Examples Of Greed In Beowulf

This is shown in the third and final battle as Beowulf sacrifices his life for the prosperity of the Geat nation. The dragon in this scenario encompasses extreme greed and selfishness. In the poem, a wretched man steals a golden goblet from the treasure that the dragon was protecting. After discovering that someone had stolen a piece of the treasure, the dragon awoke and “began to belch out flames / and burn bright homesteads; there was a hot glow / that scared everyone, for the vile sky-winger / would leave nothing alive in his wake” (2311-2315). The dragon becomes enraged with greed over his possessions that he must avenge his stolen goblet. It is in this third battle that the poet describes why the hero cannot demonstrate these treacherous traits. Beowulf seeks vengeance for his Geat people: “My own kith and kin avenged” (2479). Just as Grendel’s mother, Beowulf seeks to avenge his kin in cold blood.

One of the people’s traits affected by human nature in many stories is greed. As shown throughout, greed is an evil sin. This

For every battle, both glory and gold were the reward. Thus, the greed for gold is very similar to the lust for honor. The dragon that causes the death of Beowulf, sitting atop it’s hoard of gold, is symbol of the lust for gold that was central to this time period. Furthermore, greed was the cause of the majority of the conflicts in the text. It was Hrothgar’s excessive extravagance when building Heorot that first caused Grendel’s envy. It was a thief stealing a golden chalice from the dragon that led the dragon to razing Beowulf’s kingdom. In the same way that his quest for glory motivated him, so did his search for gold. In his last few minutes of life, Beowulf’s last request is to gaze upon gold and jewels. He says that his going “will be easier / for having seen the treasure” (2749-50). This makes sense when the gold is understood to be symbolic of the glory he has been chasing the entire poem. In the end though, it is useless. “They let the ground keep that ancestral treasure / gold, under gravel, gone to earth / as useless to men now as it ever was” (3166-69). For his people, the gold is a representation of his success, yet once the gold is beneath the earth, it is useless. Beowulf’s quest for glory was the very thing that killed him.

In the Epic poem of Beowulf, the theme is good vs. evil. But in the movie Hollywood made everything is different. Beowulf is not honest, women are sexually powerful, and the monsters are Hrothgar and Beowulf’s sons, etc. They added many things that were definitely now in the poem. If you read the poem then watching the movie you would be confused. You would be asking so many questions. But the current audience think good vs. evil is boring.

Greed can also be the reason for idiotic and irrational decisions. It influences one’s decisions and could lead to their downfall. One example Irving gave was Tom’s choice to make a deal with the devil. The “black man” told Tom about the hidden gold that was buried in the woods, and a deal Tom could make to get this gold(246). At first Tom rejected the offer due to the fact that he would have to split this fortune with his wife, but after his wife’s disappearance he went back to search for the devil. When he found the devil the terms for the deal were negotiated. Tom would have to trade his soul and open a broker shop in exchanger for the money(248-249). This is where Tom’s greed made him irrational and influenced him to make a bad decision. He made the deal, not thinking of the others he would have to hurt in the broker business and without consideration that his soul will then belong to the devil. Greed made Tom not think rationally and make a decision that would lead to his downfall in the near future. The other example Irvin gave was a greed-based decision that Tom’s wife made the ultimately led to her death. After Tom’s first encounter with the devil he came home and told his wife about his experience and the offer the devil made. Tom’s wife was all for it but Tom did not want to accept his the offer(246). Her greed came into play when she decided that she would steal some valuables and go out and make the deal herself. This greedy decision was

Greed is undeniably a characteristic of being human. Even two hundred thousand years ago, when the first examples of modern humans were in a competition for food and survival, they naturally had to be greedy in order to survive and contribute to the gene pool in order for further generations to evolve and adapt. Darwin proved this with his theory of evolution stating that the species that are better adapted to the environment would be able to spend less time looking for food and more time mating (contributing to the gene pool), while the species who are not as well adapted would die off. The play “Macbeth” and the motion picture based on the book “A Simple Plan” display these themes of greed profusely as the main characters from each are affected by the same characteristic that had previously allowed for human survival. Macbeth in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Hank in the film “A Simple Plan” are both affected by greed as they both turn into murders who backstab their friends, they both ruin their relationship with their wives, and they both end up destroying their lives.

Throughout history we have seen different kind of battles and duels, but all of this confrontations have always represented the good vs. the evil. There has been demons, monster, and even the mind of a human itself, but good has always found a way to keep the world balanced. There has always been different ways in which evil has been presented, but I believe that the most awful and dreadful one is the devil. The devil controls every other dreadful creature in the world, he is the reason why evil exists. Even though we always picture monster and demons as the representation of evil, humans can also be evil, and we can be even worse.

In The Hobbit, Tolkien created cultures and values that are represented often in certain characters and groups of characters. These translate to character traits, which can be positive or negative. After reading up to this point in the story, one can infer that Tolkien considers focused to be a positive character trait, greed to be a negative character trait, and he also feels intelligence more important than physical strength.

