Examples Of Betrayal In Beowulf

In Beowulf, selflessness is a big part of the story, Beowulf goes out and helps the people of another place. He doesn’t have to do it because he doesn’t live there so if he didn’t defeat Grendel it wouldn’t affect him either way. He does it though and not only defeats Grendel but also Grendel’s mother because she came after the people when her son was killed. Beowulf knew that if he didn’t kill her the people would still live in fear. That’s what makes him selfless. He does things that need to be done for others and not so much himself.

Beowulf: A New Telling by Robert Nye, is the story of a hero that overcomes the evil of Cain by admitting to the evil in himself. This epic novel tells of light and dark or good and evil. They also have many moments of horror, disgust, and hero´s. The author shows the evil in men using monsters and truly evil things. Characters in this book include Skyld Sceffling, Hrothgar, Beowulf, Wealhtheow and Unferth. With all of these people, you see the good and bad within them. I think the moral of the story in this book is, we all have light and dark inside us; but it is the

Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem, and the author of Beowulf is unknown. Beowulf is the The setting of Beowulf is in Sweden and Denmark(the book 1231). Beowulf is divided into three parts in which Beowulf fights a dragon, a monster named Grendel, and Grendel’s mother. The Anglo-Saxon people have many values. There are many Anglo-Saxon values throughout Beowulf such as loyalty, strength, bravery, generosity, honor, and glory.

Thesis: In Beowulf, cruelty is used as a motivator, but also as a symbol of humanity, or the lack thereof. Cruelty, and the intent behind it, is what makes the heroes and the villains one and the same in Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf.

The embodiment of envy. In the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel exemplifies envy therefore he is discontent with the happiness of others. The infusion of Biblical ideas helps form Grendel's character. As a relative of Cain, the first person recorded in the Christian Bible to murder another, Grendel is perceived as a monster. “On the kindred of Cain the Lord living ever awreak’d the murder of the slaying of Abel. In that feud he rejoiced not, but afar him he banish’d, the maker, from mankind for the crime he had wrought,” (108-111). Since Grendel’s ancestor is Cain, Grendel has been banished from the earth. Making Grendel a hell born creature with human emotions and instincts. With Grendel comes the allusion of Cain killing Abel given the time period. Grendel kills the celebratory warriors of Herot because they exuded happiness. Cain killed Abel because he felt God gave Abel more attention. Grendel’s emotions brought him to envy, so he, like his ancestor before him, killed another. Unlike Cain, Grendel killed thirty men every night for twelve years, devolving his monstrous character into an immoral character.

Beowulf is an epic poem that, above all, gives the reader an idea of a time long past; a time when the most important values were courage and integrity. The only factors that could bestow shower fame upon a person were heroic deeds and family lineage. Beowulf, as the paradigm of pagan heroes, exhibited his desire to amass fame and fortune; the only way to do so was to avenge the death of others. This theme of retribution that is ever present throughout the poem seems to color the identities of its characters.

The word revenge is heard all over the news today. The news shows how people are trying to get revenge such as terrorist groups or individuals harming each other. However, even though the use of the word is frequent, not everyone has a clear understanding of what revenge clearly means. Revenge is defined as someone taking action to harm someone who has done something wrong to that certain person. Bryce Nelson the author of Revenge: Sweet, Universal and Self-Destructive: [Home Edition] stated: “As the victim contemplates revenge, he hopes desperately to overcome his feelings of impotence and to regain his former sense of self-worth” (Nelson 1). This article demonstrated how revenge was human nature by showing an example of someone getting revenge. The examples are demonstrated in definitions, characteristics, stories, and real-life events.

