In history, evil men have reigned supreme across many cultures. Some people say that being evil is inherent in every human. If this is true, then writing may be the ultimate way of releasing hatred of the world without hurting anyone. In Beowulf, all of society's evil men can be personified within the demons of Cain. The main demon presented in Beowulf is Grendel. Grendel personifies the exact opposite of what the Anglo-Saxons held dear. Beowulf, the story's hero, is the embodiment of what every Anglo-Saxon strove to become in their lifetime. Grendel is constantly angry, afraid and unsure of himself; while Beowulf is fearless and loyal to his king.
Through Grendel's own hatred and anger, he brings his own downfall. The "sin-stained demon" has his roots in the vile creature Cain. Since Grendel is spawned from Cain, he can never feel the love of God or of people: ". . . God, / Whose love Grendel could not know." (84-85). It is because of this, that Grendel hates every mortal being he lays his eyes upon. Hatred leads to anger, constant anger, ". . . bearing God's hatred, / Grendel came, hoping to kill" (393-394). Fear is Grendel's other major flaw, "His mind was flooded with fear . . ." (435). Through his hatred and fear, Grendel seals his own fate.
Anger then yields itself to insecurity and low self-esteem. The moment Grendel realizes that there is someone just as strong as him, he tries to run away, ". . . Grendel's one thought was to run / From Beowulf, flee back to his marsh and hide there:" (437-438), but it is too late. Just like when the average bully meets his match, he runs in fear of not being able to win. Grendel does not have the audacity to stand up to Beowulf with all his might and therefore falls to Beowulf.
The exact opposite of the points mentioned thus far are made manifest within the character of Beowulf. Beowulf is easily able to defeat Grendel once Grendel has lost all hope of winning, ". . . remembered his final / Boast and, standing erect, stopped / The monster's flight. . ." (440-443). Beowulf is also, instead of insecure and under-confident, overly confident and a braggart.
How am I going to make it a fair test I will use a clean flask for
In times before printed books were common, stories and poems were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. From such oral traditions come great epics such as England’s heroic epic, Beowulf. In Beowulf, the monster Grendel serves as the evil character acting against the poem’s hero, as shown by his unnatural strength, beast-like qualities, and alienation from society.
The way one is seen by others, might not be the way one see one self. Grendel is described as a monster who is only trying to fit in and get along with the people from Hrothgar’s hall. He lives at the bottom of a nearby mere, where he grows to be an “evil” monster. Without having anyone to talk to or anyone to answer his questions, he grows up turned away from all humans where he grows up feeling lonely, “And I, Grendel was in the dark side, he said in effect” (51). Grendel’s life turns out to be the outcast of what he wished it had, that when he turns out to the humans they are scared of him. When Grendel attempts to conduct himself to the humans they show their ignorance and simple-mindedness by getting startled. Grendel’s appearance to the humans is evidence of what makes him evil only because they do not know what he is. They assume he is evil and dark because of his appearance and actions. Grendel, who is left out from the people of Heorot, chooses to take revenge and show the people what evil and dark is. If one is treated wrong one might react “evil” and one will see it as a defense but to others it will be perceived as wrong and mean. One will always s...
The clear definition of a hero is often open to interpretation and has never been clearly defined. In the translation of the epic poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, it is often debated whether the main character Beowulf is actually a hero or not. Beowulf displays hero-like characteristics through his bravery, loyalty, brute strength, confidence and protective nature. He is a crystal clear example of an Anglo-Saxon hero in his time period. In the present day he should be considered a hero as well. He displays heroism through his fights with Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon while managing to protect his people and eventually sacrifice himself.
While Grendel may possess a brute strength, his lack of wit and logic is what ultimately leads to his downfall and demise. In Beowulf, the actions and character that of Beowulf, or an Epic Hero, define the perfect Anglo-Saxon warrior. Epic heroes are indicated by a variety of traits, including that they, “must look like a hero, they must be noble, famous, strong, courageous, humble, prideful, thick-skinned, self-sacrificing, faithful, focused, be a leader, and have a tragic flaw” (Jones 3). Unfortunately, aside from the ‘tragic flaw’ and ‘strong’ categories, Grendel’s character is antithetical to all characteristics of an Epic Hero. This makes him quite the villain, and a generally despicable character. “Suddenly then, / the God-cursed brute creating havoc: / greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men”
Grendel then began to show even more human traits than before. He became envious their happiness and starting becoming the cruel one. He started torturing and killing humans quite frequently. He starts to enjoy being cruel during his first raid. “I felt a strange, unearthly joy. It was as if I’d made some incredible discover, like my discovery long ago of the moonlit world beyond the mere. I was transformed” (79). This kind of cruelness came easily to Grendel, not unlike the humans had watched for so long. Grendel slowly becomes more and less human. He starts to lose his humanity but shows off just how human he is. Grendel becomes what he hates the most, cruel and pointless. Though Grendel enjoys the human’s suffering, it only makes him feel worse. “I feel my anger coming back, building up like invisible fire, and at last, when my soul can no longer resist, I go up - as mechanical as anything else - fists clenched against my lack of will, my belly growling, mindless as wind, for blood” (Gardner 9). Grendel falls into the trap and start to enjoy the suffering of others. While this isn’t a problem at first, Grendel eventually realizes just how pointless this is. How pointless everything is. Grendel sees that the world doesn’t do anything for anyone. He won’t be given anything and he probably won’t ever be happy. As a result, Grendel learns to live with this hatred and continues
He is evil not because he was born evil, and not because it was destined that he would become evil, but because the world told him he was, and eventually he believed. Grendel resigns to a mode of being that is the easiest for him- and that may be just what make him so intriguing. It is not the fact that Grendel is Bad that makes him a compelling protagonist; that alone would almost surely not be enough. He is an engaging, almost likeable, main character precisely because he lapses into evil like a habit, like a role to be filled, like any number of the habits and roles the book’s audience might fulfill themselves. Grendel is important because he is, by the book’s end, purely evil. He is malevolent, chaotic, maniacal, and violent. He is everything a storybook antagonist should be, yet the reader still feels for him. It is there that the power of Grendel’s story lies- in his complexity. The novel’s refusal to accept the simple themes and characterization in Beowulf makes it refreshing, and, in a sense, more real; Grendel is not a tale that allows readers to escape the world, but one that forces them to vividly examine its most gruesome realities, and to imagine that even the worst of monsters
The poet is able to display Biblical imagery in Beowulf by using the story of Cain killing his brother and the ultimate creation in the book of Genesis. Grendel is the descendant of the first killer in the Bible, and represents evil. Grendel can be seen as a Biblical figure or an evil demon that lurks Heorot. The poet creatively paints the picture of Grendel as an evil creature in Beowulf with wicked imagery and adjectives.
