The “monsters” of today are not dragons, trolls, and other assorted beasts, but instead something more subtle. I find that the opinion I’m about to share is similar to that of the theory in which Beowulf actually existed, but the monsters were exaggerated warriors and personifications of natural things. The “monsters” of today are also manmade. I find that these “monsters” are acts and beliefs of mankind itself. For the sake of connecting this back to Beowulf even more, I will list three “monsters”, because there were three monsters in this epic. Perhaps the first monster is war. I find it funny in a sense that during the time of Beowulf, many cultures seemed to praise bloodshed because it was an attempt to prove one’s strength and place in society. Today, most people around the world abhor that idea. Mankind has gone through several wars for many different reasons. In the last three centuries alone, we’ve had wars over land, over people, over independence, over religion, and even wars over how a country should distribute its currency (communism versus capitalism). There have been many anti-war groups over the decades, so, if we assume war is a monster, a group like the America First Committee would theoretically be an opponent to the monster , albeit an unsuccessful one. Much like a monster, countless people die in its presence. Unfortunately, just like the forces of evil in Beowulf, wars will probably exist forever, because someone always finds a new reason to wage war over something.
If we were to assume that war is our world’s equivalent to Grendel, than a well-intentioned extremist is the mother. The people who wage wars are sometimes extremists who believe what they’re doing is right. To put it simply, a villain who believes that they are the hero. These people are very close minded and even insane to those who see that flaw. Many of the wars discussed in the last paragraph could be matched with leaders who had good intentions, an example being the leaders of communist countries during the Cold War, who thought communism was true equality, and tried spreading it around the world. As history shows us though, the leaders of those countries are too greedy and easily corrupted. A corrupted person with good intentions cannot be fought with someone who is equally corrupted on the other side. This monster can be brought down by an open minded person of equal or more power and influence, or in a worst case scenario, if the “monster” succeeds and the utopia they envisioned ends up collapsing on them. They may realize that all their hard work ended up making their situation worse, and they are defeated.
Finally, the “monster” that aids both of the aforementioned monsters and unites them: propaganda. I suppose this could be the dragon of the group, as those who rely on propaganda end up poisoning people’s minds with their tongues. Although this venom is not literal, it is about as effective as an actual dragon’s venomous tongue. A corrupted leader could persuade their followers to go to war and end up getting them killed in battle. People in command of something often use propaganda to vilify the other side. If a person believes the other side is the “wrong” side, they are more likely to go against them. Much like a dragon’s venom, the more exposure you have, the more dangerous it is. Highly brainwashed individuals can believe only what their leaders have taught them, and may have a skewed view of the outside world. The “dragonslayer” is a person who finds out information from multiple sources or on their own. This way, they are able to form an opinion on their own, rather than just going along with whatever ideas their leader tries jamming into their head. An open mind and skepticism are the sword and shield to defeat this dragon.
While the real world may not have monsters that terrorize the world in fiction, we do have our own “monsters”. These monsters are corrupted humans and the tactics they use. As you can see, the monsters I chose are often connected with each other. A dictator with good intentions may wage a war on those who don’t follow his beliefs, and uses propaganda to convince others that his way is the right way. Luckily, we have ways to combat these “monsters” almost as if we have our own Beowulf. However, “our own Beowulf” may not just be one person, but a group of people. If there’s power in numbers, and enough open minded people to stop the three evils I described, those evils can repeatedly be defeated. Even if they may continue to exist in different forms, there will always be another hero or heroes to fight them.