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Examples Of Evil In Beowulf

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Beowulf: Good Vs. Evil The balance of good and evil in Beowulf by Seamus Heaney is apparent in the characters Grendel, Grendel’s mother, Beowulf and Wiglaf. Grendel is a slayer and kills the Danes in Heorot Hall. Grendel’s mother comes for revenge of her son and in the process kills Hrothgar’s friend and adviser, Aeschere. Beowulf does countless acts of selfless deeds, even for those who are not of the Geat clan. Wiglaf comes to Beowulf’s aid when nobody else does while battling the dragon. A good vs evil is when Beowulf comes to slay Grendel because “For twelve winters, seasons of woe, the lord of Shieldings suffered under,” (Beowulf 13) Grendel’s brutal attacks. Grendel kills the Danes in Heorot, in king Hrothgar’s hall, for twelve years. Beowulf comes to Heorot without even being asked or requested when he hears of Grendel’s attacks on the hall. Grendel comes once again to kill more Danes and Beowulf is …show more content…

An example of the evil aura coming from this monster's cave is that “At night there, something uncanny happens: the water burns” (Beowulf 95) and “On its back, the heather-stepper halts: the hart in flight from pursuing hounds will turn to face them with firm-set horns and die in the wood rather than dive beneath its surface.”(Beowulf 95) While the Danes and Beowulf’s warriors sleep peacefully unaware in Heorot, and Beowulf is away, Grendel’s mother attacks and in the process kills Hrothgar’s friend and adviser, Aeschere. In good blood with Hrothgar, Beowulf seeks out the hiding spot of the”monstrous hell-bride”(Beowulf 89) and commences battle with the mother. his sword failing him he turns to a found sword in the depths of the water cave, it being a sword of a strong warrior and slays Grendel’s mother with a slice to the neck that beheads her. Beowulf then finds Grendel’s body and cuts off his head to bring back to Heorot with him as a

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Good vs Evil in Beowulf Evil profoundly immoral and malevolent Good to be desired or approved of. Although the two adjectives are the polar opposites from each other complete In the Anglo Saxon poem Beowulf, the reoccurring theme of good versus evil is used to contrast the ideal Anglo Saxon person with its flawed opposite. Anglo Saxon literature was typically written in Latin, which is known as “the language of learning” (Amodio).

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Beowulf’s Vengeance It is a fair night in Geatland, and Beowulf is celebrating his victory over Grendel's Mother in the mead hall Higlac built for his nephew. The mead hall is named The Court of Champions. "Let us celebrate my nephew’s great accomplishments of ridding the Danish people of their hideous creatures!" Higlac exclaims as he raises his mead cup to his subjects. Higlac by far was one of the fairest kings the Geats have had, after raids he gave each member a portion of the loot and made sure that everyone in the clan was cared for.

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Beowulf’s fate causes some of his men to get killed in battle and he leaves his land ungoverned and susceptible to attack demonstrated by the quote, “Grendel snatched at the first Geat, ripped him apart, and cut his body to bits,”(421

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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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Everyone has a perspective on good and evil; the battle line between good and even runs through the heart. “Beowulf” illuminates characters that come from dark and deep backgrounds that construct their dauntless actions. In the heroic tale “Beowulf,” the author’s tones strongly demonstrates themes of loyalty, honor, and courage. Raffel’s tones remotely displays the act of loyalty within multiple characters. “Hail to these who will rise to God, drop off their dead bodies” (101).

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Beowulf, born in the land of the Geats, makes the voyage over to the Danes upon hearing the problems troubling the Danes. Even though Hygelac told Beowulf not to, Beowulf went on ahead and he proves his worth, both to his king and the Danes’ king. In the time of crossing the waters, Beowulf kills Grendel, Grendel’s mom, and then a dragon and he inspires one young man named Wiglaf. Wiglaf makes a valiant speech to get Beowulf’s men hustling in the line of defense, but ends up fighting alone. “He picked us out from the army deliberately, honoured us and judged us fit for this action, made me these lavish gifts- and all because he considered us the best of his arms-bearing thanes”

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His paranoia causes him to order the deaths of close friends and allies. This transformation demonstrates how evil takes over good compared to Beowulf where there is already an evil creature present. Beowulf is a story about an evil creature named Grendel who terrorizes the castle of Hrothgar, killing many. Hrothgar calls Beowulf to kill Grendel and other villains which shows the distinct line between good and evil. Evil is worse in Macbeth, because it slowly seeps in and ultimately takes over Macbeth’s character, whereas in Beowulf, it is stagnant, remaining in the souls of the

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Flaws by Contrast Comparisons and contrasts play a huge role in literary works, especially between characters. Not only do they show similarities and differences between various characters, but they also bring out specific qualities that make a character unique and help guide the readers towards a common conclusion. In the popular Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist and hero, Beowulf, is emphasized for his extraordinary greatness. Throughout his story, he, as an advocate of good, encounters many opposing forces in the form of other characters. In a society where heroism and bravery are honored as essential aspects of culture, the contrasting values of these characters, or foils, help define Beowulf as the model hero.

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Their conduct is often the reason people succeed or surrender. Beowulf is responsible for the untimely demise of many Danes and Geats after defeating Grendel, as his mother becomes incensed upon her child’s death, attacking Heorot and killing numerous Geats and Danes (Beowulf). Grendel having been just brutally attacked by Beowulf, returns to his mother’s cave mortally wounded, as one of his arms ripped from the shoulder hangs beneath the roof of Heorot. Upon Grendel’s demise his mother takes revenge and attacks the mead hall as the warriors sleep killing many. Later in his life Beowulf is responsible for his own tragic demise.

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Beowulf not only willingly risks his life for the Danes against Grendel and his mother (his first

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However, the emergence of the evil monster in the life of Beowulf was an antithesis and anti-romance as Grendel, Grendel 's mother, and the fire dragon. While sir Gawain’s integrity is tested. While Gawain falls for the evil monsters when he of offered the green sash as he fell

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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

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Beowulf vs Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon all represent a creature from hell and Beowulf is a god-like warrior who ends up slaying evil. “Like a man outlawed/for wickedness, he must await/the mighty judgement of God in majesty” (Beowulf 976 - 978). This quote talks about Grendel and his demonic soul. Beowulf points out that he is an evil creature and no creature ever to exist is powerful enough to smite God. Once Grendel dies, Grendel will be in God’s hands and Grendel will regret ever being evil or committing any evil action to anyone or anything on Earth.

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He has true honor and respectfully distributes treasure and gifts to those whom he believes rightfully deserves them. Beowulf’s loyalty to the Danes helps shed light on his true character. He expresses that he believes he may die in battle between Grendel, but that does not dissuade him from fighting the beast. Another example is when Hygelac dies, Beowulf is asked to take the throne. In doing so, that would mean the the son of Hygelac would be stripped of his own inheritance, which is dishonorable in Beowulf’s eyes, and thus he declines the offer.

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Lastly, in Beowulf, he showed greed when he went into the cave to defeat Grendel’s mothers by stealing from her cave. Beowulf shows signs of an epic hero but he let greed get the best of him. He had his mind set on just killing Grendel and being done with his work. But once he killed Grendel, he had to defeat Grendel’s mother. When he went into the cave to defeat Grendel’s mother, he saw treasures everywhere.

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