...Beowulf is a story about a village that has been getting disturbed and messed with by a monster named Grendel. The tales of Grendel had been told and spreaded by word of mouth, mostly by monks. The tales eventually were heard by a man named Beowulf fourteen winters since the terror started. When beowulf heard the news him and some of his men rode to herot and he was set on ending the terror and killing the monster Grendel. Beowulf will eventually defeat the monster in battle and be Herot’s courageous hero. Throughout the story Beowulf shows many qualities of being a hero. One of the qualities he posessed was being courageous. Beowulf was very brave and would risk his life to fight battles others wouldn’t. One quote from the story that showed...
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...brave quality because having a strong spirit first and belief in good outcomes is the first step towards success. In the epic poem Beowulf by an unknown author, the protagonist Beowulf demonstrates J.R tolkens quote about bravery “it is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit” through the numerous obstacles he goes through as well as the battles he faces with the antagonist’s Grendel’s mother...
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...Beowulf is a great representation of what an epic hero is. Throughout the story, Beowulf is painted as a very brave and courageous hero. He is able to slay many monsters that most men in his world cannot fathom. In the poem of Beowulf, he is introduced as a brave, determined, and loyal hero, and it is shown through the heroic deeds he displays throughout the poem. Beowulf has shown readers his bravery by losing his life to fighting a dragon when many have cowered at the thought. He has willingly put himself in danger to protect his people.”I sold my life for this treasure and I sold it well”.(pg.59 ).This proves Beowulf as an epic hero because it is selfless to give one’s life to protect a city. Would an ordinary person give his life to save...
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...nation and delivering “brutal assaults” (2318) from “virulent hate”(2319). Beowulf learns of this dangerous threat that has took monstrous amounts of innocent fatalities. Beowulf bravely admits “he was destined to face the end of his days in this mortal world; as was the dragon” (2342-2343). Beowulf wishes to fight the dragon as he did in his younger years against Grendel hand-to-hand....
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...The topic that I am going to talk about is the importance and benefits of loyalty, bravery, and leadership in Beowulf. I am going to start by saying that Beowulf seemed like he could conquer anything. Beowulf is very strong. He is almost stronger than anyone, but he is deciding to face a monster that killed every soldier and warrior in his way. Beowulf then decides not to use any weapons against the monster and only use his body. This decision was very risky for him because he almost lost the fight and had been almost killed by the monster. Now I am going to start off by talking about the importance and benefits of loyalty, in Beowulf. One example of the importance of having loyalty in this story was when Beowulf was nice to the soldiers....
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...the evolution of society. In the days of Beowulf and the Vikings, a hero was a man who was strong and courageous, willing and able to protect his tribe and provide for his people. But today, since our culture has vastly changed, so has the meaning of this word; now it is used for the brave and selfless people of the world. Though Beowulf may have acted in ways that were not so heroic, he should be recognized as a hero. Many people recognize Beowulf as the hero of Anglo-Saxon times. Beowulf was the first poem told in Anglo-Saxon England sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries, but it's not actually set in that time and place. It's actually set several hundred years earlier, in the 5th or 6th century. Beowulf does not take place in England, instead, the action happens in the land of the Danes what is known as the nation of Denmark and the land of the Geats which today is known as the nation of Sweden. The main action of the story is set around 500 a.d. Judging by Beowulf’s many feats and strengths, Beowulf’s heroism is not hard to believe. When Beowulf slays the monster Grendal in the classic tale," he was considered a great hero. The slaying of Grendel required courage, bravery, intelligence, perseverance, and mental and physical strength. Certain passages in the story support the opinion that Beowulf has all these qualities. However, in the epic, Beowulf explores the great lengths the character had to go through to succeed. Beowulf did anything in his power to prevail, leading...
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...each other. Topic sentence/Detail: In the poem Beowulf, Grendel and Beowulf perform actions that make them a hero or villain. Thesis: The difference between Grendel and Beowulf is one is evil and the other is good. Similarities between Grendel and Beowulf are both feel satisfied after they fight someone and win and in the end they both accept their deaths. Body 1: Good and evil Topic sentence: A difference between Beowulf and Grendel is that one is a hero and the other is a monster. Beowulf defeats Grendel to end years of suffering in Herot hall. Grendel is the monster who eats men in Herot hall for 12 winters. Quote 1: For example lines 37-38 Grendel “snatched up thirty men, smashed...
