Monster In Beowulf

Although there are many different interpretations of the term “monster”, it is often a word that is feared by people and can bring about many negative connotations. The term has evolved and changed over time but still can be interpreted to mean something that causes fear for people. In the epic poem Beowulf, one of the main monsters is a character named Grendel. Grendel has caused grief for the Danes for a long time, and has put people in danger because his destructive nature. Beowulf is seen as the hero in the story and fights with Grendel in an attempt to save his people from Grendel’s destruction and consumption of the Danes. The term “monster” may have started off as a description of a giant beast that brings turmoil wherever he goes, …show more content…
The poem describes Grendel as a threat to the Anglo-Saxons when stating that “times were pleasant for the people there / until finally one, a fiend out of hell, / began to work his evil in the world” (99-101). This excerpt indicates that the Danes view Grendel as a threat to their society. They feel that Grendel is the cause of their problems and that he brings evil to the people. The Danes think that anything bringing death and destruction to their people is a monster because of the threat that it puts on their …show more content…
An example of a monster in recent times is Adolf Hitler. Although he was a murderer of an entire race of people, many people did not view him as a bad person (Brown 14). Hitler gained support of many people and was the leader for an entire country. This suggests that modern monsters may have support that monsters in Beowulf do not have. Everyone was against Grendel, while monsters in modern times might be favored because of their deceiving and manipulative