Grendel As The Hero In The Epic Of Beowulf

In the epic Beowulf, the people (known as the Danes) value a few things way over other things. The things they value the most is glory, fame, and the mead hall; called a “herot”. In the epic, there is a demon like monster that lives in the darkness of the land. Its name is Grendel. Grendel is against everything the Danes love, including the mead hall, and things such as fun and happiness. It pains him to see and hear people having fun. So to enact his revenge, in the night, he sneaks up to the herot, and he swiftly takes 30 men in their sleep. The men were never seen again, and when their companions woke up, they were filled with sorrow over their losses, and Grendel is relieved. He continues this act of killing off these men until Hrothgar, the king, banishes anybody from ever setting foot in the herot again. “That shadow of death hunted in the darkness, stalked Hrothgar’s warriors, old and young, lying in waiting, hidden in mist, invisibly following them from the edge of the marsh, always there, unseen. So mankind’s enemy continued his crimes, killing as often as he could,”
His name is Beowulf. He is one of the strongest, most beloved and honored men in his time. “In his far-off home Beowulf, Higlac’s Follower, and the strongest of the Geats- greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world-.” He decides that he, and 14 other brave and honorable men of the Geats by his choosing, set off to fight the monster. This is important because this tells us what these people, the Danes, valued in their