Beowulf Good Or Evil Essay

The Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf is a culturally significant work of literature that depicts the ideals and morals of the English residents at that time. These ideals were strict and rigid, and they were filled with stoic and bold notions of honor, bravery, death, fate, and betrayal. Perhaps the most clearly defined for this period of time is the notion of the true hero, as well as for the true villain. However, in reality, nothing is truly good or evil. The archetypal black and white do not exist, and there are fifty shades of gray. What is perplexing about this is that one might seem evil, but to himself and to those who support him, the individual seems to be the good force. Here inlies the problem of Beowulf. Beowulf is depicted as only …show more content…
The dragon’s reality of uniform time severely conflicts with Grendel’s miniscule and childish view of the world. The dragon explains to Grendel that because he can see all of time, nothing he or Grendel will ever do could even possible change the course of history. In other words, Grendel’s actions, whether good or evil, will not affect the world. However, it is after this realisation that the dragon gives Grendel the key inspiration that would form his overall opinion of himself. The dragon concludes that because Grendel’s actions will not have any effect on the universe, he might as well give the humans a purpose. The dragon states “You are, so to speak, the brute existent by which they learn to define themselves” (Gardner 73.)He directly advises Grendel to become a mechanical force of nature that is specifically there to oppose the force of the humans. Along with Grendel’s understanding of the irrelevance of good and evil, his newfound inspiration goes on to drive his further