That night, he watches as his enemy kills one of his men, and as Grendel reaches for Beowulf, Beowulf rips off his arm. His extraordinary strength allows him to fight and kill the evil monster, Grendel, with his own bare hands. The battle with Grendel portrays Beowulf’s strength, and ability to succeed at what he strives for. Above all impressive feats, Beowulf was not afraid to die. He left this decision to fate and accepted it no matter what.
Towards the battle one last time, Beowulf who is being old and tired fights a dragon that has been frightening all his people. This battle ultimately kills him but he manages to kill the dragon too. The double death is for protection of his people. By putting the welfare of his people before his own and displaying super-human physical strength and courage, Beowulf shows the characteristics of heroism. In addition, he understands that fate ultimately decide the outcome of his battles as showing no fear and preparing for any possible outcome.
“And for the first time in his life that famous prince fought with fate against him, with glory denied him. He knew it, but he raised his sword and struck at the dragon’s scaly hide” (l. 885 - 888). Even with fate against him, Beowulf knows that he needs to kill the dragon in order to save his people. When his men see the dragon, however, all but one run away in fear. Beowulf and Wiglaf need to fight the dragon by themselves, although they know they will most likely die.
After explaining the situation Beowulf says a really great line: “Fate often saves an un-doomed man when his courage is good.” Showing that Beowulf battles his enemies with pride and tells Hrothgar that he will “fulfill the will of your people or else fall in slaughter, fast in foes grasp. I shall achieve a deed of mainly courage or else have lived to see in his mead hall my ending day.” This is a huge example of Beowulf’s bravery because of what is being stated. Beowulf is
Grendel was a great threat to the survival of the Danish people because he ate them. One night Beowulf was awake to find Grendel over his bed. Rather than trying to escape, Beowulf pursued Grendel when he tried to escape. Like any other hero Beowulf pursued the danger until it is conquered. The second act of Beowulf heroism is when he kills Grendel’s mother.
Grendel terrorizes the people of the land, ripping men apart with his brute strength. The epic poem Beowulf tells the story of a warrior who throughout his life overcomes evils. It has many references to Anglo-Saxon ideals of bravery, strength, and courage. For example, Beowulf brashly lists his accomplishments before entering each battle: "But the truth is simple: no man swims in the sea as I can, no strength is a match for mine ¦ other monsters crowded around me, continually attacking. I treated them politely, offering the edge of my razor-sharp sword, (265-294).
Beowulf is portrayed, as per the author's intentions, as the archetypal hero in order to develop the theme of the story: With God's grace, a hero is able to defeat evil. Beowulf is shown to be blessed with skills beyond that of an ordinary man, and uses his capabilities and faith in God to take him to Herot and destroy the sinister Grendel. When Beowulf is first introduced, it is declared from the outset that he is "greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world." The story continues on to talk of how Hrothgar, King of the Danes, is troubled by a monster, Grendel, who torments his mead hall nightly, slaughtering his soldiers and eating them. With all this in mind, Beowulf boards his ship along with fourteen other men and sets sail for Denmark, hoping to purge Grendel from Herot.
This fiend is a bold and famous fighter, but his claws and. scratching at my shield, his clumsy fists beating at my sword blade, would be helpless. I will meet him with my hands empty- unless his heart fails him, seeing a soldier waiting weaponless, unafraid. Let God in His wisdom extend His had where He wills, reward whom He chooses!” It is no secret that Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands. He had the courage to go up against this monster without any weapons and he had the power to defeat him.
43). This quote displays us that not only did Beowulf defeat Grendel, but he defeated Grendel with just his bare hands. This example confirms the characteristic of how Beowulf is an epic hero by completing a great deed with great strength and courage. Another characteristic someone may see in Beowulf, is him being a great warrior. Before a hero completes a journey in his epic, he must establishes his name another way.
Fifty years ahead and now King Beowulf faced a task of killing a dragon. He would “[fight] with fate against him” (724) seeing as his “the ancient blade broke” (727) while striking the dragon’s side. The beloved king would eventually die with “None of his comrades\Came to help him” (745-746) and his “Followers… ran for their lives…” (745-748). King Arthur’s story is also an epic poem which speaks about an honorable leader who will do anything to defend his people. Arthur went off to battle, with his comrades at his side the whole time and is able to defeat his foe, but doing so left him fatally injured, until he is eventually killed.