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.
Thus, leaving him with no protection. Also, during the battle, Beowulf’s sword was broken, this left Beowulf with no weapon. Though, thanks to one of Beowulf’s warriors, Wiglaf. The two were then able to slay The Dragon. Another similarity in the 3 battles is that Beowulf retrieved a prize from each
Nonetheless Beowulf was faced with this trial. It all started when a slave stole a cup from a fire-breathing dragon's treasure. After the dragon realizes that his treasure has been stolen, he goes on a rampage trying to find. Beowulf finds out about this rampage when the dragon destroys some mead-halls. However, Beowulf is not a young man anymore.
Beowulf eventually becomes king and dies defending his people from a fire dragon. Beowulf accomplishes his hero cycle through heroic deeds, encounter with numinous phenomenon, and his death, proving he is an ideal hero. To begin, Beowulf starts off the hero cycle strong by performing heroic deeds leading up to his challenge. He says, “A monster seized me, drew me swiftly toward the bottom, swimming with its claws tight in my flesh, but fate let me find its heart with my sword, hack myself free; I fought that beast’s last battle, left it floating lifeless in the sea” (Beowulf 273-278). Once in a swimming race Beowulf had been attacked by a sea monster and had to save himself.
However, a fire breathing dragon that was guarding the treasure for hundreds of years was disturbed. The dragon began to terrorize Beowolf’s Kingdom. The elderly Beowolf needed to be there for his people. The exhausting fight against the dragon, made him realize that he wasn’t as strong as he used to be. The dragon melted sword.
My lord Higlac might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were afraid to, if I hid behind some broad linden shield: My hands alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster.” In this quote Beowulf is trying to convince the King of the Danes to let him defeat the monster Grendel. He tells him how he has defeated many other monsters and how he could
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.
As a result of this, Pelius kills numerous amounts of his young male relatives in order to prevent what the oracle said from being reality. Luckily, Aison, the father of Jason is able to save Jason’s life, and in order to do so he sends him to Chiron the Centaur to be raised. Like Jason, Herakles has a similar childhood. Hera Zeus’ wife is extremely angry that Zeus had an affair with Alcmene. Herakles was the product of his affair infuriating Hera even more.
Throughout the entire poem Beowulf sustains these qualities with every monstrous encounter he faces. From the very beginning he triumphs over Grendel using merely his bare hands, then chops off the head of Grendel’s revenged seeking mother, and lastly battles the lethal dragon in his elder days, ultimately resulting in his death. On his way out to face the dragon Beowulf says to another soldier, “This fight is not yours, nor is it up to any man except me… I shall win the gold by my courage, or else mortal combat, doom of battle, will bear your lord away” (“Beowulf,” in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. I, 8th ed. Ed.
The final part of this ultimate test was to slay Badrang. After seeing Badrang escape, Martin chased after him and engaged in combat. After a few sword strokes, Martin heroically defeated Badrang and ended his rule once and for all by slaying him. Martin the Mouse, despite only being a young warrior, shows many signs of being a hero. He has many important qualities drilled into him during his strange birth and childhood, he demonstrates his great ability in his many trails during his quest, and he completed his revenge against his former master by slaying him and destroying his castle.