Greed In Beowulf By Anonymous And The Canterbury Tales

Go through all of the book. There are so many things happening on the topic of

In Beowulf, the clash between good and evil is the poem's main and most significant focal point. Although the epic poem Beowulf utilizes many characteristics of Christian themes, the violence in the poem relates to paganism. By exploring the characteristics of “good vs. evil” such as Cain, Grendel and Beowulf, this paper will explore the elements of Beowulf in such a light.

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

In the Anglo Saxon period, if you were a wealthy king or wealthy person, you are powerful. "Beowulf had brought his king, horses and treasure-as a man must, not weaving nets of malice for his comrades, preparing their death in the dark, with secret, cunning tricks."(Beowulf 91). This quote is saying Beowulf won all those battles so he gave all his treasures to his king, like he is suppose to do. He also he gave some treasures to his fellow comrades, or the men that helped him during his battle. This quote shows that Beowulf is very powerful because he had all the treasure he won and also made his king powerful now since he got most of the treasure, and the goods. They stretched their beloved lord in his boat, laid out by the mast, amidships the great ring-giver. “Far-fetched treasures were piled upon him, and precious gear. I never heard before of a ship so well furbished with battle tackle, bladed weapons and coats of mail. The

In the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, the stupendous hero’s many great deeds often appear to be for other’s benefit, yet Beowulf’s final conquest exposes his lust for glory and fame, thereby showing his lack of concern for anything else. This lust for immense glory and fame feeds his ego and causes his death and the imminent downfall of his great people the Geats.

Hypocrisy: the act of saying one has moral standards but then committing actions that do not correspond with those standards. The theme of hypocrisy can be detected within the epic poem Beowulf. In this lengthy poem, the Danes are being terrorised by a demon named Grendel. Upon hearing of the Danes predicament, Beowulf, a Geat hero sets out with fourteen other men to help the Danes. All fourteen of them travel across the sea till they reach Denmark, the home of the Danes. Here the monster Grendel has killed and stolen the lives of many. The people of the Danes speak about how these killings make him a monster, and yet they do these things as well. The Danes and the Geats both have killed whole villages of people just to obtain their

Beowulf: A New Telling, written by Robert Nye, is a book for adventurers who want to experience a time of good and evil. Beowulf came from an Anglo Saxon Poet around 700 AD in the Medieval time period. It was formed from an old English heroic epic poem. Beowulf: A New Telling was told in around 600 AD. Beowulf: A New Telling shows, if you know your strengths and your weaknesses, you will be able to conquer anything.

The Canterbury Tales, written and narrated by Geoffrey Chaucer, explores manipulation and dishonesty in the Catholic Church. The Nun in “The General Prologue” exemplifies improper qualities to which a Prioress should have. Along with the Nun, The Friar in “The General Prologue” uses false information to gain customer. In “The Pardoner’s Tale,” the Pardoner uses greedy tactics to wield other pilgrims into buying his relics.In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses the Nun and the Friar in “The General Prologue” and the Pardoner in “The Pardoner’s Tale” to show the hypocrisy in the Church.

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,

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a collection of stories by a group of pilgrims who are heading to Canterbury Cathedral. In this book, the pardoner and the reeve show antipodal characters in many ways. The pardoner is beautiful blonde hair man who is being loved by everyone. However he is very corrupted and smart and sells fake religious stuff to people saying very good compliment. On the other hand, the reeve is very serious and honest business man. He is very smart enough to know what criminals think and do. The pardoner story-tells a great example (or tale?) of seven deadly sins and reeve’s story is mocking of the miller. These very different characteristic men tell story telling that human beings are always punished for

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.

Louise Mensch said, “Money gives you the power to do whatever you want to do. I like the idea of being in complete control of my life.” very much similar to the morals taught by the two pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales. A tale about greed, the Pardoner’s story explains that money is the root of all evil. While the Wife of Bath’s is about women having their power.

The stories of Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales are two that have been compared for centuries. Based in two different time periods, both novels describe religion, loyalty, and distinguish social classes through characters. In the novel Beowulf, the character Beowulf is known as the “hero of all heroes,” strong, courageous, and a warrior who is willing to risk his life for his ideals. In The Canterbury Tales, there are twenty-four tales describing characters from a knight to a monk’s tale. As the stories are written in two different time periods with different themes and voices, they can be compared in many ways. Both novels describe religion through their warriors, Beowulf and the Knight from The Canterbury Tales.

No one can ignore the fact that hypocrisy is everywhere especially in America. The Internet, TV, and even talking to friends, family members or a stranger you hear the corruption and hypocrisy  coming out of their mouth. America has been hypocritical since the early ages and no one can deny the corruption and hypocrisy that has been part of America in many ways. Nowadays people are hypocritical and judge others in how they act or say things. During the 1380s, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, highlighting the hypocrisy and corruption in the Catholic Church with the character The Pardoner. The Pardoner is the most hypocritical and corrupt of the Catholic Church. He convinces people to pay for relics or

In Beowulf, the conflict between good and evil is the story’s most universal theme. The storyteller is very clear who is good and who is evil, Beowulf represents the good and the ability to act selflessly when help is needed from others. Good is also shown throughout the epic as having the ability to abolish villainy. Evil is presented by Grendel, his mother, and a dragon, whose purpose in life is to make the lives of humanity a little more miserable.