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...once said “Beowulf is the story of a dual ordeal: an external battle with vicious opponents and an internal battle with human tendencies of pride, greed, cowardice, betrayal, and self- concern”. This quote means that along with apparent physical conflicts between demons and foes, Beowulf also faces conflicts within himself with his character traits. This quote is very accurate because Beowulf confronts physical opposition with Grendel, Grendel's mother and the dragon but, also he faces internal battles with pride, greed, cowardice, betrayal, and self- concern with his self image and men he relied on. There are many external battles throughout this epic where Beowulf fends off an enemy. Beowulf is first faced with Grendel, a horrible monster terrorizing Herot. He battles and kills Grendel for King Hrothgar. After Grendel's death, Beowulf is faced with another external struggle with Grendel's mother whom he also defeats. Then after this battle he is King of Geatland for 50 years where he is eventually faced with another challenge with the dragon. Lastly he defeats the external conflict of the dragon by killing it, his men were though and did not follow their leader into the battle leaving Beowulf more unlikely to succeed. In the end he loses his life in the struggle. All of these conflicts further prove how part of the dual ordeal of Beowulf is external conflicts between Beowulf and an anti- hero or his trusted men. Conflicts also aroused internally between Beowulf and himself...
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...Anglo- Saxon hero, Beowulf, most perfectly fits into this category and truly defines what it means. At all times, Beowulf is never afraid to put his life on the line for the sake and protection of his people, which helped him gain approval from the people of his area. Throughout the course of the adventure and journey, Beowulf exemplifies what it means to be an epic hero showing loyalty, courage, intelligence, and selflessness in his efforts to save his people and achieve immortality. Beowulf proves that he is a great Anglo-Saxon epic hero through his loyalty. Loyalty was held paramount by...
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...it shows why they are the chosen one. In Beowulf, the epic hero is Beowulf. In the story the character Beowulf portrays the trait of being capable of deeds of great strength and courage. He portrays this by killing Grendel, killing Grendel’s mother, and killing the sea monsters. Beowulf characterizes the trait of having strength and courage by killing Grendel. During the colossal fight, Beowulf is able to rip off the shoulder off Grendel, and hangs them up in Geats. A quote from the story to support this is, “A prince of the Geats, had killed Grendel, Ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering Forced on...
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...Real Hero: Beowulf vs. Grendel The story of the famous battle between Beowulf and Grendel are told in two stories in The story of Beowulf by an unknown author and Grendel by John Gardner. The story of Beowulf is told in 3rd person by someone recounting the events and Grendel is told in a 1st person view of Grendel himself. There is lots of controversy whether which of the two is the real hero, so here is the gist of both stories for you to decide: There is a small town full of people that is being tormented by a monster who comes only to kill and bring terror among the people, the attacks continue and after a short while comes a famous warrior named Beowulf. He comes to defeat the town’s monster to save the people and end the mindless killings of Grendel. Both stories result in Grendel being killed and Beowulf being praised for his actions and he eventually becomes a great, fair king that all the people adore and love. The Anglo-Saxon definition of a hero is typically a man who is strong, brave and an intelligent warrior. They had to be willing to fight to the...
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...Gawain Versus Beowulf Strength can be described as the audacity to fight until the last breath. In the case of both Sir Gawain and Beowulf these were the ideals that these men followed. In the poems Sir Gawain and The Green Knight and Beowulf, the main characters, Sir Gawain and Beowulf, show the physical attribute of strength and valor. However, Sir Gawain and Beowulf are different in the form of strength and qualities. One represented a king who fought for the people and the other who showed loyalty towards the kingship. Beowulf was regarded as an ideal hero by the Anglo Saxon community. The main trait that regards him as the perfect hero was his courage and strength that he shows at the very end of his life. Beowulf shows his physicality throughout the story. "Beowulf, Higlac follower and the strongest of the Geats - greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in the world"(Beowulf 46). This quote exemplifies the fact that Beowulf is considered the best warrior in the region. He is also considered by many people to have superhuman abilities and superhuman strength when he ferociously rips the arm off of Grendel in the poem. Beowulf portrays the ideals of an epic hero as well as the elements of Germanic tribes which gave him super human strength and super human qualities. He is also " A man of great strength " (Helen web). This also reinstates the detail that shows the agile nature in Beowulf and also physical toughness of him as a whole. As a result, Beowulf is a sign of...
