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Good and evil in Beowulf
An essay on literary analysis on the theme good vs. evil in beowulf
Good and evil in Beowulf
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Beowulf exemplifies the concept of good and evil. It includes the archetypical hero who battles multiple monsters and faces struggles along the way. Even though Beowulf is thousands of years old, the theme of good vs evil is still seen in modern literature, on television, and in many other places. Good vs evil is seen in many places in the present time period, especially in superhero comics and movies.
In the story Beowulf he fought three monsters in the epic poem. The first monster he fought was Grendel who was terrorizing Herot .The second monster he fought was Grendel's mom who was out for revenge on Beowulf for killing her only son. and the final monster he fought was The Dragon who had treasure hidden in the tower. Beowulf fought each of these monsters using different methods,weapons and techniques .
(Heaney, 262-266). Beowulf makes it clear since he descended from great warriors and Geatish kings, his responsibility to face the dragon overwhelmed all reasons to avoid conflict. To fulfill his responsibility to the Geats and maintain his family reputation, Beowulf fought his enemy despite his diminishing
Second, the readers of "Beowulf " poem often confuse about whether Beowulf fought monsters for wealth or for pride. In my point of view as a reader I belief Beowulf fought monsters and beast for his pride and faith. So I chose "Goldgyfan or Goldwlance: A Christian Apology for Beowulf and Treasure " by Joseph E. Marshall from Studies in Philology journal as my critics to support my statement. In Marshall, Joseph E. “Goldgyfan or Goldwlance: A Christian Apology for Beowulf and Treasure.” Studies in Philology, vol. 107, no. 1, 2010, pp.
The third and final evil Beowulf must face is the dragon. At this point in the poem, Beowulf has been the “ring-giver” or king for half a century (Beowulf 2207). The role of a king in Germanic times included rewarding warriors with treasure captured in battle; however, the dragon keeps his treasure to himself. This greediness is in direct opposition to the qualities of a good king, and the dragon becomes the representation of selfishness and destruction. Beowulf takes on the role of a warrior once again, and defeats the dragon.
He alleviates the innocent people from a terrible, mysterious evil, but he never truly satisfies his hunger for victory. Even fifty years past his prime, Beowulf, not content with his spectacular defeat of both Grendel and Grendel’s mother, hungers for more battles to win. Beowulf sees a conflict and aims to resolve it, no matter what obstacles stand in his way. However his need for glory ends up getting the better of him, and his final battle with the dragon ends up in their mutual destruction.
Beowulf’s seemingly simple story of a mighty hero facing a battle with an evil monster is something a child would pick up. Tough, after reading beowulf in my AP Literature class we can see that there’s more to this fairy tale that meets the eye. There’s a story on how Beowulf is not only battling a demon but himself as well. Its starts of with Beowulf going on a quest, a simple one, to only defeat the mighty monster Grendel.
As a payment to the king of the Danes, he decides to fight the dragon, just as he fought Grendel. Then he was a warrior and now he is a king responsible for his people. Beowulf’s decision is courageous but inappropriate for a king. His foolish but courageous decision causes him to die in the end. Before he fought the mighty dragon, he said “I’ve never known fear; as a youth I fought in endless battles.
There is a good and an evil in everyone… it just matters what side you show. One isn’t born evil and one isn’t born good. You choose the kind of person that you want to be. Not only are people evil, but situations and places can be evil too. The world today is an evil place, there is not many people that have a good heart anymore.
He finds a solution to slay the monster in every battle for example, "The fight is difficult but; Hrunthing fails its user, but Beowulf sees a great sword, too big for anyone but himself, and uses it to kill the mother" (Hanning 7). Although the purpose of the monster may be to add action throughout the plot, Beowulf battling the monsters not only adds action but also portrays him as a hero for fighting the
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/
With the battle to protect the city against the dragon, even though Beowulf was king he fought the dragon. He fought the dragon because no one else could. No one was as selfless as he was to risk his life to protect the city. Without Beowulf these monsters would over power good and there would be no balance between good and evil.
Once upon a time, there was a marvelous warrior that was a hero to so many and king to some. In the story of Beowulf, the hero, Beowulf, must follow and go through the hero’s journey. The hero’s journey has twelve stages, or three acts. The stages go in the order: 1) The Call to Adventure, 2) Assistance, 3) Departure, 4) Trials, 5) Approach to the Inmost Cave, 6) Crisis, 7) Treasure, 8) Result, 9) Return, 10) New Life, 11) Resolution, and 12) Status Quo (Winkler). Since Beowulf is facing three different monsters, there is not only the story’s significant journey, but also multiple inside it.
First, we have the supernaturals of Beowulf. We have the villains that made Beowulf 's battles, which is Grendel, Grendel 's mother, and the dragon. He also fought the creatures in the lake, the sea monsters, and just about anything who picked a fight with Battles, Grendel being the first monster he story, which was known to be able to take out thirty men at once. Grendel 's mother however put up a fight for Beowulf, Grendel 's mother came for revenge against Beowulf killing her son.
Everyone has had a moment in their life when they have been evil. In the poem Beowulf, good vs. evil is greatly used in conflict between many of the characters. Beowulf, a warrior helps out Hrothgar when his land was being attacked by a monster named Grendel, who was an ugly beast. Beowulf defeats Grendel and kills him with just his hands. Grendel’s mother becomes very angry that Beowulf killed her son so she wants revenge.
