A part of the story of Beowulf involved Beowulf fighting Grendel. The picture in the above link shows Beowulf tearing off Grendel’s arm and shoulder, which occurs in “The Fight With Grendel” section of this story. Beowulf’s action is a sign of victory. Beowulf defeating Grendel is a sign of victory because Beowulf rips Grendel’s arm completely out of its socket and holds it up as a trophy high on Heorot’s wall. Grendel is therefore fatally wounded. All of this is shown by two quotes in the story. The quote “Everyone felt it who heard that cry as it echoed off the wall, a God-cursed scream and strain on catastrophe, the howl of the loser, the lament of the hell-serf keening his wound”(pg 1649, lines 783-787) shows that Grendel was severely wounded right after Beowulf tore off his arm. The quote “Clear proof of this could be seen in the hand the hero displayed high up near the roof: the whole of Grendel’s shoulder and arm, his awesome grasp”(pg 1650, lines 832-835) shows that Beowulf is showing his proof of victory.
My response to Beowulf’s victorious action is that his action assumes that he possesses many positive qualities. Some of these qualities may include courage, perseverance, heroism, strength, and most of all glory. Beowulf is like any other hero like Hercules and some of the Roman emperors based on his assumed qualities I came up with. Beowulf’s action leads to a holding of a feast and a showering of gifts. In this manner, Beowulf is honored and praised for his victory.
