Monstrosity In Beowulf

This is due to the fact that when he gains knowledge, he creates a supernatural being, and this monster kills many of his loved ones. One can also see the destructive impact of knowledge through the perspective of the creature. This is evident in that as he reads books and learns how different he is from humanity, he feels miserable and regrets being created. He becomes melancholic first, then vengeful towards his creator because he leads a cursed existence. He, the offspring of Victor’s knowledge, then destroys Victor’s life.

Polyphemus on the other hand, intentionally kills and intentionally eats other humans, making him more liable. Furthermore, to highlight the savagery, Homer goes to great lengths in order to iterate Polyphemus’s transgressions. In Visser’s essay she claims, “As social beings cannibals must inevitably have manners. Whatever we may think to the contrary, rules and regulations always govern cannibal society and cannibal behavior” (6). However, Polyphemus does not appear to abide by this assertion.

He slowly tortures Grendel and even lets him go in the hopes he bleeds to death. The desire for vengeance grows when the Geats decide to hang his arm from the rafters. Beowulf’s bloodlust is so excessive he tries to murder Grendel in the most inhumane ways, and even goes to the extent of sacrificing one of his own men to satisfy his need to kill the undying Grendel. In Atalanta, Meleager and Atalanta go hunting and caught so many animals that they even attracted Artemis’ unwanted attention. Artemis therefore grew upset and “molded a huge boar, mud-colored, with red evil eyes” (177) Atalanta and Meleager obviously slaughter an abundance of animals to get Artemis’ attention.

War’s outcome is fatalities of many people. This is typically due to conflict from two opposing parties, resulting in murders. In like manner, Boll weevil is murderous as he murders Cecil by stabbing him in the chest, due to the fact that Cecil does not give him the money that Cecil owes (108). It is apparent in this quote that Boll weevil is murderous: “Then without let up, there came a rush of lively blows followed by a loud scream, a heavy thud on the floor and a scurrying of feet towards the door” (106). This quote shows that Boll weevil is capable of shooting someone (Cecil), therefore making him murderous, similarily to war.

Both villains have the physical appearance of external monsters. Those who first lay eyes on these monsters feel uneasy and have a sense that because they do not look like average humans, they are dangerous. Dr. Frankenstein’s monster only kills because he doesn’t understand cultural norms, and the only way Count Orlok can survive is by a food source outside the cultural norms of humans. Each monster has specific reasons as to why they kill their victims, whether it is out of self defense, misunderstanding, or because they needed

From anything like Legal consequences to the drug user putting their addiction before their family. This relates to how Grandel ruined families by killing loved ones. Another angle of devastation is the physical and mental effects it can have on a person who abuses drugs. It can affect your overall health, certain brain functions and sometimes even cause death. This shows even more closely how similar it is to the horrifying monster Grendel, “Killing as often as he could, coming alone, bloodthirsty and horrible.” (pg.26, line 80-81); both monsters have the same goal.

The creature murdered many innocent people knowing his in this pursuit of righteousness how it would so harshly effect Victor. “My own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave, and forced to destroy all that was dear to me” (Clemit). The creature as shown, was Victor’s own ugliness created into a horrid being; destroying all that made him happy in the world. “Shelly could be using the monster as a symbol for our own ugliness or the animal side of man’s nature. Although the monster appears to be the cause of fear and prejudice, he might stand for our ugly and violent reaction to something unknown and different” (Skuola.net).

The use of the word monster in the book also correlates to appearance, and when the creature is called a monster, he feels forced to act like one.After being rejected by society because of his appearance the creature cries to Frankenstein, “Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust” (Shelley 93). This shows that the creature internalized all of the hate he received from his appearance, to the point where he viewed himself as a monster. When he internalizes all this negativity about himself that stems from his appearance, and begins to see himself as a monster, he then begins to behave as one. He threatens Frankenstein by telling him “I may die, but first you” which shows that the creature is not afraid of dying as long as he can inflict as much pain as possible on Frankenstein first (Shelley 123).

The level of sympathy the monsters in Beowulf deserve is a controversial and contested topic. In the first place, why are Beowulf’s foes monsters, and not humans? Two possible answers can be given. One is simply that it is in the folk tradition to use monsters because they exemplify evil and fear. Additionally, Grendel being a descendant of Cain makes the monster, according to the text, utterly unsympathetic and worthy of revilement, because his existence is the result of a fratricidal dynasty, quite contrary to the warrior kinship valued by the Saxon-Germanic

What would you do if you were accused or punished for someone else's actions? Other people’s frustrations can be dangerous, especially if that person or thing has powerful traits. This is exactly what happens in Frankenstein when the monster becomes angry with Victor Frankenstein. Although the monster becomes angry with Victor, he takes most of his revenge out on the innocent people within the story instead of Victor. Victor may not have been hurt physically, but he was hurt mentally.