Respond to reading- After reading Beowulf -
Beowulf is able to defeat evil in the form of Grendel and Grendel’s mother, yet he loses his life when he battles the dragon. What theme does this suggest about the struggle between good and evil? Think of your own life, how do you deal with the concept of good and evil?
Good and evil is everywhere. Sometimes one gets lucky and wins but sometimes the bad guy wins also. Beowulf showed that he was strong, superhuman, confident and courageous by killing Grendel with his bare hands and also killing his mother. When Beowulf dies he died in dignity and proud of what he was doing. Sadly but true, sometimes the evil or the bad person wins. But it wasn't in this case because Beowulf was already considered victorious. For instance in our everyday life's we don't get it our way all the time. One can be right but the other person wins. The difference is the dignity one may have. In conclusion there will always be a struggle between good and evil, its how we confront the situation that makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteThere is good and evil for everything and anything. For Beofwulf at first he won because he had killed Grendel and Grendel's mother, so he had done good, he had helped the Danes get rid of the monster, but toward the end evil wins because Beowulf is much older now and obviously does not have the same strength as before, but that fact the he tried still makes him a winner. So really were all winners at one point or another the way I see it, because yes you may have lost against someone or something evil but the fact that you tried to put an end to it or what ever it may be makes you a winner because you did something good. I agree with Vanessa there will always be a struggle between good and evil, she is right its just how we confront the situation thats makes the difference.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Beowulf, I know understand the difference between good and evil. Just because Beowulf, went to Herot and killed Grendel, doesn't make him evil. Instead, because of his actions, many people who were haunted by Grendel had another chance for life. When Beowulf's last battle arrived he was too old and couldn't handle the fight. During his entire life Beowulf battled many monsters and that makes him a good, rather than evil person. For example, in our own lives we always battle between good and evil . When making decision we may do it for the better and good for ourselves, but it may be evil for other individuals.
ReplyDeleteIn my own personal experience and based on both what i've read and watched on tv i can say evil will always find a way to suceed.In the hispanic culture there's a saying that says "old weed never dies" , this applies to evil in the sence that evil will never vanish. Good things are scarce and basically extinct.When Beowulf defeated Grendel and his mother he helped many to go back to living a normal life but since evil in this case in the form of the "dragon" couldn't actually be defeated all at once, then he lost to evil. Beowulf, "the good" , couldn't kill all the "evil" in the world, that's why he died or didn't suceed on defeating it.
ReplyDeleteGood and evil are two things in life that never seem to fade away. The prime example between these two are God and the Devil. As time passes by the battle between these two becomes greater. Wars and debates are written in books and are told by men. Beowulf fought for good of man and died for the same reasons. Evil, portrayed as Grendel and his mother, continue to live on. As one evil dies another grows to take its place. This is what i believe, to be the main reason why these two will always stay in this world. Good may defeat evil, but evil, will continue to thrive.
ReplyDeleteUpon the completion of reading Beowulf you learn a good amount of knowledge between good and evil. Just because you are good or a superhero, doesn't meant that you are always going to come on top. For example, in Beowulf, Beowulf was victorious when we defeated Grendel, and Grendel's Mother with his bare hands. When he when up against the Dragon we was defeated. Take into consideration that when Beowulf went head on with the Dragon it was 50 years later after defeating Grendel and Grendel's mother. Like any good hero age plays a big part in success. You cannot expect the same strength in Beowulf 50 years later as he did when he destroyed Grendel. This also plays a real good role in everyday life. If you watch the news you would see that most people who get attacked to be robbed and beaten are men and women of old age. Their attackers on the other hand are about the same ages as my fellow peers and I. This shows you that good doesn't always overcome evil.
