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Post by danielkim on Aug 31, 2014 8:49:56 GMT
Few days ago, Ms. Boyd pointed out that Grendel cannot be killed by iron weapons (knives, spears, etc.) and questioned why the author arranged the plot like this (also said that this is a good question to post on the discussion board).
In page 62 Line 986~989, it says:
“Everybody said there was no honed iron hard enough to pierce him through, no time-proofed blade that could cut his brutal, blood-caked claw.”
What do you guys think the author was trying to say in this quotation?
Obviously the author showed that a lot of monsters are immune to man-made weapons.
However, I think this quotation is related to the theme good vs. evil. The author wanted to show that humans tend to be evil rather than to be good. I also think the author compared this idea to an occasion which depicts the fight between people (good) and Grendel (evil). Before Beowulf killed Grendel, we saw that people were losing every time in the fight. So I guess that the fight between people and Grendel showed how weak humans were compared to the evil.
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bachle
Junior Member
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Post by bachle on Aug 31, 2014 14:35:03 GMT
To me , I just think the author use this quotation as a background to support what is going to happen next. If Grendel is immune with iron weapon which is the most dangerous weapon at the time, it means that normal people can not kill him. In order to kill him, there is something has to be very special and we all know it gonna be Beowulf. If connecting this quote to a theme, I think i should be supernatural.
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bilal
New Member
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Post by bilal on Aug 31, 2014 14:50:03 GMT
i agree with bach coz after all beawulf is the bravest and the mightiest who kills the beast. the author is giving us the answer by telling no one can kill grendel unless if u are special and powerful.
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Post by chrishong on Aug 31, 2014 14:51:38 GMT
According to the story of Cain and Abel, after he murdered his own brother Abel, Cain got kicked out by God. God put a "mark" on Cain and said that if anyone attempted to kill Cain, the same thing will happen to them. So, I was wondering that since Grendel is the descendant of Cain and probably had a similar "mark" as his ancestor did, Grendel is immune to man-made weapons so that people cannot succeed in killing him easily.
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Post by anyuchen on Aug 31, 2014 14:58:55 GMT
i think the author describe the Grendel so strong that others can not kill him, he wants to emphasize the beowulf's power is stronger than him. However, i think in some ways, the author want to say if one have the stronger power than others. That could make him become an evil.
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Post by jooyoungparkyesbaby on Aug 31, 2014 16:45:38 GMT
Personally, I think that Grendel is immune to metal because it is the author's intention to glorify and highlight Beowulf. Just think, how cool would it be if a human beats a bad monster who is strong enough to withstand steel? Man of steel so to speak. Now Beowulf is more glorified not only as a hero but also a superhuman that can destroy things as strong as steel. Strength and power is very much regarded in this story. Thus the author wanted to highlight this by showing Beowulf's strength.
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Post by nerdira on Aug 31, 2014 23:21:17 GMT
I just think that Grendel being immune to weapons is to have Beowulf, who has the strength of 30 men in his grasp, and is presumably the only person to do so, be Grendel's fated rival. If he was weak to weapons, then some other hero could've beaten Grendel because there's no mention of Beowulf having the best sword in all of the Anglo-Saxon lands. Also, I don't know if this is why the author made Grendel impervious to weapons, but I see weapons as being a bit cheap, like how they never have the hero in movies beat his final enemy in a gun fight. Because it would end to quickly. Having Beowulf wrestle Grendel kind of pushes the fight a little longer.
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Post by brandonina on Sept 7, 2014 1:34:29 GMT
I think the quotation serves to highlight Beowulf's strength and power. It is important to notice that the story is very much about heroism. In my opinion, characteristics such as strength, power, and bravery are what Anglo-Saxons believed people should have to be qualified as heroes. So by mentioning the quote, the author portrays Beowulf as a person who is so strong that he is able to break Grendel's arm that withstands a sharp steel. !What a great hero! lol
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Post by ameliachen80385 on Sept 7, 2014 2:13:12 GMT
Personally,I think because the author wants reader to know how strong is the Beowulf. “Everybody said there was no honed iron hard enough to pierce him through, no time-proofed blade that could cut his brutal, blood-caked claw.” from this quote we can infer that the Grendel is very powerful and nothing can beat him. Grendel thinks he is the strongest evil in the world he is not afraid of Beowulf. Why the author dose not describe the Beowulf's any emotions,like fear,happy,anger....etc.Because Beowulf thinks he can beat Grendel, he dose be confident. In my own perspective, the author wants to describe the Beowulf is much stronger than Grendel. I think this is to emphasize the ability Beowulf has.
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misato
Junior Member
Posts: 97 
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Post by misato on Sept 7, 2014 3:16:57 GMT
I guess author wanted tell readers that how Beowulf is strong with this quote. Even no honed iron hard enough to pierce him through but Beowulf cut Grendel's hand off. This quote means noone can do it but only Beowulf could do it.
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Post by leeeeena on Sept 7, 2014 13:32:25 GMT
“Everybody said there was no honed iron hard enough to pierce him through, no time-proofed blade that could cut his brutal, blood-caked claw.” I think the author wanted to tell the readers how strong and powerful Grendel was that no one could beat him by this quote. Also the author wanted to infer that Beowulf was stronger than anything since he killed Grendel which was thought to be the strongest.  |
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Post by hansoo on Sept 7, 2014 14:17:24 GMT
I think the author tries to highlight the fact that nobody in the Danes has ever succeeded in defeating Grendel. By pointing out Grendel's unrealistic physical aspect, Grendel is depicted as an invulnerable creature that cannot be overcome to anyone. Without such depiction, Beowulf's battle against Grendel may have not been as dramatic as it is.
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Post by estherchoi on Sept 7, 2014 14:47:33 GMT
I never thought Grendel was immune to metal. I just thought Beowulf was the only one who could hurt him. I thought like this because whenever other heroes tried to kill Grendel, they failed. I think they failed because they didn't go barehanded depending on God. However Beowulf was the first person to say he would fight with the power of God. Other warriors who helped him didn't seemed like they depended on God, but on their weapons. So I think like Cain and Abel story, Grendel was abandoned by God but did have the 'Mark of Cain', which was the protection against other 'powers'.
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Post by jmoon234 on Sept 7, 2014 15:06:20 GMT
I think that it is trying to show the challenge that the soldiers have to solve. Since in that era, weapon made out of iron is common and all soldier carry one around. Their possession of that iron weapon would be luggage when they use it fight against that monster. Grendel should have gain some kind of ability that allows it to be immune by such material. Although I personally think that it is just too weird for a monster like Grendel to possess such an ability in the first place.
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Post by sergeyfen on Sept 9, 2014 4:21:54 GMT
Grendel is a supernatural creature and in order to face hundreds of people all by himself, he has to have some advantages over humans. He can not be pierced by any metal weapons that are created by humans, I think it's just his genetics from Cane, at the end of the day God, himself created Cane and Grendel is pretty close descendant of him. I also think it related to good vs evil, in movies dark side is always the tempting one, offering more things to someone who is ready to give up good to accept evil. Evil always wins in the beginning, while good always loses, but that's just in the beginning. Personally, i think it teaches people to stick with what they believe and not what seems tempting because Evil always wins at the start but later good always finds a way to overcome obstacles that evil throws in. In the story, Grendel terrorised Danes and could not be killed by anything, until Beowulf showed up and in no time slay Grendel. Take and learn patience and loyalty from the story.
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