The story of Cain, and the murderous rage he inflicts on his brother Abel is one that many remember because of the curse Cain receives from God. After lying to God about killing his brother, Cain can no longer live a fruitful and successful life. He and his descendants are cursed to misery and torment for his transgression. Grendel, one of the unfortunate descendants of Cain, is a prime example of biblical allusion in Beowulf. “He was spawned in that slime, / Conceived by a pair of those monsters born / Of Cain, murderous creatures banished / By God, punished forever for the crime / Of Abel’s death” (19-23). This description of Grendel attaches a stigma to him without giving him any real characteristics. Before he has even

When Beowulf first hears of the horrendous creature Grendel who slaughtered many of Hrothgar’s men He sails with his men to Herot he gets stopped at the entrance by a soldier. The soldier of course does not trust Beowulf so he asks who his father is. Whoever was your father really mattered, it said what kind of person you were because of your fathers actions. The soldier says to Beowulf “Tell me your name/ and your fathers; no spies go further into Danish/ soil than you’ve already come” (lines 165-168). Beowulf explains who his father was and his intentions in Herot. Beowulf says that he has heard of the monster and all he wants is to help them because they have suffered for too long. The soldier guarding the entrance into Herot let Beowulf and his men enter, the soldier seems to trust Beowulf and he says to him. “’ A soldier should know the difference between words/ and deeds and keep that knowledge clear in his brain. I believe your words, I trust in/ your friendship”’ (lines 200-203). Beowulf sails to Herot to kill a monster that has murdered many men. He does this for many reasons he to help, he wants everyone to see his ability, and he just wants some glory.

In the Epic poem of Beowulf, the theme is good vs. evil. But in the movie Hollywood made everything is different. Beowulf is not honest, women are sexually powerful, and the monsters are Hrothgar and Beowulf’s sons, etc. They added many things that were definitely now in the poem. If you read the poem then watching the movie you would be confused. You would be asking so many questions. But the current audience think good vs. evil is boring.

Throughout history we have seen different kind of battles and duels, but all of this confrontations have always represented the good vs. the evil. There has been demons, monster, and even the mind of a human itself, but good has always found a way to keep the world balanced. There has always been different ways in which evil has been presented, but I believe that the most awful and dreadful one is the devil. The devil controls every other dreadful creature in the world, he is the reason why evil exists. Even though we always picture monster and demons as the representation of evil, humans can also be evil, and we can be even worse.

“In my youth I engaged in many wars”, Beowulf boasts to his warriors, which is certainly true. Throughout his life, he faces many deadly foes, all of which he handily defeats, save one. His story focuses on the most challenging, as well as morally significant of foes, Grendel and the dragon. These creatures reveal much about society as well as Christian virtue at the time. Even after Grendel and the dragon are defeated physically, the two monsters pose a new threat to the hero on a higher plane. Beowulf is not only at risk of losing his life, but his humanity, virtue, and even spirituality.

Beowulf is one of the greatest epics from early British literature history we have managed to salvage, and amidst the tales of brave heroes and mighty battles, there lies an interwoven theme of isolation and death. These two plagues to the human mind and body walk together in a correlated marriage within Beowulf’s many episodes. Death is an obvious theme; the alpha and omega of the poem are grandeur funerals (Beowulf, l. 26-52, 3114-3155) and loss is littered throughout Beowulf’s journey. Isolation, however, is a theme that is directly related to the death inside of Beowulf’s world, and needs further examination as to how and why. It seems that the evil creatures that fall to the hands of our mighty hero indulge this theory, but this thematic duo take more than just the lives of the monsters. Isolation followed by death sweeps up innocent characters as well, including Beowulf himself.

In the poem, Beowulf, by an unknown poet, as translated by Seamus Heaney, we see many monstrous behaviors. A few of the examples stand out more than the rest: wanton destruction, a woman acting as a man, and the act of killing one’s kin.

The Anglo-Saxon poem “Beowulf” takes the reader back into a time long past; one of family, fate, and fealty. Beowulf offers a glimpse of a society struggling between two different paths, one path being the assimilation into the new Christian traditions and the other is the fast fading past of glorified warriors and family ties. In the poem, the reader can see the attempts of the poet to convey the values and stories of Judeo-Christianity in a society of Anglo-Saxon paganism. The poet illustrates the infiltration of the Christian teachings and how they might have appeared within the lives of the people through the literary devices of symbolism, allegory, and allusion.