Examples Of Good And Evil In Beowulf

Good versus evil is one of the most important themes throughout Beowulf. This theme is played out from beginning to end and various ways. The most obvious example of good versus evil is shown in the fact that the entire story follows the journey of a courageous hero, Beowulf, and his battles against demons and dragons of hell. Beowulf battles Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. All of which are evil forces challenging Beowulf. When Beowulf battles Grendel, we see the epitome of good versus evil. Grendel descends from an evil line of family members including Cain, the first murderer. He is constantly attacking people and terrorizing towns. He only attacks at night time, representing the constant darkness and evil behavior that surrounds him. The …show more content…
Good triumphs evil and he defeats Grendel and and saves the town. They praise him for his heroic acts. Another good example of good versus evil is Beowulf’s battle with the dragon. The dragon, representing evil, lives in a dark, dreary castle where he protects his stolen treasures. At one point in the story, some of his treasure is stolen and he terrorizes an entire town in order to punish whoever stole it from him. Physically, he shows his evil presence with his large, poisonous horns and fire breathing. While good does ultimately triumph evil in this battle when Beowulf slays the dragon, we see a chance of evil beating good. The dragon does poison Beowulf before he dies, luckily Beowulf is able to show Wigalf the treasure and make him his successor. Less obviously, good versus evil is shown in Beowulf’s battles with himself. He struggles to avoid greed and to encourage generosity towards his people. While Beowulf is not always perfect or “good”, he does show good versus evil throughout the story. Although some people’s definition of good may not be the same, the narrator is very clear that Beowulf is a good leader throughout the