ReplyDelete-Rolando P Valdes
After reading Beowulf, you have better knowledge of how the Christian monks that wrote the epic poem, viewed good and evil. Beowulf killed Grendel and his mother to save humanity and stop the evil they were spreading. Grendel and his mother spread overwhelming fear throughout the village. It's a classic example of good triumphs over evil with a twist at the end. Although Beowulf succeeded in killing Grendel and his mother, and allowed the village to live in peace, 50 years later when he battles evil again, he loses his life. It tells the reader how good doesn't always win, that evil has its moment of glory but it shouldn't keep us from believing in a better tomorrow.
ReplyDelete-Stephanie Mena
Period: 2
Beowulf defeated the evil in Grendel and Grendel's mother. But then he lost to the evil in the dragon. This just goes to show you that no matter how much good you do there will always be evil somewhere. Evil will never go away, maybe at the moment but then it'll come back in something bigger and stronger. The battle between good and evil has gone on forever and will be around until the end of time. Good and evil are forces of nature that will never go away. There is good and evil in everyone and its up to the person to decide which force of nature will consume them.
ReplyDeleteat times i ask myself why evil prevails. sadly, evil will sometimes have its ways. in beowulf, evil won because beowulf died. in a way it makes him a winner though because he did accomplish a lot by defeating grendel and his mother. in real life, theres definitely evil people and good people. i personally believe in karma more than anything else in the world. whatever you do will always come back to you. believe that. this makes me feel a whole lot better about having evil people in the world because i know they wont be happy for long. everyone should always be good to others even if they dont want to. this way, good things can come your way. stuff will always happen, but if you're good then in the long run you should be fine.
ReplyDeleteWhere there's good, there's always evil. No matter what the circumstances. Beowulf was able to defeat Grendel and his mother, where good prevailed. Sometimes things don't always go as expected like when he fought the dragon and even though he killed the dragon, he ended up dying because of the wounds it enflicted on him. When he killed Grendel and his mother, he was young and strong. After 50 years, things change and despite still having the same might and urge to do good, being way older wouldn't help him survive. In the end it's a fair game whether good could over throw evil or vice versatile but the two will always be hand in hand.
ReplyDelete-Gianni Leal
Period 2
There will forever be good and evil. In Beowulf, good conquered evil many times. In the begining Beowulf spoke with such confidence that he would defeat Grendel, and did not worry that he would die. When he was defeating Grendel's Mother he had little less confidence. As time went on, 50 years later, Beowulf was already an old man. His superhuman strength, confidence, and brave heart withered just like himself. In the end good still conquered evil, even though Beowulf died in the process. He sacrificed himself for others, and that is a true epic-hero.
ReplyDelete-Jazmine Quinones
Period 2
yailin alvarez, I agree with you evil does have a way of always winning of course to a limit. But like you said in Beowolfs case he alone, as much of a hero he is can not kill or defeat all evil but like I mentioned in my post that doesnt mean he is not good he still tried and that is what counts.
ReplyDeleteRobert Morales, you also have a similar idea to Yalin and my post. Yes evil is every where no matter where you go and sadly but true they do win every so often because like I said one person that does good is great but that one person can't always do it alone they do need help at some point. Wether it is when they get older or wether it is just to big of a battle to do alone.
ADDITION TO BLOG POST:
ReplyDeleteRESPONSE TO CLASSMATES
Rolando Valdes, I do agree with you when you state, "just because you are good or a superhero, doesn't meant that you are always going to come on top." This is true! Not always will we win just because we are good at what we do. For example, many people bet money on football games and poker matches, but just because that person is a professional in their field doesn't mean that they will always come out on top.
I also agree with Ely Perez because, in the case of Beowulf, evil won at the end. But the real winner is Beowulf because during his lifetime he fought and defeated many bad monsters.
Melissa Prat
Period 2
I agree with Rolando Valdes response to the question. It is true you may not always come on top and win. Sometimes the evil wins although its not fair. Its just how life works. Also, Beowulf was older when he tried to defeat the dragon. In addition to Rolando’s response, I agree with Ely Perez. You never know who is going to win and sometimes “evil prevails”. In reality nothing is never nice and dandy or perfect, there always will exist flaws. This is one case, one will always have the circumstance where we loose.
