Preview

Beowulf Theme Essay

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
205 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Beowulf Theme Essay
Jessie Hunt
Mrs. Joines
English IV
1­9­15
Light and Dark
Beowulf is one of the oldest existing poems in the English Language. Beowulf is a very symbolic poem that exhibits good versus evil. The main theme demonstrated in Beowulf was
Good vs. Evil. Beowulf represented someone who was good while Grendel represents someone evil. Beowulf desired being good and wanted glory and fame. He wanted to be the strongest and heroic warrior by doing good things for people. He also represented good because he tries to protect people. Beowulf goes out of his way to protect people and he is a hero because he risk his own life for the good of others. Grendel represents evil because he kills innocent people for food.
Grendel is described as a vicious monster that is an offspring of everything that is evil. Grendel is established as being evil because he is a descendant of Cain, the first murderer. He is evil because he kills for his own selfish needs and hurts people for no reason at all. Grendel represents darkness, pain and terror in people.
Good vs. Evil is also demonstrated when he was old and decided to fight the dragon by himself and die in a glorious way.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Comparing Grendel And Beowulf
    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Comparing Grendel And Beowulf

    Grendel was strong and powerful monster. (line 1) He was so strong that he could rip men apart. Most men in the kingdom feared him. He was the most evilest monster in land.(line21-24) Even though many of the men in the kingdom didn’t know about his mother.…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Important Is Beowulf's Reputation In The World?
    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Important Is Beowulf's Reputation In The World?

    Beowulf's reason was to go and help the famous king. This shows that he is brave and has a good heart.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Beowulf: Voluntary Sacrifice In Fight To Death
    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Beowulf: Voluntary Sacrifice In Fight To Death

    Beowulf also set free the people from the dragon and Evil. He wanted to be remembered as a heroic and vital man, who preferred to give his life for his own name, instead of dying as a coward.…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    What Characteristics Does Grendel Have That Make Him Particularly Terrifying To The Danes?
    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What Characteristics Does Grendel Have That Make Him Particularly Terrifying To The Danes?

    One characteristic that Grendel has that makes him particularly terrifying to the Danes is that he comes to Danes with an attitude of “hoping to kill anyone he could trap on his trip to high Herot” (235-236). He also has a very loathsome appearance that one may not relish to look at, such as “his eyes gleamed in the darkness” (248-249) that “burn with a gruesome light” (249-250). His intentions were also very terrifying that brought death to the Danes, he always “intended to tear the life from those…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Beowulf And Grendel Research Paper
    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Beowulf And Grendel Research Paper

    Grendel’s goodness is continuously suppressed by the misunderstanding of humans. When Grendel first encounter’s humans, the humans immediately mistake Grendel for a bloodthirsty monster because of his appearance. In the beginning when Grendel is still developing his moral and spiritual understandings of the world,…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Grendel's Injustice
    • 61 Words
    • 1 Page

    Grendel's Injustice

    In the poem Beowulf one of the characters Grendel has displayed evil among others and injustice throughout his life which has lead Beowulf to want to defeat Grendel and end him once and for all. His powers although scary, are plain. His background unknown, until the book begins and we find out who the real Grendel lying beyond the shadows is.…

    • 61 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hrothgar's Evil
    • 208 Words
    • 1 Page

    Hrothgar's Evil

    Evil was brought about by the devil who wanted to destroy the good that existed. While the good people made merry in Heorot, “an evil spirit endured the dole in his dark abode”. His name was Grendel. He was envious and angry at the merrymakers that he began to fashion evils in his lair where he lived since being exiled to doom by the Creator. Grendel is the depiction of evil in…

    • 208 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Grendel, the Great Antagonist
    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Grendel, the Great Antagonist

    The attributes that the author gives Grendel describes him as one of the most chaotic antagonist. When Grendel is introduced the author uses the words, “a powerful demon, a prowler through the dark”(86). The first word to describe the demon is “powerful” which emphasizes Grendel’s strength. This is important because Beowulf must use shear god like strength to defeat this monster. After the introduction the writer sums up Grendels characteristics by saying “Grendel was the name of this grim demon”(102). The word choice in this passage shows that there is no desirable trait about him. Using the word grim shows that the demon is forbidding as a result there is nothing that will make this demonic creature happy. The reader then learns that this powerful demon is related to the first killer, Cain. Evidence of this is found when the writer says, “...he had dwelt for a time/ in misery among the banished monsters,/ Cain's clan...” (104-106). This gives the reader knowledge that he is related to pure evil ,the devil. However, the author yet again emphasize Grendels darkness with the words, “God-cursed brute”(121). Doing this periodically reminds the reader constantly that Grendel is pure darkness. Throughout the story the author describes Grendel with words like miserable, banished, and accursed showing that no matter what the demonic character does he will never stop the destruction. The reader witnesses this when Grendel continues to terrorize the people even after he destroys the Heorot. As the narrator says, “Grendel, his long and unrelenting feud/,nothing but war; how he would never parley or make…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Grendel Good Vs Evil
    • 245 Words
    • 1 Page

