The story of Beowulf relates three of his most important battles. The first was against the monster Grendel, who had been plaguing Hrothgar's land for twelve long years. After slaying Grendel, Beowulf journeys far into the center of the Earth to combat Grendel's mother, who was enraged at the death of her son. Grendel slays her also, returning to the surface as a great hero. After many years as a great ruler, Beowulf's final battle is against a great dragon, which conquers the great hero in his old age. Beowulf, though too cocky and self-assured, was a great warrior who didn't deserve to die the way he did.
             His first major battle, against Grendel, was similar to his battle with Dam because they were both monsters of the same kind. In both situations, Beowulf came out the victor, and these hellish creatures met their demise at the hands of good. Beowulf is utterly determined to defeat Grendel, even after hearing the awful stories of the results of Grendel's wrath. He vows to cleanse Hrothgar's land of the vile creature, and is able to walk away from the fight after mortally wounding Grendel with his bare hands. It was Grendel's last battle, although each fight was someone's last battle. The fight with Grendel's mother was her last battle as well.
             Grendel's mother, as loathsome as her son, was killed by Beowulf soon after her son was. As in the fight with Grendel, Beowulf showed considerable courage in his willingness to dive into the disgusting, foul water leading to the Dam's lair. Again, he is in foreign terri-tory, and again, it doesn't stop him from charging in and attacking Dam with all his might. Another similarity between Beowulf's battles with mother and son was his purpose in taking part in the fight. In both cases, his purpose was to destroy a despicable monster, which threatened the safety of the population. Also in both cases, he achieved that goal.
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