Question

This is a question about how abstract structures are made into narratives. every culture makes distinctions between what is inside the social order and what is outside, between the human and the non-human (a category which can include animals, plants, natural processes, monsters and the miraculous). cultures organize themselves to contain or exclude these “outside” things; social organization also works to control certain violent human tendencies inside the culture (anger, lust, fear, greed, etc.). how does the social world depicted in beowulf do this? that is, what does it exclude, and why? what is its attitude towards the “outside” of culture? how does it control the forces that threaten social stability within the hall?

Answer 1

In Beowulf, the Outside is seen as a threat, because only in the great hall, where the king and his warriors are, is there security, and the monster Grendel comes from outside (seeking to attack humans) where there are dangerous and evil creatures . Grendel represents anger and madness, the animal part that the human being fears, but Beowulf, as an hero, represents the control of the mystic forces and the nature; it also represents power and strength. Thus man's dominion over magical and natural forces is established. Also, it is part of the mythologies that the outer world, or distant lands, are a source of mystery and danger where no one goes, or where the threats come from.