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Beowulf As A Christ Figure Essay

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I believe that Beowulf can be seen as a Christ figure throughout the epic of Beowulf. He shares many characteristics with Jesus. He faces a devil figure, sacrifices himself, and is recognized as a savior by his people. Beowulf to the Danes is a savior, taking away the fear that Grendel will kill all of Hrothgar’s people. In the Christian sense Jesus Christ is a savior to all Christians. One can make an argument that he isn’t by saying Jesus never battles anyone, or that Jesus is reborn but there is a clear comparison between these two people.
That battle with Grendel is a direct conflict between good and evil. Grendel can be seen as the incarnation of the devil. Grendel and Satan share many characteristics including; being a descendant of Cain, the first murderer. The Dragon can also represent the Devil in that it lusts for gold and riches and he protects these riches with his fire and fear. In the bible Satan is shown as the great dragon.
One of the main ties to Jesus is that Beowulf knowingly sacrifices his life for his people and that is exactly what Jesus Christ does for his people. When the final battle …show more content…

One similarity in which really surprised me was that both Beowulf and Jesus have the same amount of men with them when they head to their last journey. Jesus had eleven disciples with him and was willingly seized with no help from his men. Beowulf had eleven lords with him and all but Wiglaf ran at the sight of the dragon leaving Beowulf to fend for himself. When it is just Beowulf and Wiglaf, He refers to Beowulf as “the Shepherd of our land”, saying “the shepherd of our land, a man unequalled in the quest for glory and a name for daring…” (pg. 179, ln 2644-60) and shepherd can be referred to what the disciples called Christ. As one can see all of these reasons shown can make a direct correlation between Beowulf and Jesus

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