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In the old English epic, Beowulf, a pattern is begun of making monsters out to be outsiders, witnessed through the descriptions, attitudes, and actions of the fiend Grendel and his horrific Mother. In this and many other stories throughout ancient times, the antagonistic monsters have been the focus for the problems within society, causing any number of woes for the people. However, although the troubles the monsters cause occur within Human society, the monsters themselves, especially within Beowulf, are quite often distanced and set apart in numerous ways from the peoples whom they plague, including physically, mentally, emotionally, symbolically, and oftentimes ideologically as well. There exists, however, a paradoxical symbolism within the epic's framework concerning this beast and his mother in which they serve as examples of the negative aspects of the Germanic society in which the story originated. Therefore, while they are still placed outside of the boundaries of Human......

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Approximate Word Count: 1534
Approximate Pages: 7 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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