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Beowulf Comparison Essay

512 Words3 Pages

“It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle”. Even thought there are a lot of similarities and differences between the movie and the poem, Beowulf was still hero in the poem and in the movie. Beowulf was a hero that travelled from Denmark to help out the king of Danes, Hrothgar, by fighting a monster.. One of the main differences between the movie and the poem is that in the poem they made Beowulf sound like god, while in the movie he’s just a hero. Grendel was a monster who attacked hornot because he wanted revenge from the Danes for killing his father, but in the poem he was just killing people because he was a monster. Grendel killed 30 men in the poem when all of them were sleeping, while in the movie they were awake and knew what was …show more content…

When bewoulf was sleeping after the big fight with grendel, he had a nightmare about grendels mother, shortly he realizes she was killing many people quietly. Grendels mother lair was guarded by a group of sea monsters, but Beowulf scared them away. When Beowulf tried to strike her with hrunting, it cannot hurt her. Then he saw a sword and he uses it to cut her throat, but the swords hilt. Although in the film grendels mother never dies. He gives her a gold piece she asked for and she would no longer attack their kingdom. Beowulf returns to the land of greats, to become the king of his uncle’s kingdoms. In the movie he stays in Denmark to become the king of Hrothgar’s kingdom. In film and the poem there was another dragon attacking the kingdom once again, expect this time he was the son of Beowulf. The two same storylines had two different endings. In the poem Beowulf being burned at a pyre, with a barrow being built near his resting place as a monument. Although in the film they placed him on a boat with some treasure and burned at

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Fear has the ability to manipulate people into believing there is danger when there is not, causing them to make rash decisions. These decisions can result in a disobedience to one’s cultural beliefs, as seen in Lord of the Flies and Beowulf. Even though the characters from Lord of the Flies and Beowulf come from cultures built around nobility and loyalty, fear tears them apart from the society they had worked hard to achieve. Although the boys from Lord of the Flies tried to keep their culture’s morals, the fear of the unknown caused the children to betray their Culture.

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Upon returning Beowulf receives his reward, fame and later on the kingdom. The resurrection happens when Beowulf is much older and is tested once more by an ancient dragon. Although Beowulf kills the dragon he is fatally wounded and soon dies. He is only able to bring back the elixir in the form of a tower built alongside the dragon's treasure.

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In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, faces three “monsters” at different times in his life. The poem begins with Grendel, a monster who attacks only in the dark of night, tormenting the kingdom of Hrothgar. The last two sections of the epic detail the conquering by Beowulf of Grendel’s mother and the dragon. The battle between the monsters and Beowulf represent the theme of good versus evil in the poem, as well as the fusion of pagan and Christian ideals in the changing Germanic society. Grendel’s mother’s actions directly juxtapose the role of a woman in this time period, and the greediness of the dragon with his treasure contrasts with the virtues of what would be considered a good king.

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John Gardner gave Grendel emotions that the reader was able to see and hear through his own words. Grendel told tales of his childhood causing the reader to become invested in Grendel’s past giving the feeling of a connection. As in the way he describes instances of his imaginative play, “I use to play games when I was young…explored our far-flung underground world in an endless wargame of leaps onto nothing…quick whispered plottings with invisible friends” (Gardner 15). Consequently, this information gives the feeling of sympathy for Grendel, for his lonely childhood and circumstance. Gardner continues to play on the sympathies of the reader after Grendel’s first interaction with the Danes.

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Beowulf is telling us that he doesn’t value the lives of his citizen, but instead values glory and is willing to fight for it. In the end, Beowulf slays the dragon but paid his life as the price. In conclusion, Beowulf would be considered a great warrior, but not a hero. Although Beowulf accomplished many heroic deeds he never did any of them for the right reasons. Therefore, Beowulf is not a hero, but only a warrior who values renown and rewards.

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1.When Grendel “plunges” into meatball, he is confident, carefree and careless knowing he is going to have a delicious dinner. “I am swollen with excitement, bloodlust, and joy”. The parenthetical remarks emphasize his thoughts and emotions running through his head. When Grendel is snatching his men one by one for dinner, he mentions, “I reach for another one(whispering, whispering, chewing the universe down to words!)”. 2.Grendel’s initial response to Beowulf grabbing him is that this was a mistake.

