The Great Motivator
(An analysis of Beowulf’s Motivations) Are everyone's motivations to become a hero pure? This question can be hard to answer depending on the hero. Spidermans motivations for saving an innocent child were pure, but what about people suffering from hero syndrome? A syndrome, that has become a recent phenomenon. This syndrome makes people seek heroism or recognition by creating desperate situations that they resolve in order to become a hero. As common as this syndrome is today, it was not a common syndrome in the tenth century. In the epic poem Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, a mighty warrior named Beowulf fights three terrible monsters. Beowulf is a hero of the tenth century. Beowulf's motivations to fight the
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In Beowulf's lifetime, he killed three terrible monsters. One of these monsters was a great fire breathing dragon that was hurting his people. The other two monsters were killing people in a different kingdom. Beowulf is a great warrior and went to assist the other kingdom. Throughout the epic poem, there is a theme of how will people remember you once you die? This is important to Beowulf because he needed to set a good example to the warriors, and leave a legacy for once he was dead. After Beowulf dies in the story, it reads, “Crying that no better king had ever lived, no price so mild, no man so open to his people, so deserving of praise.” (867-869) This is Beowulf's warriors mourning over his death. He had set such a great example to the warriors on how to be a true warrior that they wept over his death. They have been extremely mournful since the greatest example, they had ever seen had died. Beowulf’s motivation of becoming an example to the Anglo-Saxons before he died through being a great warrior and king was fulfilled. The example that Beowulf left became a legacy to the Anglo-Saxon warriors. Beowulf was an individual that others aspired to be like. The motivation of Beowulf's to be an example to all the Anglo- Saxon warriors is pure.
Another motivation for Beowulf is that he needed to save his people, even if it meant sacrificing his own life. With his last fight
Beowulf proclaims “In the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and the fate they had earned. Now Grendel and I are called together” (liens 156-160). Beowulf claims that he must go to defeat Grendel, as it was his errand, or his duty, and his fate. This speech he makes to King Hrothgar reinforces his true reason to come to the King, not for any pride. Another vow Beowulf makes is when he says “That this is one favor you should not refuse me—That I, alone and with the help of my men, many purge all evil form this hall” (lines 163-166). In this line, Beowulf is pleading for the King to do one thing, which is to give him the permission for him and his men to go and fight Grendel, what Beowulf had arrived for. The fact that Beowulf asks the king for only one thing, which is to fight Grendel, shows Beowulf’s selflessness and concern for the safety of others. At no part does he ask for a reward, but even says that if fate is in favor of Grendel to give his armor back to his family. These words help paint the image of Beowulf being concerned for others, not for his
The story of Beowulf has an unreliable narrator because the story is very one-sided with every battle being convenient for the protagonist Beowulf. The narrator glorifies Beowulf in the story to seem like a God who knows everything and can fight any monster. Even though, the narrator is unreliable doesn’t mean they are untrustworthy because there is consistency in the story. The story Beowulf can also contradict itself by using Pagan and Christian references in the same story. Consequently, Beowulf has an unreliable narrator who is fallible and makes mistakes based on character flaws and not untrustworthiness.
Not only is Beowulf honorable and well respected, he is brave as well. His courage is shown by not hesitating to risk his own life to pursue the Dane’s enemies. By being self-assured, Beowulf is able to successfully defeat the fiends, Grendel and his infamous mother. At the time Beowulf is planning to pursue the vindictive dragon, the epic poem states, “I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old now, but I will fight again, seek fame still, If the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face me.”(ll. 2511-2515). He feels no fear, is confident in fighting the dragon alone, and has no qualms in risking his life to save others. He declares his bravery by saying, “When he comes to me I mean to stand, not run from his shooting flames, stand till fate decides which of us wins... No one else could do what I mean to, here, no man but me could hope to defeat this monster.”(ll. 2525-2534). In his actions, Beowulf’s bravery is clearly shown throughout the poem.
