Is this one the bad guy? Beowulf is the bad guy for he kills Grendel with fierce and no compassion. He prepared himself and planned how to kill Grendel before he arrived in Herot. He also kills Grendel’s mother who wanted to avenge her only son’s murder. 3 INTRODUCTION Beowulf is an anonymous heroic epic poem from the 11th century.
This establishes how paradise was lost. "To mortal men, he with his horrid crew Lay vanquished, rolling in the fiery gulf Confounded though immortal. But his doom Reserved him to more wrath; for now the thought Both of lost happiness and lasting pain Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes, That witnessed huge affliction and dismay Mixed with obdurate pride and steadfast hate" (8). God gave Lucifer the appearance of a serpent, and called that serpent Satan. Satan, unable to rise from chaos, built a palace that was called Pandemonium (5).
The fear he exhibits makes readers feel pity towards him because he is innocent and it creates a negative view of the church and of the government in Florence. Corruption in this case destabilizes the morals of politics because Dante was cheated for a higher official to benefit. In summation, Dante Alighieri uses cantos 19 and 22 in order to covey that the morals of politics and leaders are undermined by corruption. Dante teaches us about the history and politics of his time and he teaches us that it can influence the way society views politics and religion. Through this book we are reminded of how far society has come and how it is able to operate as it still does today.
Throughout this epic, Beowulf must harness his heroic body and pure heart into destroying the forces of evil in the world. Grendel is a horrid monster filled with evil and bloodthirsty rage; Grendel terrorizes the men of Heorot when he deems them as being too loud in the meadhall. He snatches them up with his bare hands and devours them. Grendel murders fathers and sons, brothers, and uncles. As far as anybody can see, he will never
His inherent hubris stemmed from his fervent passion for learning and began his steady decline from the eyes of God. Faustus was a brilliant scholar, but his success in theology cost his humility. His work in theology proved that he knew of God’s existence, yet his arrogance led him astray. Prior to his summoning of the demon Mephistopheles, Faustus claims “I, that have with concise syllogisms/ Graveled the pastors of the German church/ And made the flow’ring pride of Wittenberg swarm to my problems.” (Marlowe Doctor Faustus 1.1.115-117) After he calls upon the evil spirits of Hell, Faustus brags that he has great prowess for a demon of such high ranking to answer his summons. There is no doubt that the famed scholar acted on his own will, though he had discussed his actions with Valdes and Cornelius earlier.
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: ". . .
The poet's descriptions of Grendel's evil and dark enviro... ... middle of paper ... ...out legends, and that is why the story has survived through the ages. It tells us of a powerful, terribly evil monster. The descriptions of Grendel are so scary and evil that we can all draw our own vivid picture of him in our mind. This monster represents all of the evil in the world, and the hero of the story represents everything good in the world. The story has survived because it is a story about good versus evil.
The Shaper, a harp-playing bard, tells righteous tales about Hrothgar, the ruler, and his society. The Shaper lies and spins a web of exaggerations that romanticize the violence that has given Hrothgar his power. Grendel witnessed the fighting himself and knew what the Shaper was saying was untrue. However, Grendel cannot help himself but falling for the optimistically distorted reality of the Shaper. Throughout time and across the world, figures similar to the Shaper work to twist the truth into a favorable picture.
“Unhappy creature (Grendel), he lived for a time in the home of the monsters’ race, after God had condemned them as kin of Cain” (Norton, 28). Cain is the son of Eve, the woman who bore sin into the world. A connection, however vague, can be made between the maternal relations of Eve and Cain and Grendel and his mother. Grendel’s mother can be considered to personify man’s fall from grace and Grendel himself might embody sin. Furthermore, the dragon Beowulf battles can be said to be a picture of Satan: “the smooth hateful dragon who flies at night wrapped in flame” (56).
“Unhappy creature (Grendel), he lived for a time in the home of the monsters’ race, after God had condemned them as kin of Cain” (Norton, 28). Cain is the son of Eve, the woman who bore sin into the world. A connection, however vague, can be made between the maternal relations of Eve and Cain and Grendel and his mother. Grendel’s mother can be considered to personify man’s fall from grace and Grendel himself might embody sin. Furthermore, the dragon Beowulf battles can be said to be a picture of Satan: “the smooth hateful dragon who flies at night wrapped in flame” (56).