Examples Of Cruelty In Beowulf

In the Bible, God considered cruelty as a sin and a distinguishing characteristic of the evil. Since Christianity is a wide-spread religion, God’s belief is also well-known. Redundantly used as a trait of antagonists, cruelty is a tool to clarify who the malicious character is in a novel. Beowulf, written by an anonymous Scandinavian writer, also follows the norm of antagonists. Emphasizing the disgusting home and brutal personality of Grendel, Beowulf utilizes cruelty of Grendel to easily show the antagonist. Moreover, describing the heroic acts by defeating cruelty, the protagonists can also be clearly recognized. Beowulf uses brutality of antagonists so that the readers can be inclined to like the protagonists, or the good, and dislike the antagonists, or the evil. …show more content…
Grendel is explained as a descendent of Cain, who is notorious for having a fate of being an outcast due to his sinful act on God and his brother; then, Grendel’s unappealing house, which is a cave under water, is described in details. The preconception that is attained from Grendel’s background naturally puts Grendel into an antagonist position. Humans’ incline to avoid the evil unconsciously happens while deciphering Grendel. Moreover, Grendel’s behavior only contains violence and anger. His first physical action described in Beowulf was his desire to ruin the party that Hrothgar and his people were having in the Heorot, which was a mead hall. The hatred of social events and anger towards his fate of being an outcast resulted in a cruel-some behavior towards innocent Danes. Enforcing his role as an antagonist by expressing his cruelty, Grendel lucidly displays the role as an