ReplyDeleteThere is always a battle between good and evil. Either good or bad, one will win in some kind of way. In Beowulf, good was a winner in that Beowulf defeated Grendel and his monstruous mother by having the strength and the confidence to do it. However, towards the end, good is defeated by evil when the dragon kills Beowulf but because he was too weak and old to fight and overpower it. Although Beowulf loses in the end, he showed that good still overpowers evil because he risks his life for the better of the people and does it with confidence. Good and evil will always be a battle, but the one who wins has confidence and the strength in believing that they will win.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Vanessa De La Cruz with the fact that in our lives, we can't always win. Good or evil, to be a winner, sometimes it takes losing to learn for your mistakes in order to win the other. That way, we are better aware and it's less difficult to win.
I also agree with Susan Serpa in that you can consider yourself a winner whether you win or lose. It's just the ability of trying, being brave and taking risks that gives you confidence to try again and win.
Everywhere you go, you will see yourself in between what we call "good" and "evil." A perfect example is in the epic poem, Beowulf. Upon reading Beowulf, we learn how Beowulf defeated Grendel in the hopes of saving humanity and stop the evil. In a way, the "good guy" won because he prevailed in the fight but at the same time, evil won as well because Beowulf died. Sadly, sometimes in life we have to see the "bad guys" succeed. Since our childhood we've learned that in life there's good people but where there is good people there is bad as well, God and the devil is another good example of the battle between good and evil. Unfortunately, evil is one thing that will be around forever and its everywhere we go.
ReplyDeleteNow, in response to Rolando, I strongly agree with you. When Beowulf defeated Grendel he was young, superhuman strong and confident. After 50 long years, he doesn't have the same strength and confidence as before and therefore he died after the dragon battle, sadly, evil sometimes does have an upper hand on good. In addition to Rolando's response, Ely Perez also made a great point. Just like you, I'm also a strong believer of karma. What goes around comes back around. Everybody should perform good deeds so that karma doesn't come back and bite you.
After reading Beowulf i can say that at the begining good was the winner because Beaowulf defeated Grendel and his mother since he had the strength and the courage to do it but then good is defeated because Beowulf was old a tired.Good does not always wins in doesn't matter if it is not fair it is just how things are he was old a tired so he could not defeat the dragon with just is confidence.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Yailin alvarez,evil will always insist.Beowulf couldn't killed all evil because good cannot always win.
I also agree with Vanessa,you can find evil anywhere,and either good or evil can win,in the case of Beowulf he was brave by killing the monsters with only her hands but then evil wins because Beowulf was not young and didn't have the same strength it all depends on the situation.
Response to classmates:
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rolando Valdes because age does play a factor in stories with heroes. All heroes age no matter what or they lose their powers for some reason.
I also agree with Ely Perez and how she believed Beowulf was still a winner in a way because of all the good he did in his life. Life is unpredictable and that's why, even though we believe someone has the upper hand, they actually don't. We can never believe in something 100% because we don't have the ability to predict any outcomes. That's why you couldn't really expect Beowulf to win the battle against a dragon 50 years later.
-Stephanie Mena
Period: 2
After reading Beowulf I can say that Beowulf himself has the character traits of a hero like strength and courage to defeat Grendel and his mother. He has always defeated evil but for the first time evil defeated him in form of a dragon that killed him. We can see that good may sometimes win but ofcourse is not always going to be for sure that evil will loose. Like we saw in Beowulf evil had it's time of winning as well.
ReplyDeleteLike in everyday life there's good and evil it just a matter of how it comes at us. Good may win at times but evil can do so as well.
I agree with Vanessa, that we can find evil anywhere specially in the least expected place/people. I agree with Rolando too because yes evil may sometimes win even though it isn't fair.
