ipl-logo

Similarities Between The Natural And Beowulf

1123 Words5 Pages

The conventions of an epic tale consist of allusions, archetypes, foils, symbols, and parallels. The use of the literary devices of an epic tale are strewn throughout the plot of The Natural and are utilized very well throughout the movie. The Natural, starring Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs, demonstrates the same examples of allusions, archetypes, foils, symbols, and parallels as the classic epic tale Beowulf. An allusion is a reference to something, whether that it’s a person, place, object, or piece of literature. The use of allusions in The Natural and Beowulf is similar in that they both allude to historical figures or events and works of literature. Throughout the story of Beowulf, it alludes to events from the Bible such as a great flood that wiped out the race of Giants. It …show more content…

Beowulf and The Natural shared similar symbols, but they also had their own symbolic meanings. White is symbolic in both tales as innocence and purity. When Iris is dressed in white at the train station, it represents Roy’s life of innocence that he left behind. In one scene of Beowulf during the fight scene with Grendel’s mother, a bright white light shines behind him, representing the purity and innocence of God’s light. Lighting is symbolic in The Natural because it represents strength and power. The symbol first makes an appearance on Roy’s bat, then it spreads and becomes the symbol of the team. It is also symbolic that Roy is in a maternity ward because that’s where a new life begins. In Beowulf they use the symbol of water as a meaning for life and cleansing. As Beowulf lays dead, Wiglaf sprinkles water over his body to cleanse it, and in the very beginning of the text, the book starts off with the funeral of Shield. His body is put on a boat with riches from his life and he is sent off to see to take the journey into

Show More
Related

The Natural And Beowulf Comparison

926 Words | 4 Pages

An allusion is a reference to a something, whether that is a person, place, object, or piece of literature. The use of allusions in The Natural and Beowulf is similar in that they both allude to historical figures and works of literature. Throughout the story of Beowulf it alludes to events such as the Noah’s great flood, and compares the monster Grendel to Cain in the way Grendel killed Hrothgar’s men in cold blood just as Cain did to his brother Abel. In The Natural in the beginning of the film when young Roy Hobbs shapes that bat out of a tree he names his bat Wonderboy. It alludes to Anglo Saxon literature in the way that they name their weapons, and in Beowulf the weapon of Hrothgar’s clan was named Hrunting.

Read More

Theme Of Fear In Lord Of The Flies

736 Words | 3 Pages

Fear has the ability to manipulate people into believing there is danger when there is not, causing them to make rash decisions. These decisions can result in a disobedience to one’s cultural beliefs, as seen in Lord of the Flies and Beowulf. Even though the characters from Lord of the Flies and Beowulf come from cultures built around nobility and loyalty, fear tears them apart from the society they had worked hard to achieve. Although the boys from Lord of the Flies tried to keep their culture’s morals, the fear of the unknown caused the children to betray their Culture.

Read More

Use Of Light And Darkness In Beowulf

546 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the poem Beowulf, the author, whom to this day is still unknown, uses light and darkness to explain good and evil characters and events. This unknown author describes Beowulf, the hero of the story, and other people and events as bright, as well as making many references to the sun and sunlight. The monster that Beowulf defeats named Grendel, is often described as a shadow or only emerging in the dark of night. The imagery is used with light and dark is used to represent the good and evil that the author saw as he was Anglo-Saxon and likely pagan as well. Imagery is used often throughout the poem, but especially when Grendel and Beowulf are first introduced and when they fight.

Read More

Similarities Between Beowulf And The Iliad

837 Words | 4 Pages

Many, in fact most, classical texts and origin myths were not written down in their original form. As most stories started out verbally and were repeated and spread by bards they were subject to deviance from the original narrative. By the time most of these stories were actually written down it had been not only many years since the events they describe, in the case of Beowulf and The Iliad hundreds of years, but it had also been many years since the myths had first been told and started passing from bard to bard. This fact is important because with many years between a stories creation and its first written record it becomes hard to know what of the story was original and what was embellished. In the case of many of these tales, culture had

Read More

Comparing Beowulf's Ode To A Grecian Urn

599 Words | 3 Pages

It also contains supernatural (ideas) like gods and monsters. All of these qualities are seen throughout Beowulf from Beowulf’s courage to defeat Grendel and save the mead hall, to Grendel, the monster who is descendant

Read More

Christian Influence On Beowulf

1466 Words | 6 Pages

By the time this monastic scribe began his work, the stories of Beowulf were already legendary tales of this era; legends that were passed down orally. The poet cautiously uses this information to compose an epic poem while also combining the notions of the pagan wyrd (fate) and dom (worth), along with the Christian ideals of refinement and final judgement. A pagan poem in its own right, steeped in ancient Germanic culture, yet it is baptized in lax Christian comments and passages. However, while the passages are referred to as Christian, there is never any reference within the poem, to Christ Himself. When we are first introduced to Grendel, we see the first signs of Christian passages appearing: God had condemned them as kin of Cain.

