How Did Beowulf Decide To Fight

In the epic poem of Beowulf, Beowulf competes in three different battles. One battle of which he competes in is against Grendel, another is against Grendel’s mother and the last takes place against a dragon. All of the battles are fought in different ways and have different outcomes. The reasons Beowulf decides to fight in the battles differ for each one. In the first battle that takes place, Beowulf battles Grendel. Before the battle Beowulf told the people of Hrothgar's kingdom that they should remain calm and that he came to defeat the horrible monster and if he did not defeat the monster that he would have died trying. Beowulf asks the king for permission to fight alone and with the help of only his own men. He believes that there is nothing that contains enough power to defeat him in this battle, therefore he goes in with no worries. The motive for Beowulf in this battle is revenge against the monster that committed crimes against Beowulf’s kinsman. When the fight starts Beowulf’s men draw their swords and try and pierce through Grendel hide but they are unsuccessful. WHen they realize that their weapons will not work they decide to use hand-to-hand combat that turns very bloody. After Beowulf goes …show more content…
In this battle Beowulf was given Hrunting, a sword that was lent to him by Unferth. Beowulf tried to slash at her head but ended up unsuccessful. He then tried to fight using only his bare hands but was matched blow for blow by Grendel’s mother. In this battle Beowulf must use a weapon to defeat her which shows that his mortality and gradual deterioration in his strength over time. His strength in this battle does not compare to the strength he carried in the battle against Grendel which he won with his bare hands. The motive in this fight for Beowulf was spiritual. He destroyed evil at its root source, which in this case is hell. Beowulf is called a hero and eventually earns the title of