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Similarities Between The Natural And Beowulf

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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

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