Beowulf follows the epic battle of one man’s quest to conquer evil once and for all. Beowulf’s fearless battle with the monster that terrorized people for over a decade reflects one’s own battle of good and evil within. Grendel possesses a cruel nature as well as a strong sense of revenge and cruelty which is a mere image of one’s own sinful nature. He is the darkness inherent in mankind that must be triumphed only through virtue.

Throughout Beowulf, Grendel shows an evil, monstrous side that most people know they possess, but very rarely let show through their façade. What is inside of Grendel is a tortured soul, alone and angry at the world and those who surround him. So he takes out his anger on the Danes. Feared by everyone except Beowulf, he defeats and kills anyone who challenges him. The same can be said whenever one tries to fix a problem alone. By fighting alone and quite unprepared, one is asking for immediate defeat. Without the help of one strong, virtuous warrior (i.e. Beowulf, who, in turn, represents Christ), you cannot defeat the monster within.

Grendel represents the dark, aggressive persona that has come naturally to mankind since the Fall of Man. The hate and anger he portrays is displayed in the way he disrupts the Danes kingdom, and with the shedding of innocent lives. Said hate and anger can only be defeated by one brave enough, strong enough, and virtuous enough to rid the world of what should never have been. In a similar sense, mankind cannot beat own spiritual battles alone. Christ is the Savior, the only one who can truly defeat the monster of our natural selves.