Beowulf 13
Beowulf 13Beowulf's Dark Side
In Beowulf, Beowulf, the great warrior, encounters three supernatural creatures that reveal the true dark side of human kind. Beowulf encounters these creatures with the driving force of greed and heroism. All of the monsters go through some events that cause them to change their behavior. Beowulf trying to fix all of those problems falls in the same "dark side" that the monsters did. The motivation of there battles reveals the dark side of man - jealousy, revenge, and greed.
At the beginning of the book, Grendel attacks Herot because of jealousy. He is woken by the songs that Herot sings when the town is completed. He then becomes jealous because of the idea that everyone has friends except him. Grendel was believed to be one of the pair of monsters that was a descendent of Cain, banished by God, forever punished for the crime of Abel's death. "…Since Cain had killed his only / Brother, slain his father's son / With an angry sword. God drove him off, / outlawed him…" (Beowulf, 1261 - 1264). Grendel envies the fellowship and happiness he sees in Herot. He hates not having anyone and being excluded from the company of men. He is jealous of the pleasures that men have. That is why Grendel kills the people of Herot for twelve years. Eventually, the news that Grendel is attacking Herot reaches King Hygleac in Geatland. Beowulf tells King Hygleac that he will sail to Hrothgar's kingdom to offer help. Beowulf is received by Herot's coastal guard who then takes him with King Hrothagar. As soon as he gets to the Danish shore, Hrothgar's coastal guard awaits them. Beowulf tells the guard who he is and states his reason for coming. The guard takes the Geats to Herot. Arriving at Herot, King Hrothgar asks Beowulf why he is there and Beowulf answers him that he is there to help him. Hrothgar asks him why he thinks he can do this job. Beowulf tells Hrothgar that he has had experience in combat against water-monsters.
…They have seen my strength for themselves,
Have watched me rise from the darkness of war,
Dripping with my enemies' blood. I drove
Five great giants into chains, chased
All of that race from the earth… (416 - 421).
Although Grendel shows his "dark side" by killing everyone because of the jealousy he has of not having any friends, Beowulf also shows this jealousy when he brags about himself. " '…Grendel is no braver, no stronger / Than I am! I could kill him with my sword; I shall not…" (676 - 677). Beowulf starts saying things about himself on how he is the best warrior in the world and that he could be the only one who could kill Grendel. Beowulf probably thinks that...
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