Many scholars who have read and studied Beowulf claim it to be a Christian allegory. Beowulf, the hero of the story, comes to be the sole savior to King Hrothgar just as Jesus came to save his people from sin. Rather than having to defeat sin, Beowulf is challenged to defeat Grendel, a monster, who terrorizes Hrothgar’s people. Beowulf comes out of the duel with Grendel victorious, just as Jesus did. Sadly, this joy was short-lived for Grendel’s mother soon came for revenge making Beowulf’s victory temporary. If Grendel represents sin or evil, the fact that Beowulf’s victory over Grendel was soon again matched by a new evil implies that evil can truly never be beat. However, Beowulf’s failure to completely extinguish the evil looming over Hrothgar’s people does not make him a failed …show more content…
If you eliminate one evil, another one will always present itself. Even the greatest of warriors or Christ-figures such as Beowulf cannot ever completely eradicate evil. Another major defect in Beowulf is the fact that it is a flawed poem detailing the salvation of the Christians. Beowulf is a pagan story written by a Christian monk, who tried to mold it into the Christianity salvation story. Many times in the novel, the Christian beliefs seem very forced and don’t fit in well with the story. Hrothgar says after seeing Grendel’s talon: “First and foremost, let the Almighty Father be thanked for this sight. I suffered a long harrowing by Grendel.” This was soon after the minstrel had been singing and there had been rejoicing throughout everyone. Hrothgar was the first one to mention God and the writer made it the very first thing he said to