Comparing Beowulf And Grendel: The Classic Battle Between Good And Evil

Decent Essays
Beowulf and Grendel are excellent examples of the classic battle between good and evil. Beowulf is a fearful, honest, and fair protagonist that fights for a righteous cause, because his popularity with the countrymen he eventually gets crowned as king. As expected he was diplomatic, honorable leader who will stop at near nothing to protect his kingdom. Grendel on the other hand is the polar opposite; a traditional villain who is put into that position due to being misunderstood and being treated

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    The most obvious form of Good vs evil is the fight between Grendel and Beowulf. Grendel is not the evil one in this story because he has to eat and it just so happens to be people he eats. The real evil one in this story is Beowulf because he watched one of his men get ate and didn't try to save him.…

    • 120 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    What separates the epic poem Beowulf and John Gardner’s Grendel is how the devil-spawn Grendel, is presented. Is he a monster set on destroying humanity, or is he a misunderstood creature that is just trying to make amends with Hrothgar and his people? Gardner’s Grendel is a retelling of the story of Beowulf, through the monster’s eyes in depth. On the other hand, the epic poem introduces Grendel briefly, yet assertively. He is described as a terrible, evil being spawned by the devil and shunned by the most high.…

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Grendel vs. Grendel The difference of culture from the 6th century to 2005 had changed greatly. Our values, appearances, and behavior have evolved and can be seen when contrasting the epic Beowulf and the movie Beowulf and Grendel. One way to contrast between the epic and the movie is through characters. The two characters that shows the most change between the two publications is Grendel, the troll, grinder of teeth and Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow.…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In both “Beowulf” and “Grendel,” Grendel is perceived to be inherently monstrous by the end of the novel. However, Grendel was not a monster to begin with, he was simply curious like any other creature possessing intelligence. Grendel’s curiosity allowed him to experience the outside world and foreign ideas that differed from his own childlike ideals. As a result, Grendel was led down the path of insanity, but Beowulf eventually brought him back from his insanity. Insanity in Grendel’s case is not an inherited trait, but instead the logic of an accurate mind overtasked.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The novel Grendel by John Gardner depicts a fundamentally distinctive picture of Grendel than the epic lyric Beowulf paints. Grendel is a non-person who gangs human qualities. In either story it is most certainly not determined what sort of being Grendel is, nor does it recount what precisely Grendel resembles. The main thought the peruser has of seeing Grendel is the little indications either creator gives. We know he remains on two feet as people do, we know he is secured in hair, and we know he is tremendous.…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although Beowulf always gets all the attention for being being the good guy, Unferth should have won that praise. Unferth is more noble than Grendel or Beowulf because he displays courage through chasing after Grendel to fight him and save Heorot, he displays honor by challenging Grendel to a fair fight, perseverance through his constant attempts to continue fighting Grendel, and truthfulness through admitting he isn’t strong and he is probably going to lose. To a Viking, being honorable meant staying true to your beliefs. Unferth does this in the mead hall owing to the fact that he doesn’t want to fight Grendel with Grendel at a massive disadvantage.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Grendel Vs Beowulf

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Grendel is a dark monster who lives off of terrorizing the Geats. The Geats live happily at their football practice every single day working hard and sweating with their star captain Beowulf. Grendel is the star captain who plays for Grendel High. The school is named after him because he punished the school until they named it after him. The reason that Beowulf High is named after Beowulf is because he is such a respectful person; his family name has lived on for him to carry and the whole town knows of him.…

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Grendel portrayed in John Gardner’s novel and the Grendel in the epic Beowulf possess similarities however, they are fundamentally different. The two Grendel’s differ in perspective, emotional complexity, and physical development throughout both stories. The most profound difference is the perspective in which Grendel is evaluated and judged. Unfortunately for Grendel, in the epic Beowulf, he is seen from the limited perspective of man. In this perspective he is depicted as an awfully treacherous creature whose only objective is to sleep, eat, and breath destruction.…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What does it take to get a break from and to ultimately overcome the evil that surrounds us every day? Ever since the fall of man back in the dawn of time, there has always been evil in the world, it has haunted man and followed closely behind him everywhere he goes. This is made visible in “Beowulf” by (insert author here) through multiple scenes when Beowulf builds the courage to take on evil head on. Beowulf affirms that evil can endanger peaceful civilizations, there can be small respites from evil in this world, and when evil seems overwhelming, it takes virtues such as humility, loyalty, and courage to defeat it. First, “Beowulf” affirms that human evils such as presumption, despair, cowardice, and hatred endanger peaceful civilizations.…

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are many similarities and differences between the characters, Grendel and Beowulf. They are similar because they both fought for what they believe in. They are different because Grendel is a horrible monster that terrifies the people of Danes and Beowulf if a glorious hero. However, when you look at the two they are mainly similar. So, what compare the two?…

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Beowulf” and “Grendel” are two stories of the same events. From two completely different perspectives. The story of “Beowulf” paints Grendel as a horrible heartless monster. However this is completely untrue. Between the two stories Grendel is the real victim.…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The dichotomy of hero vs. villain is apparent throughout the story of Beowulf. Beowulf, being the hero of this book fights three villains, which are Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. Each of these fights Beowulf fought causes him to receive lavish gifts and recognition as a brave warrior, however once he was named king, his transition from warrior to king highlighted the dichotomy of heroic warrior and heroic king. Grendel, one of the villains in this book could be interpreted as sin, or evil, Grendel’s mom as revenge, and the dragon as mutual destruction or death. Explaining these three fights and what each meant to Beowulf, the hero vs. villains can be perceived.…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This leads to the most prominent theme in the epic poem Beowulf: Good versus Evil. Beowulf feels it is his responsibility to rid the land of those who wish to cause harm. Beowulf is a fierce and strong Geat warrior during the Anglo Saxon period in 700 A.D.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Good Vs Evil In Beowulf

    • 1143 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The battle of good and evil can be interpreted in many ways throughout the entire story. The good represents Beowulf and Wiglaf, the evil represents the three monsters Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. Each character can relate to the good and evil of modern day, which can be hatred or corruption in everyday life. Each Battle is between good and evil, there are three battles in the book the represents this.…

    • 1143 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Grendel is an innately evil demonic beast and his birthright is to be scorned by man as Cain’s evil offspring. As a result of this ostracism, he takes out his fury on the men in Heorot, killing whomever he can as his own form of warped vengeance stemming from a feeling of isolation as a born outcast. Despite Grendel’s misfortunes, which may garner sympathy from some, his actions are not justified by the situation he is in and, even in a violent, revenge-based society, Grendel is still the heartless beast the Danes see him as and his fate was well deserved. When Grendel is first introduced, he is actually described in a slightly sympathetic light.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays