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Critical analysis of heroism in Beowulf
Critical analysis of heroism in Beowulf
Critical analysis of heroism in Beowulf
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All seemed well until, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and takes back her son’s arm. Beowulf walks back into the hall after all of this is over and hears Hrothgar lament the death of his counsellor. Hrothgar realizes that Grendel's mother was just trying to avenge her son. This attack brings out the stories of the country people and their monster stories. Off in the distance, Beowulf hears a mere and he bolsters courage from Hrothgar.
The beginning of the story occurs in the land of the Danes, where Beowulf fights Grendel and his mother. The last part of the story takes place in the land of the Geats, where Beowulf had being ruling as king for nearly 50 years and face his last enemy, the Dragon. Characterization: Who are the main characters of the story?
Throughout John Garder’s novel and the poem Beowolf the reader can tell that Grendel is a complex character that does not relate much to anyone else in the novel or the poem. Grendel in Garder’s novel is also different compared to the Grendel in the poem Beowolf by many different standards. Grendel in Garder’s novel is more a complicated character then the Grendel in Beowolf because the novel is set in first person point of view, the reader can have a deeper understanding of Grendel in the novel, and there is more modern philosophy in Grendel the novel. The novel Grendel is all written in first person which gives a deeper understanding of how Grendel interprets what is happening and how he reacts too many of the conflicts that happen to him.
Grendel’s story is not only from his perspective, but it also starts far before Beowulf enters the picture. Grendel does not even know of man’s existence before he encountered Hrothgar whom he starts to fear when he says “I knew I was dealing with no dull mechanical bull but with thinking creatures, pattern makers. The most dangerous things I’d ever met” (pg 27). His first encounter with these men left him wanting more. He spent most nights watching them in the shadows, trying to make sense of their actions.
The Wyrd Cross between Christianity and Fate in Beowulf/Grendel The poem Beowulf, authored by an anonymous person, remains to be one of the oldest epics in the Anglo-Saxon tradition. The poem serves as an important influence for later literature; the novel Grendel by John Gardner is one example. The settings of Beowulf and Grendel are a result of the assimilation of Christianity into the Anglo-Saxon pagan religion. Not only did the Anglo-Saxons belief in spiritual predestination but also in fatalism.
Beowulf is an epic that shows good vs evil. It puts Beowulf against Grendel and in the end Beowulf comes out on top. In The Odyssey all the survivors of the Trojan War return home except Odysseus. He is stuck on Calypso’s island and she wouldn’t let him leave. Calypso is a nymph on the island that falls in love with Odysseus.
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.
The tale of Beowulf takes place in Sweden and Denmark. Beowulf was a warrior and a young prince. King Hrothgar send him out on a mission to defeat Grendel, a monster who is terrorizing King Hrothgar’s warriors. Beowulf followed Grendel onto a swamp where he would fight against him and end up killing him by ripping his arm off. After the death of Grendel, Grendel’s mother arrives to avenge her son.
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.
Grendel vs Grendel Grendel, the horrid, gross, quarrelsome demon who had no concept of the english language or feelings, the beast of burden who slaughters men with no remorse. Writtened as a damned hel spawn of his wicked mother, known throughout the land as an emotionless entity whose pleasure derives from the pain of others. As portrayed as in the Epic Beowulf (Heaney). However on the other side of the spectrum we have the Grendel in the movie Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson, S.) Again portrayed as a thing that derives pleasure from the pain of others and a thing that acts somewhat like a human from time to time.
He was called upon to save another land from Grendel, who was brutally killing Danes. Beowulf fought the ferocious Grendel to save not people of his own home but of a different place. He fought hard to rip off Grendel’s arm and placed it where everyone could see the beast was gone. After, Beowulf stood his ground and fought harder to defeat Grendel’s mother, who was torn because Beowulf had killed her offspring. He swam through waters to reach Grendel’s mother in her home on the bottom of a lake.
Within both Grendel the novel and Beowulf the poem, there are many differences between the two depictions of the main character. Grendel in the novel is portrayed as a more complex character than in the epic poem, Beowulf, because of his ability to comprehend the world, seek out companionship, and his ability to transform as a character throughout the book. Due to the first person point of view in the novel, we are able to get a glimpse inside of Grendel’s mind, which shows us that he is able to comprehend the world as it truly is. It is easy to view him as an intellectual character, which is a stark comparison to the blood-thirsty beast he is depicted as in Beowulf.
We, humans have advanced quite a great deal through time with technology, architecture, and even through our ideals. In the Beowulf the epic (Heaney 2000), we see right and wrong through the eyes of the past and it is strange to say the least. The author wrote this for their intended audience, meaning they were reflecting the cultural values of the ancient Anglo-Saxons. In the movie, Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson 2005), we see changes from the original work that seems to match to modern ideas of right and wrong. Two characters, Hrothgar and Grendel, one who was a man of the light and kin of the dark respectively, changed to match the ideals we hold today into completely different people that we had known them to be.
Grendel in both stories is described as a vicious "Monster", but is viewed differently. The character of Grendel, in the novel by John Gardner, portrays a different visualization than that of Grendel in the epic poem Beowulf. In the novel the story is told in first person point of view which gives Grendel human qualities while Grendel in Beowulf is told in third person point of view not giving Grendel his standpoint. In both works, the authors give two different perspectives of Grendel. Grendel in the novel is not seen as a "Monster", but as a human that has emotions and is very sympathetic about everything that comes his way.
The movie Beowulf is about the story of a man who saves the day in the town of Herot that takes place around 700-1000 CE. Many different elements went into making this film such as camera angles, actors, costumes, and sets. In the movie, Herot is in a time of misery because an evil creature named Grendel is coming to the town at night and killing the kings’ army. Hrothgar, the king, is tired of this monster coming and ruining his home, so he calls for Beowulf, who is known for being a warrior, to come and defeat Grendel. Beowulf comes to Herot with some of his army and waits in the town hall for Grendel to come.