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...Beowulf Values The story of Beowulf holds many interesting values about each character. The characters value their fathers names, their armor and treasures. These values are clearly shown throughout the story and affect the plot dramatically . Beowulf truly cares about his father Edgetho and his appearance in his armor because of how he presents himself when meeting new people stating his father's name right away, and treasures because he lost his life for a treasure. The value of a man's fathers name is very important to the men in this time period. In my perspective if a person had a well respected father and was well known and he stated his name, people would like you better. ''So the living sorrow of Healfdanes's son/Simmered, bitter and fresh, no wisdom(104-105)''. This quote is talking about Hrothgar. Instead of just saying Hrothgar they state his father's name and add son to the end to represent Hrothgar. Another example is ''We are Geats/ Men who follow Higlac. My father/ was a famous soldier, known far and wide/ His name was Edgetho (173-176) ''. This example is when Beowulf arrives to Herot and is introducing himself to the sentinel. Characters in Beowulf value armor a lot. The guard of Herot see's Beowulf and his men arrive on the shore and almost automatically welcomes and respects due to their flawless armor. I think the characters take value in their armor because of how much pride they have fighting and how brave they are. ''With gleaming armor/Going...
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...us to overcome the temptation on a daily bases. In the epic poem, Beowulf, the actions of many of the main characters reflect how revenge seduces us to make decisions that have negative impact not only on us but the people around us. Because seeking revenge more and more destroys us, the nature of evil is revenge. After spending most of his life in the dark doing nothing with his time, Grendel strives to deprive the people of Herot of their happiness. The grandfather of Grendel, Cain was banished so along with Grendel and his parents were banished as well, as a result it made him feel alone and isolated. Being alone made him a monster in only on the outside but the inside as well. “…A powerful monster, living down in the darkness, growled in pain, impatient as day the music rang…” This quote shows the impact on how being lonely change someone. It lead Grendel to snatch up thirty men, smashed them, and take them way. Grendel’s choice to focus on his pain and become self-absorbed leads directly to his violent actions. Instead of cowering in grief, the mother seeks revenge upon Beowulf for what he did to her son Grendel. She takes the king’s right hand man and Beowulf’s trophy. Something that he believes that is rightfully his. When his mother visit Herot, she carries off Grendel’s arm, which Beowulf hung high from the rafters. This indicates that Grendel’s mother, as part of her grieving, gets back at Beowulf for the killing of her son. Her personal revenge leads to an unavoidable...
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...values defined in ‘Beowulf’ and ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ ” The cultural values depicted in “Beowulf” and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” are those of courage, honor, strength and humility among many others. Now, while exploring the ethos of the cultures in these pieces of literature the reader can deduce that each value means something different. What defines courage (and other values) in “Beowulf” differs from the definition of courage in “Sir Gawain” in many ways including the struggles Beowulf himself faced with Grendel, in “Sir Gawain” with the encounter with the lord’s wife, among other events in both poems. To begin with, in “Beowulf” these values are defined through the heroic code, which was held in the Anglo-Saxon culture in which this poem takes place. Beowulf himself is the definition of a “hero”, exemplifying values such as courage and strength. For example, one challenge that Beowulf held was the battle with Grendel. He shows exceptional strength when he is able to rip of Grendel’s arm which we see in the text itself, "The monster's whole body was in pain; a tremendous wound appeared on his shoulder. Sinews split and the bone-lapping’s burst. Beowulf was granted the glory of winning". The ability to cause so much physical pain to a giant monster shows just how powerful and strong Beowulf is. Strength here is sort of defined as physical power and ability rather than spiritual strength and what not. Courage, for example in Beowulf is also defined in...
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