Beowulf Selfless Quotes

In Beowulf, selflessness is a big part of the story, Beowulf goes out and helps the people of another place. He doesn’t have to do it because he doesn’t live there so if he didn’t defeat Grendel it wouldn’t affect him either way. He does it though and not only defeats Grendel but also Grendel’s mother because she came after the people when her son was killed. Beowulf knew that if he didn’t kill her the people would still live in fear. That’s what makes him selfless. He does things that need to be done for others and not so much himself.

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

Growing up, everyone has a idea on what a hero looks like. Heros represent a lot of different aspects of bravery. Every culture in history has had a heroic figure. In most cultures heroes portray different aspects of being a hero. In Anglo-Saxon times heroes were considered strong, and fearless. Beowulf is a true epic hero in Anglo- Saxon times because he is very fearless, strong, and honored.

Beowulf is a hero because of his actions in the novel. Heroic traits includes determination, physical strength, courage, loyalty, and leadership, which Beowulf demonstrated throughout the story. A quote from Beowulf shows an example of his determination, “…Fought with fate against him, with glory/ Denied him. He knew it, but he raised his sword/ And struck at the dragon’s scaly hide,” (Beowulf-Translator). Beowulf realized that there was a chance he would not win the battle, however his determination did not stop him from trying. Another quote from Beowulf shows his courage, “Alone shall fight for me, struggle for life/ Against the monster,” (Beowulf- Translator). Beowulf fought against Grendel without any weapons, just his

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.

It was a lot of hate and revenge going on between the characters in Beowulf. The poet of the epic poem Beowulf used revenge to drive to the poet. To illustrate the plot of Beowulf the author added many cases of vengeance starting with Beowulf vs. Grendel.

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.

In the epic poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, the main character Beowulf displays his courage throughout the whole story, defeating monsters left and right.

A man quivers in fear as a large monstrous mass stands before him. He shouts for help, but there is no left to come to his aid. For years the Grendel attacked this mead-hall killing hundreds of men. A hero was needed in order to purge the village of this beast. Beowulf used his mental and physical strength for the betterment of the village because he came on his own accord without any prior knowledge; he puts his faith in god and not within his own strength; and he dies with honor and not in vain.

In the epic poem, Beowulf, by Heaney, Beowulf shows his courage throughout the story as he faces challenges after challenges.

Beowulf is a man who desires to help the kingdoms around him with monsters they face. He has fought with sea monsters, ending their reign in the seas with ease, and he has taken on the task of ending Grendel’s rule over Herot, the mead-hall that belongs to an ally kingdom. He has taken on these challenges for the sake of helping the kingdom, however, at the end of chapter twenty-one it is said that, “Only Beowulf would risk his life in that lake; Unferth was afraid, gave up that chance to work wonders and win glory and a hero’s fame,” (Burton 64), hinting that he has also done it for the glory and treasure he will get in payment for his deeds. In chapter

Thomas EchelbergerIn Beowulf, Grendel, a vicious and evil monster, harasses the Danes and Beowulf, a strong and brave warrior, must save the city. Beowulf defeats Grendel and Beowulf is glorified as a hero. In my life, I have had many heroes in my life that have influenced me and encouraged me. If I have to think of one hero in my life, it would be my Dad. My Dad is my hero because he’s been resilient during his childhood, he was strong during his education, and he has been patient during my life.

Heroes are selfless; they show little or no concern about themselves, especially with regard to fame or recognition. In Beowulf, Beowulf shows selflessness when he dives off of the cliff after Grendel’s mother (30). He does not want her to cause the trepidation that Grendel

A good hero can be hard to find considering that there are many characteristics in being a hero. Someone willing to save others lives with no questions asked even if no reward is given. In the story Beowulf he is the stories main hero. He honors great strength and skill not only in battle but in himself.

Although boasting and bravery are strong qualities, you also need to have a little bit of a warm heart to be a hero. Beowulf is selfless, a important word to signify that he would do anything to protect others. The first quote to show of Beowulf’s selflessness is, “I mean to stand, not run from his shooting Flames, stand till fate decides Which of us wins.” (638-639). This means that Beowulf is standing his ground until fate takes its course, which is selfless because he is giving his life up if that is what fate decides in order to rid of the dragon. Another notable text from the book is, “A prince of the Geats, had killed Grendel. Ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering forced on Hrothgar's helpless people by a bloodthirsty fiend. No Dance doubted the Victory.” (404-408). It can clearly be inferred that the people of the land were in ‘grief’, ‘sorrow’ and were ‘suffering’ because of Grendel. But, because Beowulf defeated him that grief and sorrow has been eased. Beowulf wants fame and fortune, but to also help the people who need it.