In the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf struggles with a few battles throughout the story, just like how we face different types of battles throughout our life. Just as Beowulf faces Grendel’s mother and the dragon, I face having anxiety and divorced parents.
Having anxiety is like fighting Grendel’s vengeful mother. Even though Grendel’s mother isn’t the worse battle that Beowulf faces, it isn’t the easiest battle he faces either. That’s the same thing with anxiety; is that it’s not the worse challenge I face, but it is also no the easiest. Throughout the fight with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf faced anxiety when he feared that he “would earn no glory.” That’s how I feel when I think that I don’t do a good enough job or that I am not good enough. When something happens that sparks my anxiety, I only sometimes only worry about that and “care about nothing else.” But also sometimes with anxiety I worry about everything at one time. Like how Beowulf “sank through the waves” and then all of a sudden Grendel’s mother “welcomed him in her claws.” Going through the water was worrying, but when he hit the bottom he had something hit him all at once. So Beowulf and anxiety both eventually hit rough spots, but after the challenge we win the battle.
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This was Beowulf's hardest battle that he faced in his life. One of the biggest challenges I have faced in my life so far is having my parents divorce when I was only five years old. That was probably the first real challenge I had to face in life. Throughout the fight with the dragon, Beowulf for the “first time in his life” he had “fought with fate against him.” In the end of the fight “glory denied him.” For the first time at five years old I felt like fate was against me. I truly believe that part of the reason that I am the way I am today is because of not having my parents
Towards the end of the story, Beowulf travels to fight a dragon who is protecting a large treasure. He wants to prove to his kingdom that he is still the brave and strong man he used to be, but his main motivation is the treasure he will get after his victory. "And Beowulf uttered his final boast: 'I've never known fear, as a youth I fought In endless battles. I am old, now, But I will fight again, seek fame still, If the dragon hiding in his tower dares To face me'" (606-610). On the other side, the dragon has the same motivation. He is willing protect the treasure if it takes his life. This makes the fight one to the death. "When he comes to me I mean to stand, not to run from his shooting Flames, stand still till fate decides Which of us wins" (619-622). Beowulf feels that if he cannot have this victory, that this is the proper way to
Beowulf is “the strongest of the Geats -- greater / and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world” (ll.110-111). Even though he is famous for his massive strength, Beowulf has other attributes that are noticeable other than his strength. These attributes, arrogance, bravery, and a strong love for his people are what make Beowulf become such a powerful, epic hero. Beowulf is arrogant. He constantly brags about his supreme strength. The “strongest man alive” lets people know that he is the most powerful person around by saying, “no strength is a match for mine” (l.267). Beowulf does not think that he could ever be destroyed by anything. He obviously never questiones how his fighting ability would be when he was around seventy. Since Beowulf is convinced that God is watching over him, his ego makes him act as if he is invincible, because of the idea that he has a guardian angel. But, as Beowulf gets older, wiser, and fights in more battles he should realize that there was a possibility that he can die. Beowulf also boasts about his many battles, and is proud of himself for winning all of them. One of these triumphs is the battle in the water when he meets up with nine sea monsters which he killeds, and fights with a monster that is digging its jaws into Beowulf’s flesh. Beowulf proclaims that “ I fought that beast’s last battle, / left it floating in the sea” (ll.290-291). This epic tale reads that while Beowulf is in battle with Grendel’s mother, all he cares was about the fame he would get for defeating her. Unferth thinks that Beowulf was arrogant, by saying, “ You’re Beowulf, are you the same / Boastful fool who fought a swimming / Match with Brecca” (ll.239-241). Yes, Beowulf is a boastful fool that loves the attention that his strength gives him. A strong man and an arrogant one, Beowulf is also brave. Even after all of the horror stories that he hears about Grendel, he still fights the cursed beast without any hesitation. When he battles with Grendel, he does it without the things that everyone else would use--weapons. This shows that Beowulf is not scared of anything in the world. He also must be brave to fight a sea monster after swimming in the ocean for days. He went straight into battle exhausted, from the strenuous journey across the ocean.
The battle with Grendel’s mother differ from the battle with Grendel because when Beowulf fought with Grendel he used no weapon “my hands alone should fight for me” line 174. On the day of the battle, when Grendel saw Beowulf he was scared for the first time “ Grendel's one thought was to run from Beowulf, flee back to his marsh and hide there.” line 278 But when Beowulf fought with Grendel’s mother, at the beginning Beowulf was fighting for his live “ For the first time in years of being worn to war it would earn no glory” line 484 Beowulf was losing , she was to fast and “no sword could slice her evil skin.” He needed his weapons fight for him, and Grendel’s mother was not scared of his strength as Grendel
John Gardener’s Grendel is another version of the epic Beowulf, except in a differing perspective. This story is retold from the viewpoint of Grendel. Gardener wants us to empathize with Grendel through his own thoughts and emotions. The way one sees the monster in Beowulf is completely different than how one would think of him in Grendel. One is forced to view someone else’s opinion versus getting to form an opinion for oneself.
