The Monsters In Beowulf

This also indicates that Beowulf kills for the purpose of battle and avenging the lives lost at the hands of Grendel. Lastly, we must analyze the monsters in the poem and how they are different and similar to the hero. Grendel is a chaotic monster that comes to Heorot Hall each evening to attack and feast on King Hrothgar’s people (page 44, lines 115-25). Grendel’s actions of killing demonstrate to the reader that he does not do this for any higher purpose other than to cause chaos, meaning he has no value for honor. Another heroic trait that Grendel does not possess is power of blood.

Monsters and Narrative : The construction of the fears from within the text in Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Gothic literature, more often than not, deals with monsters. The monster is a representation of the strongest fears and the more hidden desires of the society in which the book is written. In The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as in Frankenstein, this fear is also contrasted with the narration of each story. In other words, the fear represented through each monster is exalted with the way each story is narrated. In both stories the monster is a creation of scientific research but each one threatens the world in different ways.

There 's also the instance where the dragon takes revenge on the town for a servant taking some of his treasure. Then we again see Beowulf take revenge except this time it 's on a dragon for destroying his house. The role of revenge continuously plays a role in the story of Beowulf and when there is no more revenge to take place in this

For example, in the Epic Poem Beowulf, during Beowulf’s battle with a Dragon that was getting revenge on the people of Herot, The dragon “leaped with pain,thrashed and beat at him,spouting murderous flames, spreading them everywhere”(Beowulf 675-678). The dragon was determined during the fight with Beowulf, fighting in a very vicious way. The Dragon was seeking vengeance, because a thief stole treasure from it. Also many other kingdoms had a lot of issues with monsters. During the year 999, “The Nobility spent its waking hours battling foes to preserve its prerogatives”(Chua-Eoan 47).

The dragon ignited the Geats homes and land to ashes. However, this caused Beowulf to fight the dragon. Knowing he is aging, he cannot fight the dragon on his own, and decided to ask the Thanes to help him to finish his last quest. The Thanes decide to participate, but quickly leave in terror due to the dragon’s fiery breath, leaving Wiglaf at his side (Beowulf. 3066-3075).

This is different than the Anglo-Saxon version of Beowulf, where Grendel is seen as an all-powerful monster who is very strong and dominant due to the use of different point of views from which the story is told. Beowulf is told from third person point of view. It is for this reason that we can not definitively see what Grendel is feeling physically, emotionally, or mentally. Meanwhile, Gardner’s version of the story is told from Grendel’s point of view. This is gives us a better look at what Grendel is seeing, feeling, and thinking.

Even though we see how the dragon and Grendel’s mother can control their Id, during desperate moments they become savage and headstrong, like how the dragon in lines 2312-2315 burns everything out in distress for his treasure. “The dragon began to belch out flames and burn bright homesteads; there was a hot glow That scared everyone, for the vile sky-winger Would leave nothing alive in his wake.” After all, I can say these creatures may represent distinct human behaviors towards different situations, and in a more profound view, they are vivid images of brain

Beowulf is an adventurous and fierce account of the trials and tribulations of the Anglo-Saxon era. In this epic poem the main character, Beowulf, encounters grim monsters and must battle them for the betterment and safety of his loyal people and comrades. Each of these monsters Beowulf battles has distinct characteristics from one another. All three monsters are enraged and fighting for different reasons: Grendel is an angered, social outcast; Grendel’s mother is out to avenge her son’s death; and the dragon is furious after being burgled. Grendel is an outcast and a loner of the Herot society.

The sleeping dragon was awoken by a slave who stole a beautiful cup because he was trying to repay his debt of freedom. Valor is shown through the fighting that Beowulf and the dragon do. This causes destruction and chaos throughout the whole town. This scene in the book greatly shows the valor of Beowulf. Beowulf fights the dragon so that the people he rules can be safe and he is willing to risk his life.

This is a flaw because when he is fighting the dragon, he does not have a sword that can help him so it is harder for Beowulf to slaw the dragon. Another one of Beowulf’s tragic flaws is his pride. He didn’t know when to stop fighting off monsters even when he was getting older. The narrator explains when Beowulf was getting ready to fight Grendel’s mother how he, “donned his war-gear, indifferent to death” (Heaney 11441). He is so prideful and boastful that he thought that he was basically immortal to death or anything that can potentially kill him.