons due to how he consistently demonstrated these qualities.

deciphered. Beowulf being pure good, and Grendel being pure evil. One of the reasons of

In the novel Grendel and the epic poem Beowulf the reader receives a better experience through a first person point of view. In John Gardner's Grendel which is written in first person the reader is constantly engaged. The authors use of first person provides the reader of Grendel’s thoughts and emotion. While, in the epic poem Beowulf which is written in 3rd person does not give the reader any personal connection.

Also Grendel would not be able to be a good person if he tried because he’s done so much bad and he hates men. In the poem it stated “some evil inside myself pushed out into the trees. I knew what I knew, the mindless, mechanical bruteness of things, and when the harper's lure drew my mind away to hopeful dreams, the dark of what was and always was reached out and snatched at my feet”(Gardener 54). This shows that Grendel has a complex relationship with the evil inside of him. Which makes him bitter, he doesn’t like men and he tried to destroy the things they work hard for. Grendel has seen the dragon, and he has an idea of how his life will end. This connects to the bible story about Cain and Abel. The biblical allusion about this story was Cain was evil and he killed his own brother because of jealously. This connect to the story Grendel because him and his mother are hopelessly evil to God and a “virtuous” human society. Grendel is seen as a descendant of Cain because he kills humans out of anger and jealousy. Also in the text Grendel states “and so begins the twelfth year of my idiotic war. The pain of it! The stupidity!” (Gardener 5). This quote somewhat shows the good in Grendel because he doesn’t like the fact that he is a bad person and a social outcast of everyone else but he feels as if killing and hurting humans will ease his pain. Seeing the good and evil in Grendel it is easy to realize he can’t help the fact that he is a monster and can’t help but to hate humans because he doesn't belong and they live a better life than him. Though in a way Grendel's actions can be understandable because depression and angry can cause someone to do things they don’t normally do. With Grendel feeling this way his entire life it really affected him and caused him to do things out of spite. All in all

My point that Grendel’s pre-destined path of evil is proven in lines 1260-1276 where we learn the history of the bible story Cain and Abel, and see where Grendel’s roots lie. “And from Cain there sprang/ misbegotten spirits, among them Grendel, / the banished and accursed… (Lines 1265-1267). Once again I feel sympathy for Grendel because it seems he did not have a choice but to be the “enemy of mankind.” (Line 1275) Good could never come from these people of Cain because they fell from the grace of god, but it appears that Grendel never directly did anything to deserve this fate, he was a victim of circumstance and was trapped in his monstrous position. Grendel did not kill Abel, yet he suffers for Cain’s behavior.

Beowulf and Grendel are two different stories, and characters, who look at the same situation in polarized ways. Each character has their own story that is written from different time periods: the Anglo-Saxon time period and America in the 1970’s. Both of these time periods have different attributes that make them special; the Anglo-Saxon time period consists of the literary movement of the epic poem and America in the 1970’s consists of the literary movement known as postmodernism. Beowulf is shaped by the Anglo-Saxon time period through its use of the heroic code and religious influences and Grendel is shaped by the American 1970’s time period through its use of metafiction and an unreliable narrator.

“The whole earth is the tomb of heroic men and their story is not given only on stone over their clay but abides everywhere without visible symbol woven into the stuff of other men’s lives,” said Perculus (PR). You’re born, you live a little, and then you die. There is no simpler way to sum up life. Often times this is done through oral tales, paintings, and various other ways. For those whose lives were truly something great, something memorable, their stories are transcripted into writings. Whether these are simple biographies or symbolic fictional works, stories are often based on someone greater than the writer. These “epic heros” are protagonists that fulfill their potential of greatness through using their bravery, strength and

In what other book is the monster, the character with more nobility? Both monsters, Grendel and Beowulf, are brave in what they do but being brave is not all it takes to be noble. Grendel is more noble than Beowulf because of the truth he portrays through what he believes in, the perseverance he has when put into a dangerous situation or position, and the fidelity he shows toward his mother.

Have you ever wondered what a monster truly is? It is a label we give much aptitude. Here we will go over these "monsters" of Beowulf. When we are young children, we always fear the monsters that are coming to get us. We wonder about the monsters under our bed or in our closet.

He is stubborn and stupidly brace, which is proved when he speaks of when his childhood friend, Breca, and himself swear through large waves in an ocean, “…we grew up daring ourselves to outdo each other, boating and urging each other to risk our lives on the sea” (Heaney 37). Grendel, however, is the opposite. He is inherently bad, but he cannot help himself. He is shown in both books as weak, evil, and ugly, both inside and out. He speaks of how he is a direct descendant of Cain, the first murderer on the Earth and in many instances, he shows his purely evil nature by letting people live, rather than putting them out of their misery and simply letting them die.

In the epic Beowulf, the concept of simplistic duality is expressed very heavily throughout. This is not the case in the movie, “Beowulf & Grendel”. In an era where moviegoers want their films to mirror the original plot, why would the director of the movie decide to make such a shift? The answer lies in our culture. Because our culture differs from that of the Anglo-Saxons, the concept of simplistic duality has become atypical in today’s media.

One day in the Danes there’s a King, a King of Hrothgar that threatened by a tormented demon named Grendel on the celebration. So the king decided to offer a reward to kill that creature. And then there’s a Herot the brave Geat warrior Beowulf uses his epic strength and bravely to slay Grendel and Grendel defeated so he run away and back to his place. So Beowulf follow and find Grendel to kill it. Until he reached the lake where Grendel and Grendel’s mother lives. When mother of Grendel saw Beowulf the creature changed its form to a seductive woman to seduce Beowulf and give promise that Beowulf will become an unbeatable and wealthy king if he makes love to her and gives his golden relic to her. Years passed, and Beowulf is already the King

Grendel, Beowulf’s arrival and fight with Grendel, and the festivities in Heorot expose the values of the Danish people. Grendel and Beowulf’s encounters reveal direct evidence of the Danes’ views and values, that revolve around a family’s reputation, community, and being a good king versus being a good warrior. The reliance on ones family line reveals how much the Danes’ used their ancestors to compare who they were decedents of. They use their heritage to show that they come from a noble family or a descendent of a great warrior. A characters status or rank in their village depends on who their ancestors were.