He was looking for a way to become known, so he arrived with his fellow Geats to help the Danes. Beowulf had access to many weapons, armor, and warriors, but he still decided to take on the deadly challenge alone and without protection. He doesn’t think of the consequences, or abilities of the opponent. “‘When it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel.’” (47: 677-678). Beowulf is overconfident in his abilities, and doesn’t take into consideration how many people Grendel has killed. He goes in with his own men not expecting to see him again. “None of them expected he would ever see his homeland again.” (47: 691-692). This is why the inner threat of Beowulf was more barbaric. Grendel was indeed a worthy opponent, and very dangerous, but Beowulf’s careless actions could have
One of Grendel’s archenemies is the human. Humans refuse to look beyond Grendel’s unattractive exterior, and spend most of their days trying to kill Grendel. One night when Grendel is watching their mead hall, he sees them “treating their sword-blades with snake’s venom”(Gardner 29). Another conflict between humans and serpents develops when Grendel is watching the Shaper for the first time. As he listens, he “snatche[s] up a snake from beside [his] foot”(40), and holds it in his fist as he listens to the Shaper sing. The snake represents the deceptive weaving of history that the Shaper performs in Hrothgar’s mead hall. Grendel interacts with one of the priests, Ork, in the circle of Gods, by pretending to be the Great Destroyer. Ork predicts that the Great Destroyer will eventually fall, foreshadowing Grendel’s battle with Beowulf. Ork tells his fellow priests about his conversation with the Great Destroyer, but they just “look down at him as they would at a wounded snake”(118). In Grendel’s eyes, all humans are evil, because they refuse to take the time to understand him. Because of this, Grendel battles the humans throughout the novel until one of them finally takes his life.
Grendel feels like he does not belong in with his mother, when she tries to hug him he is grossed out. Although, he is in the book does not make him important or have meaning because without him in the story there would not be the battle with Beowulf and him, and his mother. The story would have been the same, there would not be a big difference. FIND QUOTE OF GRENDEL BEING ASHAMED. The quotes presents the fact that Grendel feels ashamed and embarrassed by his mother, and where he came from. Also, Grendel can speak and understand English, however Grendel’s mom cannot. He thinks he is more connected with the humans than with her. Grendel considers himself a meaningless creature after he loses the battle with Beowulf and he walks off a cliff. He is implied that his days are numbered and he will not survive. “I am weak from loss of blood…I will fall. I seem to desire to fall, and though I fight it with all my will I know in advance that I can’t win. Standing baffled, quaking with fear, three feet from the edge of
"That night, Beowulf and his men stay inside Herot. While his men sleep, Beowulf lies awake, eager to meet with Grendel" (Raffel Burton- 48). In the epic, Beowulf establishes himself as a highly profitable warrior, on a mission to serve and protect. Immediately, Beowulf is presumed to be a good force, taking on Grendel who is perceived to be a descendant of Cain, who personifies evil. A valiant warrior, Beowulf protests that he shall take on the monster, stripped of weapons and armor. When the evil monster Grendel attacked the people of Herot, Beowulf chose to fight Grendel and diminish the evil that he represents. While he and his men sleep, Grendel arrives to wreak havoc on the mead-hall.
Not everyone is cut out to to be king; some simply fit the role better than others. Beowulf, for instance, is an exemplar of what the ideal Anglo Saxon leader should strive to become. Yet despite his heroics, Beowulf is often criticized for his actions due to the seemingly selfish nature of his motivation, even though his actions are crucial to his kingdom’s solidity. The narrator of Beowulf asserts that Beowulf’s intention to fight Grendel and the dragon stems from his desire to uphold his heroic image, suggesting that the ideal Anglo Saxon leader must maintain a valiant profile to be successful.
Hcl. Under the conical flask I put a white piece of paper and put a
Are there any similarities between life in modern America and the world of Beowulf? Is it possible for such a technology oriented world such as ours to have anything in common with a world which had not even heard of electricity? Has this technology really separated us from prior civilizations? Is our thinking today any different from the thinking of ancient cultures? Although it may not seem to be true, there are actually many similarities between our world and that of Beowulf’s. These similarities are readily seen in all forms of media and entertainment, as well as noted sources of culture such as music and movies. If the similarity between the two cultures is accepted, it will not be hard to comprehend Beowulf.