Although Beowulf defeated Grendel and his mother, he eventually loses to a dragon this theme suggests no matter how much good you do there will always be evil. You can fight it for as long as you want or as long as you can but at the end of the day there will always be evil in someway, shape, or form. Both evil and good will prevail at times, not all the time. In other words you can't save everyone. This is because all good things come to an end. The way I deal with it and look at it is there will always be good and evil as long as there is a world with people in it. There are people who like to see other suffer(evil) and those who like to see others succeed and are happy for them(good). At some point in everybody's life they have evil and good moments its about having more good ones.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Robert evil will never go away maybe it goes away a little bit but when it comes back it will be bigger and stronger. It is just something that exists in our world, that you can't do anything about.
I agree with Rolando age is important in determining success. A 20 year old is much stronger than a 70 year old. The 20 year old has much more speed and strength. You can only do something for so long. Its like I said in my response all good things must come to an end.
After reading "Beowulf" I realized the difference between good and evil. Both evil and good come in many forms, and Beowulf is the meaning of good. Although he fought countless times, he was only doing it for the good of his people. The battles were against horrible monsters, such as Grendel and his mother. Beowulf went strong for a long period of time, but old age struck after his battle with the dragon. He might have lost his final battle, but he lived a long life of a true warrio who conquered evil.
ReplyDeleteGenesis Merino
Period 2
Rolando Valdes: I agree, age truly played a huge part in Beowulf's last battle because he didn't have the same strength he once had when he was young.
ReplyDeleteVanessa D: I agree with her statement, sometimes evil comes out on top but Beowulf was already a man of victory regardless of the outcome of his final battle.
Genesis Merino
Period 2
The theme that this suggest about the struggle between good and evil is that anything can accomplishes as long as you have the spirit and the power to do so but even so that sometimes isn't enough at one time or another good will win an abundant of things but even evil believe it or not wins a few rounds. Good and Evil is almost like a never ending cycle in which neither will truly win they will forever be tied. such as that Beowulf who is portraited as the good protagonist in the book who fought Grendel who was the antagonist and his mother who merely existed to cause death and pain were defeated as to say it was sooner or later to be backfired as a life for a life. Nothing ever good nor bad comes from things its balanced neither side shall win. for me there is good and evil and it must being balanced in order for the world to be stable, it is not good to have too much good in the world or we wont ever make mistakes therefore not learning anything.but at the same time too much evil causes too much pain and suffering therefore killing the existence of the human race. so there is good and evil everywhere and I think that its something that we have to live with.
ReplyDeleteI agree with yailin about "evil in the sence that evil will never vanish." since evil is always there lurking at every dark corner waiting to strike its target its just how life is.
ReplyDeleteI also i agree with vanessa about that "Good and evil is everywhere. Sometimes one gets lucky and wins but sometimes the bad guy wins" for the fact that evil sometimes sadly does win a few rounds such as that bad things sometimes happens to good people for no reason whatsoever and that good things sometimes happens to bad people it does happen. But sometimes as we can do is live life and look forward to the future and hope that we get lucky and have a prosperous life.
The theme in the Beowulf is "Good vs. Evil." Beowulf saves lives and is considered as a hero while Grendel kills people and is considered as evil. The hero has a conflict with the evil, and Beowulf finally kills Grendel with bare hand. This shows the good defeats evil. In the later story, Beowulf became old when he fought with the dragon. The good becomes weak while the evil is strong, and finally Beowulf dies. This proves that concept of “Good always win” is not always true. There are still some immoral affairs going on in our society. For example, police cannot catch all terrorists in the world. In my life, I know I am not a heroic person who determines to save the world, but I try to be a moral person. When I see some evil affairs, I may not stand up and fight, but I will ask for help. My influence is small. The only thing I can do is to keep a eye in the younger generation in my family because the child education will determine what kind of people they are going to be.
ReplyDeleteI agree what Stephanie said because we have similar ideas. I also believe that good cannot always defeat evils.
I also agree what Robert said. Evil and good are going to fight forever because they are like opponents.