In Christian medieval culture, a monster was the word that referred to birth defects, which were always understood as an ominous sign from God (Carpentier). They were seen as sign of disobedience or of bad things to come and it is exactly what these monsters were in this epic poem. Beowulf consists of a series of monsters, all having a different meaning in the poem, they each represent something and are not just there for him to fight off and kill. Beowulf is faced with three monsters throughout the epic poem, Grendel, his mother and the dragon, but exactly who or what are they and what do they represent?
For the Beowulf art project, the artist creatively represented the weapons that Beowulf chooses in his battles against Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and the Dragon. This representation was accomplished by hand-drawing each weapon (a hand clenched into a fist, a sword, and a broken sword), and placing a quote that happened in each duel underneath the drawings. These quotes directly reflect upon the battle and killings (or the events leading up to the killings) of each of the monsters, and talked about each of the weapons in the specific scenes. In the background of each of the drawings, there are certain colors that show if Beowulf won the conflict or not. The lighter, happier colors in the background (yellow and blue) show that he won the fight,
Beowulf has a strong belief in fate. If he dies in battle he believes it’s because it is his destiny to do so. "Fate will unwind as it must!" He realizes the dangers but fears nothing for his own life. This is what makes Beowulf a true hero. Even after serving his people as King of the Geats for fifty years, he goes to battle in hopes, or fate, to destroy a dragon who is terrifying all of his people. At this point however, Beowu...
After Grendel was killed off by Beowulf, Grendel's evil mother came lurking to avenge for his death. She attacked the hall and killed Aeshere, elder brother of Yrmenlaf. He was a very important person to this community. Beowulf was nowhere to be found when this occurred. The people rely heavily on Beowulf's strength and bravery. Beowulf spoke to those mourning Aeshere's death and reassuring to them that Grendel's mother will not get away with what she had done. Hrothgar and a few others set out to find where this haggard beast was hiding, "suddenly discovered the dismal wood." (Pg.99 Beowulf) They had found where the monsters and evil things lived, and even saw Aeshere's head near the cliff. Beowulf was gearing up for his underwater fight with Grendel's mother.
Beowulf came to Geatland to kill the monster they call Greandel. He will kill him not for gold but for glory. Hrogthgar begins the celebration to lure Grendel in. Beowulf kills Grendel and later goes to kill Grendels mother. He ends up laying with her and gives her a child. Then years later Grendels mother send her new child the dragon to kill its father Beowulf. Beowulf ripped the dragons heart out with one of his hands, killing the dragon and saving the kingdom but not himself.
as men. She has been sleeping down in her dark and dingy cave below the world
Anxiety is a monster that most people have to deal with on a daily basis. Even though anxiety is not actually a monster it still torments thousands of people every day, leaving them weak and scared. Anxiety defined means “distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune” defined by Dictionary.com. In the epic poem of Beowulf, one could say that the townspeople had anxiety when it came to Grendel because they feared what he could do to them.
American writer, John Gardner, most famously known for his novel, Grendel, tells the story of the old English poem Beowulf, but from the point of view of the monster’s eyes. When Gardner was a kid, his younger brother, Gilbert was killed in a farming accident. He took blame upon himself for the accident. This event evidently shaped and influenced Gardner’s style of writing in his later life. This piece of literature has received high praise for its style of writing and unique tale of a troubled creature; New York Times book reviewer Richard Locke, called Grendel, “An extraordinary achievement…very funny, original and deft, altogether lovable, poignant, rich with thought and feeling…immensely enjoyable.”
In the story of Beowulf, Grendel’s mother is the most formidable opponent of Beowulf because she possesses human qualities that the other monsters do not. When Grendel is killed, Grendel’s mother’s motherly instincts kick in and she seeks revenge for her son. She acts on pure rage when she takes Hrothgar’s favorite warrior. This human quality of motherly instinct makes Grendel’s mother a terrifying opponent. Not only is she a vicious monster, she possesses this human characteristic that makes her not only a physical threat to Beowulf. She now proves to have a cognitive advance over her opposing monsters, Grendel and the dragon. Her ability to think like humans gives her a one-up on Beowulf. This quality helps to prove that Grendel’s mother
Hrothgar predicts that Beowulf’s pride would be his demise and he was correct because Beowulf chooses to fight the dragon alone in his older years. Beowulf is no longer in his prime and he knows he will not be around forever and hopes to make a final “score” and let the people live out the rest of their days wealthy and without worry. But Beowulf still wants to fight the beast alone. “Our old gift lord meant to manage this monster hot battle alone once again with his great wonder strength armed with a war name earned through a lifetime forged now with deeds” (2642-46). Beowulf is not fighting these monsters because he believes he is a god but because he wishes to carry out a promise he gave long ago to his people. His only desire is to make the Geats happy.
Beowulf’s first accomplishment as an epic hero was his battle with Grendel. Grendel was a huge beast, a descendent of Cain, who ruthlessly murdered innocent Danes because he felt pity for himself. Upon hearing of the Dane’s problem, Beowulf set off to help the Danish without having been called upon. Even though Beowulf had men backing him, He drew battle with Grendel alone and without armor or weapons. Yet, Beowulf emerged victorious with the arm of Grendel as his trophy. Beowulf then went on to kill Grendel’s vengeful mother and a huge fire-breathing dragon who thought it had been done wrong by the Geats. Alas, the killing of the dragon would be Beowulf’s last great battle for the dragon took Beowulf’s life in the struggle for his own.