Foils In Beowulf

Grendel is a human-eating devious creature that seeks revenge on the Danes. Throughout the story Beowulf by Tom Shippey, Grendel is known as a very dangerous creature. Many people see him as a threat and they are very scared of him. Every night he seeks revenge on the Danes for the misery they have put him through his whole life. When Beowulf comes in to be a hero and save the day tells told Hrothgar “That I, alone and with the help of my men, May purge all evil from this hall” (165-167).

“Beowulf” is an old English heroic poem written in the Anglo-Saxon Era. While the battles of Beowulf were mesmerizing, the concept of defending the civilians throughout the whole poem was self- evident. Even so, the poem contains many types of archetypes; situational, character and symbolic. Beowulf hears the monstrous acts of Grendel and sets forward towards a quest to conquer the wild beast.

We have read the Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf and watched the movie of Beowulf and Grendel. These two manifestations of one event have rather great differences in the characteristics and behavior of their characters. The movie seems show the actual events of the tale, while the poem seems to capture the events in an exaggerated and praiseful way towards Beowulf’s actions. In the movie, the poem’s narration is actually by a Geat, one of Beowulf’s men. The tales differ because of exaggeration and lack of presence in some events by the Geat.

Grendel: Human or Monster In the story Beowulf, the character Grendel is highly misunderstood. Grendel was born in the wild marshes outside of Herot. Being raised in such harsh conditions, Grendel grew to hate the Danes and God. As a descendant of Cain, he was banished as a small child and forced to live in exile with his mother.

Beowulf and Grendel can be compared and contrast in many ways. Beowulf is a prince and more like a hero. Grendel is a monster, he is mean and selfish. They both are strong and very powerful. Also, both of them are a murder.

Grendel remains in an inner conflict with his beliefs throughout the entire story. He is directed by two compelling desires in which play a role in introducing him to the divergences between good and evil. The Shaper convinces him with his meaningful music, whereas the dragon persuades him through his ideology of nihilism. Both the Shaper and the dragon play a part in influencing his views on the human society.

On of Beowulf’s other attributes were the bravery that he displayed. In Grendel, only recollections of Beowulf's missions are seen. Resulting in the reader not being able to actually read about beowulf’s mission, leading to not giving the reader a actual idea of how strongly he would be able to destroy his opponents. On the other hand, Beowulf's ego is demonstrated well in his poem named after himself, and the very detailed description made by the author when describing the horrific battle between beowulf and grendels mother. He is made out to be this strong brave man who can not be harmed in order to boost his appearance and ego.

In Beowulf he is not interested in being Christian or following the Christian morals, Beowulf is stuck in between his Christian backbone to help the people and his selfish prize of paganism. Even though he wants respect from Christians he has a passion and drive for fighting. Beowulf is known as being a hero and the one to defeat Grendel. Beowulf looks away at weapons when fighting but relies heavily on his strength... as he refused to use a weapon he portrays a confident attitude towards his battles when he refuses to use a weapon. Signs of christianity are giving selfishness and being loyal.

Both Grendel in Grendel and The Captain in The Sympathizer are conflicted in their own ideas as society’s influence on their beliefs corrupts and alters their mentalities. They find themselves in situations in which they cannot choose between themselves and the world. Although both characters are fundamentally different from others in each respective story because of their unique dual natures, they cannot escape the clutching forces of assimilation to the expectations of the world and society. Grendel and The Captain are able to create their own foundations in their own beliefs, but they are challenged in life through the exposure to the world and its expectations. The major problem explored throughout Grendel and The Sympathizer revolves around how each of

Argument Essay: Beowulf and Grendel Many people have read or heard of the epic poem of Beowulf, which spins a tale of Grendel, the monster, attacking the admirable Danes and their king, Hrothgar. Some may not be as aware of a book titled Grendel written by John Gardner in 1971. Gardner’s book tells a completely different account of the more familiar tale of Beowulf, from the perspective of Grendel, the monster. The narrator from Grendel portrays a more plausible, powerful story than the excerpt from Beowulf by drawing the reader in with a more emotional viewpoint from the character Grendel, making him more relatable by giving him humanlike qualities, and clarifying why certain events took place in Beowulf.