...the actions of the hero determine the fate of a nation or group. The Danes struggle with Grendel’s terrorizing on Herot nightly for twelve winters. The Danes were so petrified of Grendel that they abandoned the great hall for the time that Grendel reigned terror on them. Beowulf hears about the complications the Danes are having and sets out on a voyage across the sea to profit from the fame and fortune for his people. Beowulf slaughters Grendel and Grendel’s mother before returning to his homeland; Geatland, where he resides until he is crowned the king. Fifty years later, a dragon plagues the Geats when a cup is stolen from his lair and given to Beowulf. He kills the dragon at the expense of his own life. These all assist to deem this poem as one of epic tendencies and lead on to the conclusion of Beowulf being the greatest epic ever written. The superhero qualities present themselves in many ways. One of the broadest honorary elements is when Beowulf shows off greater endurance than any other human as he “Swam along / The sea paths” (lines 514-515) against Brecca while “Crea / tures / [sic] Who sleep deep in sea stirred / into life.” The most challenging part was not the actual swim but when the “Monsters crowded around [him] / continually attacking.”(559-560). Unlike an ordinary human, Beowulf had the strength remaining to fight these monsters after swimming across an ocean. Another example of Beowulf’s superhuman strength is his ability to hold his breath for...
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...being. In both novels Beowulf, by Seamus Heaney, and Grendel, by John Gardner, it primarily focuses on the malicious conflict between the human civilization and creatures out of the ordinary, considered to be monsters. The main discrepancy was a monster named Grendel and Beowulf a hero from a kingdom terrorized for years, by Grendel himself. The monster was said to have killed many people, however, his reasoning was unsure. Without remorse the warrior slain the monster to stop the terror in which Grendel created; however, the reason the beast killed so many people was because of the lack of understanding between him and the society, this in...
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...In the Epic Unit, the main focus as a reader was on the evident themes portrayed in the novels Beowulf and Grendel. These themes were seen in a variety of methods used by the author point of view, purpose, style of the text, persuasiveness, beauty of the text, and a number of other ways. Major themes seen in both of these stories are search for identity and violence. These themes are in both these stories and are what bring power and uniqueness to the style of the writing. Beowulf and Grendel are both very well known for displaying what a true epic hero was and showed the flaws every epic hero had as well. In both Grendel and Beowulf, a strong theme seen the author’s point of view is a search for identity. It is not just Beowulf and Grendel...
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...Beginning with, the creature Grendel show a large amount of vulnerability, which helps the reader see how decent of a being he is. This is believed to be so for one simple reason: why should an evil entity have curiosity and be vulnerable or susceptible to any kind of harm? For example, most stories of demons or other injurious personas are believed to be immortal. Hence, most are left unscathed and uninfluenced after any attempt at contact from a human force or natural force. However, Grendel is highly susceptible to the forces of nature, humans, and animals around him. As an illustration of this, on pages eighteen through twenty-eight. In these pages, Grendel is made not only frightened, but injured by the world around him. This begins with his foot,...
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...Beowulf is an epic poem written in Old English encompassing the mythical tale of the eponymous character of Beowulf. The tale includes his heroic struggles with monstrous beings such as Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and an avaricious dragon. The primary of those, beast Grendel, serves as the protagonist of a philosophical novel of the same name, Grendel. Written by Anglo-Saxon Scholar John Gardner, the novel presents the fictitious tale of Grendel in the world of Beowulf as he struggles to find meaning and purpose in its life. Grendel is a bastard of man and monster. Yet, he feels himself separated from both. This lust and yearning for purpose sets out on his adventures. His purpose is to find purpose. Now, naturally Grendel is monstrous, but...
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...Grendel, one of the antagonists of Beowulf, is a monster who terrorizes the citizens of Denmark with nights of ruthless murder and cannibalism. He is viewed as a direct descendant of Cain, the first child of Eve and the first murderer in the Garden of Eden. If anything, that should be enough proof of Grendel being a bloodthirsty beast who had no motive in life except to kill. However, is this enough evidence to deem Grendel as something truly malevolent? What if the citizens were the true monsters? What if they made Grendel this way? Gardner was trying to make the reader sympathize with Grendel because from the point of view of Grendel himself, he is often expressing some sort of emotion such as loneliness, anger, and even amusement. Grendel, who the citizens considered to be dangerous and deadly, is actually capable of feeling some sort of human emotion such as humor and childish anger. In the beginning of the book Grendel, Grendel is shown to have a rather immature temper when he first encounters Hrothgar, king of the Spear-Danes and dedication of Herot. “The old ram stands looking down over rockslides, stupidly triumphant. I blink. I stare in horror. ‘Scat!’ I hiss. ‘Go back to your cave, go back to your cowshed-whatever.’ He cocks his head like an elderly, slow-witted king, considers the angles, [and] decides to ignore me. I stamp. I hammer the ground with my fists. I hurl a skill-size stone at him. He will not budge. I shake my two hairy fists at the sky and I let out...
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...In Beowulf, Grendel (one of the three main monsters of the poem) is most often depicted as an evil and vile demon that's out to destroy the Danes that live near him. Throughout the story he is seen killing and eating several people and causing terror to the Danes. When he is defeated, he retreats back to his hole to die while the Danes celebrate. But, what if Grendel was not as bad as he seemed and was rather misunderstood. In the epic of Beowulf, We see Grendel lives with his mother in a cave underneath a mere, cast out from society. He would have been raised away from the rest of civilization and unable to learn their customs and what they consider to be normal and acceptable behaviour, and would be something akin to a wild animal. With...
