Beowulf: A New Telling Essay

The story “Beowulf: a New Telling” demonstrates the power and effects of the infinite battle between the forces of good and evil, and what influence it has on us as humans. The characters and settings which the author describes reflects such forces, but they also may represent aspects of Christianity and Paganism. The battle between good and evil has been fought through other stories as well, with heros similar to those described in this tale. Beowulf is the hero of this story, and is able to acknowledge that there are both good and dark parts within everything, and in order to overcome such obstacles, we must first accept a little bit of both in ourselves. Beowulf faces a series of horrific challenges, all of which concerns the ongoing battle …show more content…
The author uses this technique to entice the reader and feel for the characters, making it seam as though you were there in the battle against Grendel, or could feel the pain of Beowulf’s toothache. By controlling the timing of a tragic event, the author can cause the reader to feel a great swell of emotion. For example, after the battle with the Firedrake, the author takes what would seem to be a happy occasion, and turns it into a sad moment, making the reader feel poignant. “Little Wiglaf danced with glee. But Beowulf had collapsed in the entrance to the treasure chamber. His armor came undone. It was all too big and heavy for him”
Throughout this story, the author gives readers the opportunity to consider good and evil, and what place it holds in our world. Beowulf was able to accept the place in which good and evil have in this world, and chose to let neither affect who he was. In the modern era, there are also many heros, with monsters for them to fight. Humanitarians fight suffering, teachers fight the lack of knowledge, and firefighters fight fires, and many other things. The constant contradiction of light and dark is shown in many tales, and this is just one example of the effect it has on us and the choices we