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Monster In Beowulf

Decent Essays

What is a monster? A “monster is something or someone who harms others for their own excitement or pleasure”(Dictionary.com). In the story Beowulf many people believe that Grendel and his mother are the monsters but others believe that Beowulf is the monster,but who really is the monster? Beowulf,he is the real monster because he has a big ego,greed, and because he wants to steal from the dragon. Stealing,greed and a big ego are things that a hero should not have, and that is exactly why Beowulf is the monster and not a hero. Beowulf is considered a monster because of his huge ego. His big ego first shows up when he hears about Grendel attacking the danes. When he hears about this he gathers up some of his men and then sail off to help the danes. When he arrives, he talks to Hrothgar,the king of the Danes,about his good deeds and shows off by saying “I have heard,too,that the monster’s scorn of men is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none.Nor will I”(Raffel 141-144).That shows that he is not at all afraid of Grendel and that he will fight him with his bare hands. He also shows off when Unferth,a thane of Hrothgar,starts doubting Beowulf that he will not be able to kill Grendel,Beowulf then trying to show off his mighty self, says that when he was a kid “he encountered sea monsters while swimming …show more content…

His greed shows up on the night he is suppose to see Grendel at the hall. He and his men are in the hall waiting for Grendel to show up. All his men fall asleep waiting for the arrival for the beast, but he does not,instead he pretends to be sleeping and then that is when Grendel shows up in the hall. Grendel then gets one of Beowulf’s men and rips him apart and drinks his blood. Beowulf pretending to be asleep sees all of this and does nothing to help one his own men. That shows that he did not care if his men got hurt or killed he just cared to kill the beast no matter what it

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