Beowulf Is A Hero Essay

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Beowulf is shown as the hero of the epic poem “Beowulf”, although in reality he is the villain. Throughout the poem Beowulf is written to be a hero because of his strength and his loyalty to his people and others. However, his search for heroic status was so overwhelming that it only motivated his jealousy and his selfishness. Beowulf is an epic poem about a self-centered soldier whose only motivation in life is only self-beneficial. He exploits the exposed sensitivity of Grendel. Beowulf stood for himself. Grendel is actually a hero and even a symbol of the persecuted. Even though he does not represent the traditional hero portrayed in society, he is a hero to those not attractive or good enough for society. Grendel is considered a monster that has been turned away from Heorot Hall because his ideas, values and looks do not fit the normality of society. In his anguish, he believed that slaughtering and destroying Heorot Hall was his only way of releasing and escaping his anger and hurt of being shunned. "This unhappy being had long lived in the land of monsters since the Creator cast them out as kindred of Cain (Beowulf 103-106)."…show more content…
Grendel has been excluded from the society. Grendel was not only a representative for the individual person but of all the individuals who are strangers. Grendel’s thoughts conflicted with those of Hrothgar who thought it gave Grendel joy to kill thirty men, as it gave Beowulf joy to brag about his. “They have seen my strength for themselves” (Beowulf 246). Grendel did not follow the normal behavior that society judges an individual for. Grendel is not the big bad monster everyone at Herot Hall think he is. He is merely a disfigured man who is shunned for pointless reasons. He decides to get his revenge by killing those who have done him

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