The Monsters In Beowulf

Beowulf battles three different monsters within Beowulf. The anonymous author gives human characteristics to the monsters. Although Beowulf is the protagonist, the three antagonists possess more human characteristics than the hero. Monsters generally belong to the unknown realm, Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon are bestowed with individual identities much like humans (Yang). The monsters contained in the work are humanized by the author’s willingness to give them homes. The author gives each monster a personality. Monsters contribute to the importance of establishing identity by displaying human emotions, human physical appearances, and having a home.
The monsters display emotions. Emotions are a trait that humans display as well. Grendel displayed scaredness when Beowulf ripped off his arm. He was desperate to flee to his den and hide / with the devil's litter, for in all his days / he had never been clamped or cornered like this (Beowulf 754-756). Grendel’s relationship are also human-like. He has a mother and son relationship
Their home can help them discover the importance of establishing identity. Grendel and his mother live in the mother’s lair. The monsters could be human, but they are monsters because they are deformed. The lair was dark and secluded. It was at the bottom of the lake. Their home displays the darkness in their lives. In Beowulf, “A light appeared and the place brightened / He proceeds to the way the sky does when heaven's candle / is shining clearly” (Beowulf 1570-1572). Once they die, the darkness of their lives are over.
Many of the monsters in Beowulf displayed human characteristics. Their personalities were like human personalities. As for Grendel, his thought process was similar to a human’s thought process. He was jealous, and humans get jealous. Their homes, physical appearances, and emotions displays the contribution of the importance of establishing an