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The movie shows clearly the risk the warriors went through and their attitude toward the battle. It also shows the main character Ahmed Ibn saving two children who were running from the attack and his compassionate heart for those who were suffering. The film shows a better side of Buliwyf, the nobler and slightly more gentleman side of Buliwyf. It shows Buliwyf fighting to protect the people of the kingdom; he was not just in it for the fame or rewards. In the poem Beowulf is fighting for just that: being honored, and

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Beowulf is a poem that based in the 10th and 11th century that revolved around the idea of good vs evil. The poem is named after Beowulf who is a supernatural hero that slays any evil that crosses his path but is a real sweetheart when it comes to other people or the king. Beowulf is to be considered an epic poem because the hero in the story creates acts of being courageous and even superhuman in some cases, reflecting timeless values such as courage and honor, and the poem reflects unforgettable values with honor and courage. Typically in an epic poem, one will see a character or “the hero” who has outstanding courage and commit superhuman deeds and show values to other people in that era. “Then he drew himself up beside his shield./The fabled warrior in his warshirt and helmet/trusted in his own strength entirely/

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All three of the battles have great significance to both the movie and the poem. The first battle was against Grendel in both the book and the movie. The way the battle partook in both is extremely different though. In the book Grendel is a giant who feeds on people while they’re asleep. He attacks while they’re asleep that way none of them can fight back.

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This scene is relevant due to its differing plot from the other two slayings. During the killing of Grendel, Beowulf tears off his arm and ultimately destroys the wretched monster alone and without frivolous weapons. When the duel between Grendel’s mother arises, Beowulf

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In the book, Beowulf actually strangled Grendel’s Mother, and he did it with his bare hands. In the movie, though, he went to Grendel’s Mother with the task of killing her, but instead, he fell in love with her. Another example of how there is much contrast was when in the movie, Hrothgar was actually the father of Grendel, while in the book, Cain, was the father of Grendel. A third difference was when in the book, Beowulf decided to go back to his beloved home in the land of the Geats after he had killed the hideous mother of Grendel, but in the movie, instead he stayed in the kingdom of Hrothgar, in the land of the Danes and became their king. One final example of the discrepancies between the two plots was when in the book, Beowulf goes against the mystical fire-breathing dragon who was just another beast that Beowulf had to kill.

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555 Words | 3 Pages

The movie and poem Beowulf share many differences, attack of Herot Hall, death of Grendel and his mother, also tragedy death of Beowulf. In the movie, Grendel began attacking Herot Hall; however, in the textbook, he started off attacking the people whom lived in

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752 Words | 4 Pages

Grendel in the novel displays the idea that he is far more superior than mankind. He mentions, "I am swollen with excitement, bloodlust and joy and a strange fear that mingle in my chest like the twisting rage of a bonfire" (Gardner 167-168). Grendel knows that that the people fear him because he is different and he uses that to his advantage. The "Monster", Grendel, seems to be fascinated in attacking Meadhall and is not frightened at all. Although he is brave in the novel, Grendel in the epic poem is described in being scared and weak on the attack at Meadhall.

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In the movie and epic poem Beowulf there were many similarities and difference that was noticed. Beowulf was not a true as he was in the movie. However in the epic poem he was more honest and he kept his word. For example, when Beowulf doesn’t tell the truth about defeating Grendel’s mother, but in the poem he actually defeated her. On the other hand it was interesting to see the poem come to life and it made it easier to understand the concept of the story.

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Christopher Reeve (AKA the 1978 superman) said that, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles”. Both Beowulf and Modern day heroes are similar in that way in that they fight for the common good of people. That quote from Christopher Reeves on what a modern day hero is, also applies to the epic hero qualities that Beowulf has. Similarly Beowulf and a modern day hero defeat an evil so that good can prevail. Some examples are, Beowulf Slaying Grendel and Grendel's mother to save the land of the Danes, and soldiers fighting enemies that threaten the lives of a country, and police officers putting criminals behind bars.

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