The storyline of Beowulf illustrates the epic battle between good and evil, and demonstrates to the readers that external war is not the only conflict hero’s face. Beowulf struggles a lot with his pride. Beowulf’s biggest internal battle was experienced when he was preparing to fight the dragon. He decided to go into battle, ignoring the fact that he had aged, but his pride, and warrior code wouldn’t let him run. What makes matters worse, he decided to go into the battle alone. His hero pride overcame the actions a normal king would’ve taken. The hero ideology at the time was strictly against a warrior running from a battle, and if Beowulf had done so, he would’ve been persecuted by society, as well as his own conscience.
Beowulf is from a time where heros never die. They would live on through stories. There would be amazing tales, poems recited, and songs sung about what the hero had done. To be a hero you had to follow the Anglo-Saxon codes. Which meant showing respect to those who had raised you and in turn helping them when they are in need. It means proving yourself and doing what was expected of you, even when it is something like dieing for your people. To live on through stories, Beowulf fought because of his duty, for glory, and as a sacrifice.
Beowulf’s two main positive attributes are his selflessness for the people that he does not consider friends initially as well as confidence to go into battle whenever certain death is prevalent. During the story Beowulf goes against four different enemies, three that are monsters where typical weapons would do no good and an impossible battle against the Swedes. In all he is the only person save Wiglaf at the end that is willing to fight these enemies. The moments leading up to Beowulf’s fight with Grendel, the narrator implies the sheer animosity of the enemy, “None of them expected he would ever see his homeland again or get back to his native place and the people who reared him.They knew too well the way it was before, how often the Danes had fallen prey to death in the mead-hall. (Heaney 47)” Nobody, likely including Beowulf even saw the remote possibility of him defeating even, only the first monster, yet he showed a willingness to fight and powered through and won. It is heavily implied that he only did this for his own glory and the pure danger of the situation, but by many especially the characters in the book, this is interpreted as someone without a fear of death.
When most people do something heroic it’s usually for a certain reason. Everyone has motivations by just about every single thing they do. Some people choose to do heroic things like become a firefighter for example these men and women choose to do this is by volunteering they could get killed it’s very dangerous and they still choose to be in the line of fire literally for some reason or another. When they choose to do something heroic like this they usually have some sort of one or even various different reasons for it. Beowulf is an epic hero himself he goes to the land of the Danes and basically kills a monster named Grendel for them without any reason behind why he actually went. Some people may say well Beowulf is just a hero and that’s what he’s supposed to do without and real reasoning behind it. Although if you read the epic for each monster Beowulf fights there is a motivation behind it. For each different monster there is a different motivation behind Beowulf fighting first is Grendel, next is Grendel’s mother and finally the dragon.
The last battle that Beowulf partook in was perhaps the most heroic of all. Although the battle ended his life, it proved that of all the men in the story, Beowulf was the only true Anglo-Saxon hero. All of his troops proved to be fickle. They abandoned him in a time when they were needed the most. Though his men lived, they lived as cowards, yielding to the dragon apprehended by all the Geats. Never the less, Beowulf’s strength of heart and mind gave him the will to fight the dragon, although none of his men were there to help him. In this part of the tale, Beowulf was older and his physical strength had dwindled. But despite this, his tremendous heroism remained. He fought the dragon to his death and died with a pride, gallantry and chivalry that no man at the time had
Through analysis of the text Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel, it is questionable of whether or not Beowulf is good or evil. Based on his actions, intentions and motivations behind his actions, and the way culture shapes him, it is clear that he is, in fact, an evil character. Beowulf is a dishonorable character who is self-absorbed and only saves the people of Herot for fame and wealth.
