Fear In Beowulf And Lord Of The Flies

What Should Society Really Fear? Reflecting on the human psyche, the monsters that make up nightmares consist of creatures like bloodsucking vampires, creepy clowns, and fiendish demons. These nightmares that children tend to have are typically when they are under high amplitudes of stress or change; not because the things they imagine are actually real. Although killer vampires are scary, the real thing children should fear is what they don’t know about themselves. Even though Beowulf and Lord of the Flies have a monster who terrorizes the characters throughout the novel, the real monsters they should fear are the ones inside themselves. In both Lord of the Flies and Beowulf, the monsters in the book are a constant threat to the characters. Until they are defeated, of course.

Once Beowulf hears of this, he sails right over to protect the village and destroy this evil monster. As Grendel bursts into the Herot, Beowulf puts up a fight, ultimately resulting in Beowulf’s favor. He ripped his arm from the shoulder off, “Hygelac’s kinsman kept him helplessly locked in a handgrip… The monster’s whole body was in pain; a tremendous wound appeared on his shoulder… Beowulf was granted the glory of winning” (Beowulf 812-818). Just like in today's society, Grendel helps us to see our own imperfections. It is these imperfections that we fear, we ourselves are afraid to face our own demons. This fear of facing our own monsters is evident in the fact that the people in the Herot were unable to face and stop Grendel. So they, much like ourselves, call upon others to help us face our demons. That is the message Beowulf shows us about