Beowulf's 3 Battles

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Beowulf was seen as a great warrior, who fought until his death. In his first battle Beowulf triumphs over a monster, Grendal who has been terrorizing the people of King Hrothgar. In the second battle, Beowulf faces off with Grendal’s mother, coming out the victor once again. In the final battle, we see Beowulf meet his end, when he fights to the death with the dragon. Each battle is a representation of good vs. evil. He fights Grendal who is a hideously gruesome monster that would feed on the people of Denmark. He battles Grendal’s mother who kills the king’s closest friend for revenge, and the dragon was guarding a treasure and would kill any man who dared to pass. Another example of how the battles are similar is that Beowulf cannot kill his enemies with normal weapons. In the fight with Grendal, his men’s swords could not penetrate Grendal’s skin. Beowulf had to use his own hands. Again, with Grendal’s mother a sword was useless, until Beowulf used a sword that had been created and blessed by the giants. Finally, during the battle with the dragon, his shield melts and his sword breaks. But in this last battle his bare hands, and strength were not enough to prevail over evil. Beowulf fights alone in each of these battles. His men do help in the first battle against Grendal, by blocking his exit from the fight, but it is Beowulf alone that rips off Grendal’s arm. He goes to the lake alone to fight Grendal’s mother. His men desert him when he goes to fight the dragon. “Although he wanted this challenge to be one he’d face by himself alone” (2642-2644) one loyal comrade raised his sword along side Beowulf. “That final day was the first time when Beowulf fought and fate denied him glory in battle” (2573-2575) Wiglaf, who stood beside Beowulf, was able to land a killing blow to the dragon. In the 3 battles that we read about in Beowulf, we see

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