Read More

Essay On Good And Evil In Beowulf

472 Words | 2 Pages

In “Beowulf,” there are many concepts of good and evil portrayed in the epic poem by an unknown author. Beowulf brings good to the Geats. The people would say he was a gift from the Gods to battle and demolish the evil. The monsters, however, cause trouble to the people and bring out the evil in everything. These elements of good and evil help define this an epic poem.

Read More

Beowulf Argumentative Essay

494 Words | 2 Pages

1.When Grendel “plunges” into meatball, he is confident, carefree and careless knowing he is going to have a delicious dinner. “I am swollen with excitement, bloodlust, and joy”. The parenthetical remarks emphasize his thoughts and emotions running through his head. When Grendel is snatching his men one by one for dinner, he mentions, “I reach for another one(whispering, whispering, chewing the universe down to words!)”. 2.Grendel’s initial response to Beowulf grabbing him is that this was a mistake.

Read More

Beowulf Compare And Contrast Essay

631 Words | 3 Pages

The poem and movie of “Beowulf” are very different and they are also sort of similar. There are a lot more differences between the two than you would expect and while some of them are minor differences others are drastically different. Most movies are very different from the book they are made from. The biggest differences between the movie and poem were the three battles. The three battles have drastic differences.

Read More

Similarities Between Thor And Beowulf

497 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the story of Beowulf and the movie Thor, there are many similarities; from the enemies they meet, the characteristics of the two warriors, and the things they have conquered. Both Thor and Beowulf have lots of pride. Thor is known as someone powerful and brave in Asgard, he has many enemies. Beowulf is known as a courageous warrior who can conquer any enemy, and he also has different enemies that he must defeat throughout the story. Both of the brave warriors come to figure out what their destiny must be, they are destined for greatness but they must go through great storms to achieve it.

Read More

Essay Comparing Beowulf And King Arthur

720 Words | 3 Pages

Beowulf and King Arthur are both portrayed as heroes and someone to look up to. Some similarities are both of them are very brave. They are also both very compelling leaders in their own respective ways. Even with their similarities they  have differences in their heroic qualities such as Beowulf not really being a human in the sense that he can do superhuman things and King Arthur being a normal human being. It's also interesting to note that King Arthur was more of a hero for his character whereas Beowulf was more of a hero in the sense that he slays monsters and dragons.

Read More

Literary Analysis Essay On Beowulf

1033 Words | 5 Pages

The epic poem Beowulf is a classic tale of good versus evil. Good, as shown in the story, is any action that fights evil and defends the community and the people of it. The evil intent of Grendel, the story’s antagonist and cannibalistic murderer, who is depicted as a “fiend out of hell” (99), is strongly countered by the heroic actions of the stories main protagonist, Beowulf. The noble King Hrothgar is a role model for young Beowulf at the beginning of the epic, displaying acts of charity and wisdom throughout his life.

Read More

The Knight And Beowulf Comparison Essay

656 Words | 3 Pages

Stories contain many characters with some that stand out more than the others. A person is considered the protagonist depending on who is telling the story and what story is being told. The protagonist is the main character in a literary work. Whether good or evil, the audience sympathize with the protagonist and understands the motif of the character. Beowulf is a protagonist whose encounters with evil proves him to be a strong heroic warrior.

Read More

Alliteration In Beowulf

423 Words | 2 Pages

An example of imagery in the poem of “Beowulf”, would be “God’s bright beacon/appeared in the east, the water lay still,/And at last I could see the land, wind-wept/ Cliff-walls to the coast. Fate saves/ The living when they drive away death by themselves!”(41, 569-574). In the quote from the poem above, the author used imagery to create the image of god’s light shining through the clouds, the still water and the wind being wept. The affect imagery has in this part of the poem is to set the mood of the poem before a major event happens in the

Read More

Literary Devices In Beowulf

306 Words | 2 Pages

5 Literary Devices in Beowulf: “the way it all melted as ice melts” (p.52) Beowulf just finished slaying Grendel and his mother; the ancient sword he used to kill them melts. The poet uses a simile comparing the sword to ice cubes as they melt to emphasize. Giving the image/effect of the sword slowly dissolving in a stunning way; emphasizing the incredibility of it. “the shining blade refused to bite” (p.50) Beowulf dives underwater to fight Grendel’s Mother.

Read More

More about Similarities Between The Natural And Beowulf

Related Topics

Open Document