“Beowulf” is a medieval heroic epic. The poem originated on the basis of ancient traditions related to pagan times. The poem represent an early example of precisely moral heroism, but not the one that is caused by the desire for fame and power. The main character of the poem, Beowulf, is capable of sacrificing himself and courage in the name of justice. He is a true hero by honoring his country and exerting his power and strength to protect others. His courage is shown by not hesitating to risk his own life to pursue the Dane’s enemies. By being self-assured, Beowulf is able to successfully defeat the fiends, Grendel and his infamous mother. At the time Beowulf is planning to pursue the vindictive dragon, the epic poem states, “I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old now, but I will fight again, seek fame still, If the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face me.” (ll. 2511-2515). He feels no fear, is confident in fighting the dragon alone, and has no qualms in risking his life to save others. He declares his bravery by saying, “When he comes to me I mean to stand, not run from his shooting flames, stand till fate decides which of us wins... No one else could do what I mean to, here, no man but me could hope to defeat this monster.” (ll. 2525-2534) In his actions, Beowulf’s bravery is clearly shown throughout the poem. As king, Beowulf is the
The tale of Beowulf follows one of history's oldest heroes as he ventures throughout Nordic Europe on a quest to kill the infamous monster Grendel, however in contrast with many of the regaled heroes of the past Beowulf remains constant in every aspect of his character. His goals, values, and actions never undergo even the slightest amount of alteration, even throughout his unusually long life, he remains static, Why? Some would argue that Beowulf’s unchanging personality could be contributed to poor penmanship by the author of the tale, or that it simply could have been lost throughout the ages of the story being retold orally, but despite all of that, it seems most likely that Beowulf was intentionally portrayed this way in order to set an example for those who would encounter his story, in all senses of the Nordic Culture that he came from, Beowulf is the Paragon of what a nord should aspire to be, his values encompassed everything their culture held dear in this world: gold, glory, the well-being of his people, and an aspiration to have his name ring out for the rest of eternity.
He always explains his death wishes before going into battle and requests to have any assets delivered to his people. “And if death does take me, send the hammered mail of my armor to Higlac...”. Beowulf is a hero in the eyes of his fellow men through his amazing physical strength. He fought in numerous battles and returned victorious from all of them but his last. He understands that fate will work its magic no matter what, and he could be killed at any point in his life. He faces that reality by showing no fear and preparing for a positive or a fatal outcome.
Though Beowulf was god-like and he was able to be successful when faced with decisions and adversity, he eventually succumbed to the destructive forces of nature and threw his nation into conflict. As aforementioned, Beowulf’s battle with the dragon depicts unpreventable death and destruction that afflicts everybody, his last battle also symbolizes that even the most seemingly perfect people are chained to hostile acts of nature and fate. Beowulf’s death is not a product of pride, it was a result of his altruistic nature to do good, however, his death forecasts war in his country as described by Wiglaf when ordering a messenger to tell the Geats of Beowulf’s death, “And this people can expect fighting, once/ The Franks, and the Frisians, have heard that our king/ Lies dead.” (Beowulf 2910-2913). Beowulf’s main purpose was to do good, and though killing the dragon was an act of goodness, he traded in his life for an act of good, however his death brought the large possibility of war to his
Most teachers emphasize that a well-written character in a story should be deep, believable, and human, with flaws and personality. Then, say that Beowulf, a poem about a man who is as deep as a sheet of paper, is a masterpiece. While the poem Beowulf is one of the most important and influential pieces of literature in the world, Beowulf himself is a poorly written character when compared to characters of today’s standards.
Beowulf is always seeking to help his enrich his image. This flaw in his character, as well as his feeling of invincibility leads to his downfall later in life. “Again and again the angry monsters made fierce attacks, I served them well with my noble blade, as was only fitting. Small pleasure they had in such a sword-feast, dark things in the sea that meant to eat me, …I had chanced to kill some nine sea-beasts. I never have heard of a harder night-fight under heaven’s vault, or a man more oppressed on the ocean streams.”(Beowulf p83) It is very apparent here that Beowulf is extremely proud of what he had accomplished, and was not going to let some other person who had done no major heroic deed try to put him down. In fact, he goes on to say that no one in the world has fought such a hard fight as he did that night.