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How Does Beowulf Fight Against Evil

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There seem to be many strange creatures roaming the unfortunate lands described in Beowulf, but the three that Beowulf decides to eradicate have a definite penchant for destructive acts toward humans. They each have their own reasons for their evil deeds. The dragon wreaks havoc because his treasures are stolen, Grendel's mother is seeking revenge for the mutilation and death of her son, and Grendel eats people because the inhabitants of Heorot sounded like they were having too much fun in their great hall. People accept bloodshed and strife as part of life unless it comes from an outside source. They see warfare against other humans as politically necessary and often glorious, but if any non-humans try to take part in the action, they deem this horrific and unnatural. …show more content…
Beowulf decides to fight Grendel without arms. As Grendel does not use weapons to bite people in half and lap their blood, it will bring the hero greater honor to slay the foe with his bare hands; this is partly because it would be dishonorable to kill an unarmed man, no matter how dangerous or evil he might be, and partly because Beowulf's vanity will not allow him to miss an opportunity for even greater glory, even if it means his death and disaster for the innocent people he professes to defend. But Beowulf proves his incredible prowess and manhood by ripping poor Grendel's arm off and leaving him to run off and die. One can hardly be surprised by this inhumane treatment of an inhuman monster, however, when one considers that our gallant hero pretended to be asleep long enough for Grendel to eat one of the men in the hall, rather than intercepting the "hell-being" the moment he entered. Nonetheless, everyone rejoices and Beowulf receives such honor as they believe he

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