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Comparing Beowulf And Grendel's Mother

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It all started when Hrothgar, King of the Danes, built a mead hall by the name of Herot. But little did he know that a monster that has been cast out by humanity, now lurks upon the beautiful hall. One night, as the night sky appears, the vicious monster Grendel makes this joyful hall, his very own slaughter house. After this brutal attack, a man named Beowulf hears of the creature that is terrorizing this innocent land. He then gathers his best men, and heads to this land and in courageous honor, requests to defend the kingdom and defeat the monster. After doing so successfully, Beowulf becomes a hero in the land of the Danes, and now his story is told throughout the centuries. Being told verbally for many years, the great heroic story is …show more content…

Grendel’s Mother in the poem seems like just the typical protective mom that is always there for her child. In the poem, she goes into battle with Beowulf, and fights to defend her boy’s name. Like the poem, in the movie, after Grendel is defeated by Beowulf and Grendel’s Mother finds out, she craves that vengeance of her only son. But unlike the poem, when Beowulf looks to go into battle with her, there is no battle he finds out that she is actually a very beautiful woman. So, of course Beowulf becomes a victim to her promising words, “Since you took away my only son, stay here and give me another, and I will promise you peace as long as the gold cup stays in my hands.” These words obviously made Beowulf fall deeply in love and her astonishing body made Beowulf’s decision of the deal very easy. After Beowulf returned, and through many years of peace during his reign, the gold cup returned, and the promise was broken. Beowulf became very terrified in the remembrance of the deal, and as a dragon is terrorizing the village, Beowulf launches into action and tries his best to defend the village. But, though he defeats the dragon, he is killed in the battle. In conclusion, the Beowulf poem and movie has both similarities and differences. The similarities and differences are what makes it all important to the societies that created them. The differences though is what makes the movie’s visual

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The main characters in the story are Beowulf, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, the dragon, and Hrothgar—king of the Danes

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Within this paper, there are two different pieces writing that will be compared. Those writings are The Epic Poem of Beowulf and A Hero’s Journey Archetype. This paper will be discussing this question: How does Beowulf follow the Hero’s Journey Archetypes? According to Hero’s Journey Archetype, the characteristics of a hero is that, the hero is male.

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He takes out his loneliness on the prosperous hall of the Danes. The news of Grendel terrorizing the kingdom became a tale overseas, which is how Beowulf hears of Grendel and his acts. The kingdom had not received successful help, and Beowulf believes that he is capable of helping and takes this as his calling. After the call in a Hero Quest, the hero must make a decision.

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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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This fits with the Ordeal stage in the hero’s journey. Beowulf is faced with a life or death situation and overcomes it.

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But he knew the greatest threat came knocking at his door for a fight that will live on being told for eternity. Beowulf sacrificed his own life for those around him, “Quickly, the dragon cam at him, encouraged as Beowulf as Beowulf fell back; its breath fared, and he suffered, wrapped around in swirling flames- a king, before, but now a Beaton warrior” (lines 687-691). In the end Beowulf fought till the end fighting not only for himself but for his people. He fought like a king until his death. Beowulf gave the ultimate sacrifice to save his people.

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I am old, now, but I will fight again, seek fame still, if the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face me” (2511-2515). In conclusion, Beowulf is an epic hero. Although he made risky decisions, he did them for his people. He possessed the qualities of a hero; bravery, loyalty and fearlessness.

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In the beginning, Beowulf was introduced as a young and powerful warrior whose heroism is defined by his great strength.

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Beowulf is eagerly confident in his pledge to Hrothgar, and it seems almost certain that he will defeat Grendel’s mother. However, once he penetrates the dangerous waters of her home territory, Beowulf no longer has the upper hand and he begins to understand his predicament: Then once she touched bottom, that wolfish swimmer carried the ring-mailed prince to her court so that for all his courage he could never use the weapons he carried; and a bewildering horde came at him from the depths, droves of sea-beasts

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Grendel’s mother is seen as a vicious character in this story, which in medieval times most women tend to play the role of a witch, demon or sorcerer. In Beowulf, Grendel’s mother played the role of a so called “Masculine Queen”. Even in the title it still seems sexist, claiming a woman cannot be powerful unless she acts masculine. According to Dorothy Porter Carr, “Grendel’s mother, is a hardier opponent than her son was, and she is certainly physically capable of carrying out her desired vengeance.” Grendel’s mother acts in a more masculine manner than the other women do; she poses some strong physical and magical powers, which in medieval times she is considered evil.

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Christopher Reeves once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Although Beowulf was human, he was not an ordinary individual, hero, or king, for he was a man who displayed superhuman qualities in his efforts to protect the Danish and Geatish people. Beowulf, who was established Geatish warrior that spent his life in battle, showed these extraordinary characteristics that made him an epic hero, one who possesses superhuman, almost god-like qualities. Being constantly on a quest, risking his life for glory and the greater good of society, and being superiorly intelligent, courageous and strong are the three most important reasons why Beowulf deserves such a notable

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After Grendel’s death, she channeled all that hatred and grief towards the people that harmed her child. Her love for her child lead her to commit these acts. Even though her actions are considered evil, it is natural to feel some sort of pity and sympathy for Grendel’s mother after her loss. Unlike Grendel, Grendel’s mother doesn't kill or destroy randomly. It is clear that she only wanted to take revenge for her son and targeted those that harmed him.

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The poem and movie of “Beowulf” are very different and they are also sort of similar. There are a lot more differences between the two than you would expect and while some of them are minor differences others are drastically different. Most movies are very different from the book they are made from. The biggest differences between the movie and poem were the three battles. The three battles have drastic differences.

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Many people may have read the poem Beowulf that was written by a anonymously poet in Old English; this book was later on translated by Burton Raffel. This poem captured many people in the old days that eventually lead this to get adapted to the big screen by Robert Zemeckis. People who are into literature like the books better than the movies because they feel like they are more detailed while with the movies they have scenes that are shorten up and do not have the most important parts that we may find interesting. Most movies and books do not often relate to each other and it is rare to ever find a movie that is much more better than the actual book. After watching the movie it has come to understanding that the book and the poem are similar in some ways.

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Today in the fiction of this modern world, the characteristics of a hero have not changed. Heroes in movies, TV shows, and literature all have these qualities. Beowulf's main goal was to seek glory and fame all the days of his life. Because of his heroic deeds Beowulf does not die, but lives on; not just in a tower above the sea, but in a poem that was sung for centuries around the

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