Greed affects everybody one way or another. It changes how people act in important situations. Greed can force people into doing what is beneficial to them and not the masses who could have their lives changed for the better based off the decision made by one greedy individual. Greed takes over people's mind and turns them into savages who will stop at nothing to get what they want. Greed is alive and well in Lord Of the Flies by William Golding, Greed can be seen numerous times throughout this fantastic book where dozens of young boys get stranded on an island with no adults and only themselves to stay alive. Throughout the book the boys come to treat each other very harshly and become violent when something does not go their way. This

Throughout the book of Beowulf by an unknown author, the main character Beowulf was an amazing leader and hero. To the naked eye, he would appear to be the ideal person to become, and he would have done nothing wrong. Looker closer at the text, some shady details are discovered. The primary example being the last words of the book “They said he was, of kings in this world, the kindest to his men, the most courteous man, the best to his people, and the most eager for fame” (Chickering, Line. 3180-3182, pg 243). The last line saying most eager for fame almost negates all of the other fantastic things about him. The writer does this purposefully, but it is hard for the audience to tell what this means. The remaining question asked is whether this is Beowulf’s fatal flaw or not. I believe that it truly is, and that it the end, it leads to his downfall. Throughout the book, Beowulf had been very prideful in what he does, which is actually a good thing for a king to do, but only to some extent. The first time we see a hint of his pride going too far is near the beginning of the book. When Ecglaf’s son, Unferth, which means “un-peace” talks about how Beowulf was foolish and boastful to swim in the freezing cold waters with his friend, and it was out of pride that made him decide to do it. By the end of this tail, Beowulf replies telling what truly happened. He explains that they were just kids, and they ended up going through so much, and that he was a stronger swimmer, but he did

Throughout the years, it has been common knowledge that greed is the powerful thing that rules with fear and drives many of the people in this world to their own demise. Sometimes, it’s not even their fault, and they are just paying the price of another person, who always in the end, gets paid back with punishment. And such it is in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, a tale written in 1901 of the innocent, the guilty, and the mysteries around them. The story is the investigation by Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes of the mysterious death of the late baronet, Sir Charles, whose nephew, Sir Henry, was the inheritor of the estate and fortune located upon the eerie moor. The Baskerville line, it seems, is plagued by a hound who walks upon the moor at night, all because of the greed of the evil Hugo Baskerville, who lived many generations before Sir Charles. While there, things get quite heated, with the discovery of a not only of murder plot belonging to Mr. Stapleton against all Baskervilles, multiple deceptions and disguises, but ultimately the answering of the impending question - was the family ghost real? Doyle develops the theme of the novel that greed is a powerful motivator by illustrating that greed leads to impulsive behavior and actions because greed pressures people to take extreme measures, alters men into monsters,

Greed can take control over so many in ways some people wouldn't understand it also could be someone you least expect and in the book The Crucible by Miller was an perfect example of greed in two different ways one was in the eyes and way of Abigail Williams and another person who was full of greed in Miller The Crucible was Thomas Putn.

Greed is an all consuming emotion. It can drive even the noblest men to do great evil, it can become addicting as the power one seeks is granted, leading the individual to become a power. Greed is defined by a selfish desire to have power, wealth, status, recognition, etc. Greed is a driving force in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. The main character, Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor, acts immorally,against his better judgment throughout the play. He briefly comes to regret his actions, however his hunger for power is too great and he falls back. In this play, when characters achieve what they desire they come to want more, their quest for power becomes so all consuming that they essentially lose their morality and come to do evil things such as

An excellent example of greed consuming people are the attackers. They were willing to do whatever was necessary to get the pearl from Kino and become wealthy. “Greedy fingers went through

The first half of this dual ordeal is the internal conflict of human nature to be overcome by pride and greed. The characteristic of pride and its contradiction to Christian values gives a first look at the dichotomies of pride vs. humility and sacrifice vs. greed. In Herot, King Hrothgar reminds Beowulf that pride, untempered by humility, will result in the tragic fall. He also shares with Beowulf a second element of Christian philosophy; “wealth, accumulated through the grace of God, must be shared unselfishly.” The characteristic of greed is contradictory in Beowulf. At first, Beowulf is made out to be a selfless warrior; he fights Grendel and Grendel's mother to ensure safety for his people, even if it means he will die. However, once the greed of Beowulf mixes with his pride, he loses that trait of selflessness. Beowulf lets his pride consume him, and begins to brag about what he has accomplished. Beowulf says “Grendel is no braver nor stronger than I am! I could kill him with my sword; I shall not...” (Beowulf 376) Beowulf starts to call himself the best soldier in the world, and that he is the only one that could kill Grendel. At this point, Beowulf is no longer fighting for the protection of his people, but rather for his own personal glory.