    Grendel Good Vs Evil

    Throughout the epic, evil contrasts God, works to oppose Him, and seeks to wreak havoc on and destroy God’s creation. Serving as a direct contrast to God, Grendel and his mother were part of "Cain's Clan, whom the creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts" and live completely separated from God (106). The author further describes the egregious Grendel as “God-cursed,” living in opposite to all that God represents (121). Because God symbolizes complete goodness, and Grendel persists completely without God, Grendel and his mother live in complete evil and darkness, without a single remnant of light. Secondly, Grendel and his mother actively oppose God, attempting to fight back, bringing darkness whenever possible. The amount of terror and evil the two attempt to force upon the world often frighten the weak away from God as "sometimes at pagan shrines they vowed" using their complete darkness to overcome God’s subjects (175). The people once faithful to God lose faith because of the corruptive fear emanating from Grendel’s immense evil. Lastly, Grendel seeks to reign terror on those loyal to the good because he “nursed a hard grievance” toward God, wanting to find revenge for being excommunicated from joy.…

    • 245 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Theme Of Evil In Beowulf
    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Theme Of Evil In Beowulf

    He makes the reader feel sympathy by presenting Grendel’s thought process and showing him in his weakest points. By sharing the thought process of Grendel, it proves that he is an intelligent being capable of doing harm purposefully. Various times throughout the book, Grendel would think that it was in his right to kill something, as if there was no other choice. A prime example is on page 140 when Grendel is more or less confronted by a goat. He decides that it is his prerogative to force the goat to leave. He ends up killing the goat simply because the goat was following his animalistic senses. Grendel writes sadistically of this encounter saying “The air is sweet with the scent of his blood,” showing that there was no regret in Grendel’s…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Beowulf Is An Epic Hero Essay
    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Beowulf Is An Epic Hero Essay

    For conclude, to become a greatest hero like Beowulf, he has to have these qualities: bossy, independent, and fearless. Beowulf is an awesome hero, he saves many people from the monsters. Even when he has to face the death, he still doing what he said to keep his…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Beowulf Persuasive Essay
    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Beowulf Persuasive Essay

    Grendel is a creature that feeds off of humans. He doesn’t kill for pleasure but to prove that not everyone is willing to follow the Germanic Heroic Code, earning him a bad reputation. McNamara states “That struggle had been too strong/but after one night, Grendel once more committed /yet more murderous slaughter/he mourned not for his horrid deeds: he was too bent on those/when danger became clear/as the truth was told by signs of terror” (Beowulf pg.7 133-141).This creates the aspect that Grendel is a cold blooded murderer with no sense of right and wrong but simply for pleasure. This also creates different interpretations on the reason why Grendel kills. He might kill because he dislikes people viewing him as a creature not a human. He can also kill because of problems that were not discussed in the poem, the Danes might have killed his father and he is seeking revenge, since he is never mentioned. Overall Grendel’s killings are caused by fear, hatred, and revenge that result in his reputation…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Grendel Essay
    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Grendel Essay

    Later in the story the reader learns that Grendel was rejected from the Dane's society when he proposed a treaty. Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, looked at Grendel as an enemy which breaded pure evil and was not in any way a human and should be killed. When Grendel realized that he was not going to be able to be a part of the Danes, Grendel built up rage and frustration. Grendel released this rage and frustration by killing many Danes and tormenting the common people.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Is Grendel Truley Evil?
    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Is Grendel Truley Evil?

    Is Grendel Evil or Victim to Circumstance? : How humanity has a tendency to put labels on people they don’t really understand.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Grendel : Evil
    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Grendel : Evil

    In the novel, Grendel by John Gardener, Grendel is a human-like creature capable of rational thought as well as feeling emotions. Early on in the story Gardener depicts Grendel as being very observant, critical and somewhat spiteful of the world around him. He describes himself as a murderous monster who smells of death and crouches in the shadows. Grendel watches the humans from the shadows of the trees and at first it seems as though they are the real monsters, slaughtering and pillaging all for the sake of their leaders and for power. This light that the humans are put in gives Grendel a certain charisma about him, making him seem like the one to side with in this novel. Later in the story, however, things change. Grendel seeks out the dragon to receive clarity. Rather than granting him clarity, this encounter instead changes Grendel for the worse, making him the monster and altering his personality to become more vicious and arrogant. This arrogance ends up being his fatal fault sending him to his own demise. In this way, John Gardener suggests that all evil will come to its end of its own doing.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics