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Misunderstanding Of Grendel's Heroism In 'Beowulf'

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Many of the classic original texts have been transformed into films in the past decade. Many of these films can start a polemical debate. Beowulf was a transcribed poem written in present form about 1000 AD. Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon traditional poem that shows heroism. Beowulf was a monster killer who travelled to help out the king of Danes, Hrothgar, by fighting a monster named Grendel and his mother. In the original poem Beowulf is displayed as a true hero to the Geats and Danes. The film displays Beowulf's heroism as a problem rather than a solution. Although the film follows the same storyline as the poem, they have different themes for courage. One of the biggest differences found between the film and original poem is the theme of Beowulf's …show more content…

The film gives the viewer a misunderstanding of Grendel's sinfulness. The film shows Grendel as an innocent, naive, injured monster after the fight with Beowulf. This gives the viewer the thought that the real monsters in the film are those who seek to kill Grendel. The blame for Grendel's violence could be put in Beowulf's men's hands because they brought it upon themselves by being careless. After the killing of Grendel, Beowulf meets with Grendel's mother to defeat her and all the violence Heorot has taken. The film displays Grendel's mother as an attractive female which is when Beowulf's true flaws become apparent to everyone. Grendel's mother tells Beowulf in the film that she knows he is just as much of a monster as her son was. Beowulf never killed Grendel's mother when he left her cave in the film. Instead, Beowulf gave Grendel's mother a gold piece she asked for and she would no longer attack their kingdom. In the film we can see Beowulf fall under her attractiveness and he ends up negotiating with her. After this part of the film, it leaves the viewers questioning the courage and overall opinion of Beowulf. In the poem Beowulf doesn’t ever hesitate to kill Grendel's mother. The film Beowulf gives a totally new idea of the type of leader Beowulf really

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Grendel had being killing and terrorizing Hrothgar’s people. The news of Grendel had travel to the land of the Geats and Beowulf had come to provide assistance to Hrothgar. One day after Beowulf and Grendel’s fight, where Beowulf tears off the demons’ arm, the monster’s mother came to vengeance her son’s death. She was also defeated and killed by Beowulf, for which he received many gifts and praise by Hrothgar and his wife Wealhtheow.

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In the movie Grendel 's mother’s tail was the first glimpse Beowulf got of her. Grendel 's mother seduces Beowulf and gets ahold of him (Zemeckis). This shows that Beowulf, and men are sometimes blind to what they see when it comes to women. The Zemeckis video was more powerful because it conveyed a message. In the text “Beowulf longed only for fame” (“from Beowulf” 48).

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Beowulf is an anglo saxon story about an epic hero it's a story with a kingdom being terrorized by a scary monster and the story about the monster spreads to other kingdoms and then this hero heard about it and lend his hand to help them out and bring back the peace to that kingdom. Beowulf in this story is good and grendel the monster is evil and his mom is too they terrorize the hall in which they host their celebrations and at night the monster would come and slay and murder each and every person that was in that hall that night. Grendel is pure evil because he has no conscience , no quench for his thirst of blood and killing he simply does not care about the actions he commits. For that he is the epitome of all evil he does not care for

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The story of Beowulf and the movie are very different because of Beowulf’s actions are not noble. In the textbook Beowulf killed Grendel’s mother for the glory, but in the movie he lied about killing her for his own personal desires. Beowulf killed Grendel’s

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1220 Words | 5 Pages

His manhood is what ultimately overpowers Grendel’s mother. When Beowulf chose

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The hero in the epic poem Beowulf is the main character, Beowulf. He demonstrates heroic qualities as soon as the readers are introduced to his character. Beowulf proves himself to be courageous and brave by voluntarily fighting the “undefeatable” monster, Grendel. He is greatly admired by both the Danes and Geats for his courageous acts. Although his motivation is altered to only benefit himself with the title of the greatest warrior, his plan to save the Danes is greatly appreciated by all in the land.

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The film and epic poem Beowulf may seem alike because of their similar plots and characters, but when looked at deeper, it is clear that their cultural differences set them apart. Traditionally, epic poems are lengthy stories that praise the deeds of heroic warriors whilst reflecting the brutal reality of life. They expressed cultural pride and teachings, while telling everyone that we are hopeless in the hands of fate; that all human ambition ends in death. In our modern world today, movies are made to entertain, but more importantly to sell and make a profit.

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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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Have you ever heard of the story Beowulf? If not, then I will be telling you the different scenarios that occurred in the movie and the book. Beowulf is about a heroic fellow who saves a kingdom from a magical named Grendel. He went through numerous of battles between Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the Dragon. In this essay I will be discussing the different event that happened in the story and the movie.

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First he goes to kill Grendel then realizes that Grendel’s mom is out for vengeance. He then travels to her lair when he swims deep in the groggy and evil swamp to fight her. They lash out and battle when finally he kills her. This scene was a big event and highlighted the heroic and brave actions of Beowulf. This also leads into the results of his actions.

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More than a Monster In Beowulf, it showed us Grendel dying by Beowulf’s hand, when his mother finds out about his death she goes straight to Heoret to get revenge. She grabbed Aeschere, killed him, and this lead to Beowulf seeking her out to get rid of her as he did with Grendel. Beowulf was successful, after an underwater fight in her lake he took her down. Grendel’s mother is considered a monster by the pagans yet her motives, her human qualities, and her comparison to other characters prove that she is not as heartless or monstrous as she is perceived. A mother grieves when her children are harmed and Grendel’s mother is just that, a mother.

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806 Words | 4 Pages

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/

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1008 Words | 5 Pages

Thus allowing the reader to interpret the tone better because of how Grendel expresses his feeling. On the other hand, Beowulf gives the reader a generalization of how he sees society. Plain and simple. Beowulf only sees the world as good and evil, black and white, there is no gray area, causing the tone to be bland and boring due to no detail or unexpected turns. Beowulf overlooks society as a horrible place that only " the vicious raids and ravages of Grendel, his long and unrelenting feud, nothing but war...young and old were hunted down by the death shadow" (line 151-160).

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941 Words | 4 Pages

The fight with Grendel’s mother is much more violent than the fight with Grendel, for she is stronger than the previous enemy, so Beowulf changes his battle tactics to compensate for her

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555 Words | 3 Pages

The movie Grendel starts off attacking Herot Hall, but in the textbook he started attack villagers. In the textbook, Grendel mother was considering hideous; however, in the movie she was a gorgeous monster. Accordingly, to the textbook version Beowulf’ death was extremely not dramatic. The movie and poem Beowulf share many differences, for the attack of Herot Hall, death of Grendel and his mother, also tragedy death of

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