Beowulf Battle Comparison - 1293 Words

Josh Lessin Ms. Schroder English IV Honors 9-21-17 Beowulf Battle Comparison In his three major battles, Beowulf fights for many different reasons. His motivation varies, and as he grows older and wiser his attitude toward these battles also changes. Throughout the epic, Beowulf bradoshously beats Grendel, then more methodically murders Grendel’s mother, and with his last breathes humbly hollers for help to slay the dragon. This shows that Beowulf’s early focuses of glory and riches changes as he becomes a weathered warrior acknowledges that he cannot defeat his enemies alone and must utilize the resources provided to him such as armor, magical items, and companions. Hrothgar, King of the Danes, opens up the story after multiple attacks†¦show more content†¦He ripped off the monster’s arm as Grendel escaped wounded beyond repair. Beowulf kept the arm, hanging it from the rafters as a trophy to remember the brave warrior by. He basked in the praise the Danes heaped on him, finally bearing the rewards he seeked; glory and gold. Beowulf’s triumphs are short lived due to another attack on Herot. This time, Grendel’s mother comes to the great mead hall to avenge her son. The battle between Grendel’s mother and Beowulf differs greatly from the previous battle with the beast’s son. After another attack, Beowulf now must seek out his new enemy, and fight her on her own turf. As it stood, the scores were even between the monsters and the Danes, but Beowulf now looked for victory over the monsters, not revenge. Beowulf also had to regain his reputation. He had just won a trophy, when the bigger, badder bully came up to him and took it straight from his grasp. Now Beowulf traveled to the burning lake, which proved a test of its own. He then swam to the bottom of the lake where the monster resided. All of this just to get to the monster shows that this brave hero would do anything to set the scores right for his people and for the glory that came with it. Once Beowulf descends into the creature’s home, he realizes this monster is too powerful to take down with his fists alone. Taking the blade forged by giants off theShow MoreRelatedBeowulf Essay : Battle Comparison1266 Words   |  6 PagesBeowulf essay: Battle comparison In the poem â€Å"Beowulf† the protagonist encounters three enemies of large proportions: Grendel the serpent, Grendel’s Mother, and a Dragon. All these creatures pose a large and terrifying threat that need a special protagonist to fight what the land’s strongest warriors could not accomplish. 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They are both brave, gallant, and skilled men, but are they the perfect heroes their people believe them to be? While they are portrayed as perfect heroes and they possess many heroic qualities, Beowulf and Sir Gawain are far from perfect. Beowulf andRead MoreAnalysis Of Beowulf s Beowulf 968 Words   |  4 PagesSchroder English IV 21 September 2017 Battle Comparison Beowulf is a story about the quests and battles that the main character, Beowulf, endures. Though he faces many challenges, he is able to overcome them because of his superhuman strength and braveness. During the story, Beowulf fights three beasts: Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and a Dragon. With the strength of 30 men in each hand grip, magical weapons, and the support of Wiglaf, his right hand man, Beowulf is able to defeat all three beasts, but