An Analysis of Grendel Based on the Classic Poem Beowulf

THE FIGHT WITH GRENDAL INTRODUCTION Archetypical tales are not rare in the English literature. There are tales of fairies, dragons, witches, elves and monsters. There are a big number of audiences that likes to read about enemies or helpers from the external world. War between good and evil depicted in such stories is fascinating to young and old alike because they symbolize a lot of things for people. There is a story Grendel based on classic poem Beowulf in which there is three main characters the mother the dragon and the Grendel. Not only Grendel but other two characters too represent alien world evils. Grendel is analyzed here to assess if he is man, monster or a notion. THESIS STATEMENT Is Grendel a man, monster or a notion? THE FIGHT WITH GRENDEL The idea of Grendel is based on a poem Beowulf. The story revolves around the fight between good and evil in the life. Beowulf was the hero who faced three monsters and had to fight them. Grendel is categorized as a demon that had some human characteristics. He has qualities of dragons. Thus fighting with Grendel was not like an ordinary fight with a human being since Grendel had some extraterrestrial powers. In the story, Beowulf fought and killed Grendel but it is not known if Grendels mother took revenge for killing of her son or not. The war between humans and monsters is not one episode. The story tells that it was a series of wars fought for twelve years that continued until someone matching the powersShow MoreRelatedHero and Beowulf1625 Words   |  7 Pageshonor to the end. In Beowulf, the author portrays the warrior Beowulf and his three battles in such a way as to clearly define what it means to be a hero. Fred Robinson and J. R. R. Tolkien addressed heroism in Beowulf regarding the warrior’s traits, as well as his battles and burial. The author of Beowulf defines the hero through Beowulf’s three battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. In this poem, each monster possesses a specific quality undesired by heroes. Beowulf battles anger/jealousyRead More Conflicts in the Epic of Beowulf Essay1760 Words   |  8 PagesBeowulf – the Conflicts  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   J.D.A. Ogilvy and Donald C. Baker in â€Å"Beowulf’s Heroic Death† comment on the hero’s culpability in his final conflict:    . . .the author describes Beowulf and the dragon lying dead side by side and observes rather sententiously that it was a bad business fighting with a dragon or disturbing his hoard. Beowulf, he adds, had paid for the treasure with his life. Some commentators seem to consider this passage, combined with Wiglaf’s remarks about Beowulf’sRead More Epic of Beowulf Essay - The Conflicts in Beowulf2005 Words   |  9 PagesThe Conflicts in Beowulf  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   Brian Wilkie and James Hurt in Literature of the Western World discuss what is perhaps the overriding or central conflict in the poem Beowulf, namely the struggle between good and evil, and how the monsters are representative of the evil side: Ker was answered in 1936 by the critic and novelist J.R.R. Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings, who argued that â€Å"the monsters are not an inexplicable blunder of taste; they are essential, fundamentally allied toRead MoreCause and Impact Analysis on the Main Character’s Suffering in Elizabeth Gilbert’s Novel Eat, Pray, Love7348 Words   |  30 PagesChapter I INTRODUCTION In this chapter the researcher discussed about this study based on background of the study, problem statements of the study, purpose of the study, the significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, and definition of key terms. All of them were included on the chapter one as fulfilled of the study. 1. Background of The Study Literature did not take itself to a single definition because the achieving of it over century has been as complex and natural