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...In the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf himself, an Anglo-Viking, displays many heroic characteristics. Such characteristics include kinship, fate, and fame. Kinship is someone who is loyal and would never betray their men. Beowulf is just that, he was willing to fight to the death for his warriors, who were like family to him, always thinking positive, and never let them down. Kinship is shown in lines 41-44 when it says, “At daybreak, with the sun's light, the saw/ How well he had worked, and in that gray morning/ Broke their long feast with tears and...” This quote is explaining how the warriors are noticing how hard working Beowulf is and that he would do anything for them. Another characteristic portrayed by Beowulf is fate, ones predetermined...
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...The fire-man saves the children, the doctor heals the patient, the police-officer grabs the crook, a hero is different things to different people. There are heroes that look the part and others who are at the right place at the right time. Ralph Waldo Emerson defined a hero as, “…No braver than any ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” In a somewhat less formal setting, Bonnie Tyler described her hero stating, “He’s got to be strong and he’s got to be fast and he’s got to be larger than life.” In Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the main-characters are brave but there are other requirements needed to make a hero. To give a complete definition: A hero is a type of honorable leader who will sacrifice...
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...Thesis x2?: The Beowulf poet aims to use the monsters as puppets in order to demonstrate the problematic pride of the Germanic society, thus making the good and bad more similar than initially believed. (Perhaps more like “than given by first impression”) Grendel is one of the representations of the problematic pride within the Anglo-Saxons’ heroic society. As known of the society, one’s glory arises from their accomplishments for their lord or king. The Germanic culture believed heavily on the sharing of prizes, thus making them (nonselfish) people. Their honor was seen to be eternal, considering how their names were known throughout history. In this sense, the natural (happening?) of these accomplishments is for the holder to go higher in...
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...of eternal glory. From impressively defeating Grendel and liberating the Danes, to the revenge killing of Grendel’s mom, and even later by saving his nation through self-sacrifice, Beowulf captures the heart of those of the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian world to ultimately go down in history forever. Firstly; however, Beowulf had to start as the equivalent of a nobody to us, (the reader), and the world. All that is known is his quest to slay Grendel on accounts of its attacks on the Danish mead-hall, Heorot. “ ‘I come...
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...corruption and banishment from heaven. Satan thought he could rival God and then to his demise realized too late that he could not. As a result, the future of humanity learned to sin, and since then, pride is thought of as the deadliest sin because of the effect on humans. A man’s pride will rise when he becomes successful. Although he has major accomplishments, and almost always backs up his pride with actions,...
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...the way that we let external factors affect us that determines who we are. As individuals we all have the freedom to choose our own path and that is what life is all about. Along with the freedom of choice comes the responsibilty of one's actions which can make some people anxious but give others meaning to their lives. To overcome this anxiousness and accept responsibilty is to meet the challenges of life and to truly live it.... [tags: Existentialism, ] 675 words (1.9 pages) $14.95 [preview] Understanding Existentialism - Do we matter. Do we seek personal happiness in life. These are questions from existentialism. The dictionary defines existentialism as an individual’s experience filled with isolation in a hostile universe where a human being attempts to find true self and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. Hamlet is an existentialist character who believes that he is forced to avenge his father’s death and the hatred builds in his heart because of the many betrayals which direct him towards a senseless life and constant thoughts about suicide; this ultimately leads to his demise and he is left with naught.... [tags: Existentialism] 872 words (2.5 pages) $14.95 [preview] Life Value vs. Existentialism in Grendel - A main theme in John Gardner’s Grendel, is the constant competition of the ideas of meaning in life versus existentialism. Throughout the novel, Grendel makes a steady spiritual decay to the point of denying any value...
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...Beowulf Ego, ambition, and religious faith are just some of the human emotions that the character Beowulf has. He is a strong and very looked up to leader who is seemingly loved by his men. He has the ambition to take over and take on the world, which is powered by his ego. His religious faith makes him at peace with death in the end, which is something that truly comforts most people to believe in peace and life after death. Beowulf is a character who really struck a chord with me, because in real life we also battle monsters in our own way. Like Beowulf when he was battling Grendel’s mother we all let our ego get in the way when it comes to asking for help. He didn’t want to seem weak in front of his men, being the ambitious leader and courageous leader he was. In the reality of it all, we all let the fear of a bruised ego getting in the way of getting the help we need and the help that could possibly save us. Asking for help though doesn’t make us weak, but it makes us stronger. Human nature though blinds us into seeing that though, because society now and then makes us think that a leader type should never ask for help. Beowulf was very much a great leader he cared for his and he knew their strengths. When him and...
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...mirror the idealistic persona of their respective ages. Beowulf, in his namesake epic, steps up to face every challenge he is presented and performs a flawless display bravery and strength. Sir Gawain is a flawed, more human character, yet continues to strive for glory and the greater good. As a reflection of the ideal hero of their periods, Beowulf and Sir Gawain differ in their values, noble qualities, and the motivations behind their achievements. Beowulf establishes a clear-cut vision of the Anglo-Saxon heroic ideals- devotion to bloodlines, demonstrating one’s valor in battle, and accepting the spoils of war with...
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