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Essay On Outcasts In Beowulf

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What makes a person a hero? What defines a person as an outcast? The novel Beowulf is filled with both action packed heros and vengeful outcast. The definition of a hero is a person admired for bravery, great achievements, or good qualities (citation). An outcast is the exact opposite; it is a person who is not accepted or has no place in society nor a particular group (citation).The heros in Beowulf fight to the death for their people and have great pride in their beliefs. The outcast on the other hand want to ruin the hero 's lives and have a great amount of hatred for them. The main archetypal hero in Beowulf is Beowulf himself. Beowulf is the definition of a hero. Beowulf had plenty of successful accomplishments. He had defeated the monstrous Grendel which would typically be not so easy to do, but it was for him. Grendel was out to destroy the Danes. Beowulf had put together a well thought-out plan and waited for him to step into Heorot before he attacked him. He was also going in without any weapons in order to make the fight fair since Grendel would not have any. As Grendel first stepped into the Heorot he had tore a man to shreds. Beowulf swiftly stepped in and started to fight with Grendel. …show more content…

They are the most generous and selfless people. While an outcast resents the hero and seeks out for only themself. Beowulf had numerous heros and outcast. The all mighty Beowulf had gained a vast amount of knowledge from his quest with Grendel and he had used it accordingly during his next two battles, which were against Grendel’s mother and the dragon . Beowulf was fearless and showed the utmost amount of bravery. Beowulf was not the only one who showed bravery. Wiglaf did as well and he ultimately saved and helped Beowulf slay the dragons while all the other danes left him and ran away like cowards. . All the outcast sought vengeance and ended up being destroyed by the infamous

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Archetypal outcasts are those separated from society due to physical or emotional impairment. Nevertheless, Beowulf is presented as an archetypal hero, but he is also presented as an outcast. In his quests to find self-fulfillment, Beowulf is often left alone in a battle. He has to battle by himself, as a loner, to obtain glory. While fighting Grendel, Beowulf’s men stood beside him, but when the time came to defeat Grendel, Beowulf had to complete this task on his own.

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Throughout the poem, Beowulf fights three different monsters and in each of these situations he chooses to begin the fight without their help. He enters into combat with his men by his side, but when the actual fighting begins he defeats the monsters with very little help from them. Beowulf’s strength and physical prowess was unlike any other man in comparison to his height and incredible grip. Furthermore, Beowulf can be categorized as an outcast based on his personality traits. The main character is set apart from the other warriors because of his courage and humility.

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Beowulf is an Old English epic poem. Seamus Heaney did a translation on Beowulf. Beowulf is separated into three different sections. In every story the hero and outcast all have a major, but different role to play. The major outcast in Beowulf is Grendel.

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Monsters and Danes in Beowulf also take on diverse archetypal character traits, comparable to Beowulf. There are numerous types of archetypal characters, but the most common two groups are hero and outcast. A hero is a figure who is larger than life, and whose search for self-identity and/or self-fulfillment results in his own destruction. In the aftermath of the death of the hero, however, is progress toward some ideal. An outcast is a character who is separated from society due to a physical impairment, or an emotional or physiological realization that makes this character different.

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During the first battle, in lines 275-290 “Had he met a man whose hands were harder: ... The infamous killer fought for his freedom.” shows how much strength Beowulf had. He could nearly kill a monster in just a few moments with little effort. The Anglo-Saxon’s would typically use boasting to show off their strength; which Beowulf was good at, but he had the physical abilities to transcend and out fight any competitor physically or mentally.

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He carefully strategized his plan to defeat Grendel. He waited for Grendel to come to Heorot, then surprise attacked him. Grendel put up a fight, but Beowulf was stronger and more intelligent. Beowulf ripped the arm off of the beast, sending him away to die. Not only did Beowulf have to defeat Grendel, but Grendel’s mother came back for revenge, so Beowulf set out to the darkness where Grendel and his mother lived.

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One more heroic characteristic Beowulf showed was the trust in his men. With every battle that Beowulf was involved in, he was never to leave his warriors behind. During the battle against the Grendel he purposely picked out fourteen of his strongest warriors and fought alongside sixteen of the Danish warriors making that thirty warriors Beowulf had to confide and trust in through it all. Even though more than half of the warriors were not his own people, he treated them the exact same. He trusted in that they would be successful in the fight and follow the orders exactly as is without question.

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Beowulf went through so much to prove he was worthy enough to protect their kingdom and defeat Grendel. The story Beowulf was a great story to read and a great movie to watch; however, the battles were very eye catching and had a lot of extravagant and heroic doings of Beowulf. The first scenario that I’m going to discuss in the movie and story of Beowulf is The Battle with Grendel. In the movie Grendel attacked Beowulf in the Heriot while everyone was dancing and singing.

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This was the only battle that he was told to have. The townspeople had been fighting off Grendel for twelve years and they never once succeeded. Beowulf was called down to take care of the problem and he succeeded. That night when Grendel came to attack Beowulf was ready and he killed Grendel right there. But it was a special battle because there were no weapons they only fought with their bare hands.

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Beowulf is too blinded by his past to realize he was no longer as strong and could not defeat the dragon: "Beowulf spoke, made a formal boast for the last time: 'I risked my life often when I was young. Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning'" (2510-2514). Beowulf had an army and his warrior, Wiglaf willing to help him, but he scoffed at the idea of help. Beowulf seems to believe that his prosperity will last forever and his lack of judgement in this situation like, Heremod leads to his downfall. Beowulf, like Hrothgar, also defends the Danes from many creatures and believes he could defeat any creature, which ends in tragedy.

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Beowulf says “The noblest and wisest counselors of my people advised me to come to you, lord Hrothgar because they knew of my great strength. ”(page 13, paragraph 4) Beowulf says he destroyed the race of giants, killed sea monsters and he endured hardships to avenge

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This proves that he is strong and brave because no one else could kill Grendel let alone face him. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands and without armor on. Other warriors could not even kill him with a sword and armor. “Beowulf’s intention to fight Grendel with only his strength proves that he carries the characteristics of a true hero”(Hailey).

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evil. Beowulf is the archetype warrior hero whose one purpose is to defend the innocent and vulnerable of his people. Whether it is the devil incarnated, the mother of the monster, or a fire-breathing dragon, he is capable of defending the Danes and Geats. Without his heroism and bravery, these people would’ve faced certain death under a weakened, but good, King Hrothgar. Beowulf uses the same selflessness as the military that defends our country, and is as great of a warrior as each and every one of the soldiers in the United States armed services.

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Beowulf risked his life multiple times by battling Grendel and Grendel’s mother to save the people of Denmark. He also embarks on a battle with a dragon as an old man ascending on the Geats Throne. Each battle Beowulf fought has all been for the safety of his people. Although the Knight did not battle as a deed for his people, he also is viewed as a humble person his battles were for a purpose greater than himself. The knight never talks about his brave and valorous deeds.

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