What Is Unferth Selfish

Gardner emphasizes Unferth’s preference to end his life rather than fall short of his tribe’s heroic standards for him, to convey the inarguably harmful, and potentially fatal, effects of striving to exemplify society’s expectations. Gardner has Unferth immediately promote his epic persona, when meeting Grendel: “tell them in Hell that Unferth, son of Ecglaf sent you, known far and wide in these Scanian lands as a hero among the Scyldyings” (82). Unferth’s command to “tell them in Hell” reveals his primary motivation: to spread his heroism, both in the “Scanian lands” and the underworld. Gardner strategically places Unferth’s self-assured declaration at the beginning of his encounter with Grendel, to efficiently express his core rationale. Gardner contrasts the bravado of Unferth’s initial assertion with the cowardice of his subsequent appeal to be killed by Grendel: “‘I’ll kill myself,’ [Unferth] whispered. He shook violently now. ‘Up to you,’ [Grendel] answered reasonably, ‘but you’ll admit it may seem at least a trifle cowardly to some’” (90). Unferth’s threat evidences his inclination to commit suicide, in order to avoid returning to his tribe defeated. Additionally, it indicates that Unferth, the “hero among the Scyldyings,” cannot bear to be labeled a failure, as one loss might overwrite the legacy that he has constructed. In failing to battle Grendel, Unferth would fail to preserve his persona—he

Another ironic moment that contributes to the tone of the novel, is the encounter between Grendel and Unferth later in chapter six. Unferth seeks out Grendel to prove himself, or develop a high level of undeserving fame. Unferth is supposed to be a strong hero, yet he is arrogant and a coward. Unferth criticizes poetry, calling it “mere clouds of words, comfort to the hopeless” (88). The irony of that moment is that in that era, poetry defined what a hero was supposed to be. The only reason why Unferth opinions on what heroism is, is because of how fame is seen is his Anglo-Saxon

Authors in many instances use the main elements in the story such as setting and narrative to prove a point in the story. For example, writers often use characters, their actions, and their interaction with other characters to support or prove a theme. In the short story “Our Thirteenth Summer”, Barry Callaghan effectively uses characters to develop the theme that childhood is fragile and easily influenced. One of the ways that Callaghan makes effective use of characters to develop the theme is by describing the tension between Bobbie and his parents. This usage of characters supports the theme because Bobbie’s childhood is no longer free to do what he wishes, but has to bow down to his parents’

Unferth is considered less of a man because he is more intelligent than masculine. He may be intelligent, but he is neither a strong warrior nor a brave one. Beowulf recalls that fact that Unferth has been a warrior for Hrothgar the entire time that Grendel has been attacking, and he has done nothing towards defeating the monster. Beowulf states, “Now I cannot recall / any fight you entered, Unferth, / that bears comparison. (lines 582-84) Unferth may have been an intelligent man, but his lack of a high degree of masculinity causes his worth to be lower than that of Beowulf or any other brave warrior. Unferth’s inability to kill Grendel causes Hrothgar and the other warriors

There is an Unferth everywhere in the world; someone that is envious and jealous of people. Although Beowulf is there to help the Shieldings’ country, “Beowulf’s coming, his sea braving, made him sick, he could not think of anyone else alive who might enjoy greater regard than Beowulf” (501-505). Beowulf’s presence and bravery bothers Unferth to the point Unferth tries to humiliate Beowulf by questioning his success and stories. Unferth interrogates Beowulf about one of his past endeavors, the swimming race against Breca. Unferth tells a story about Beowulf and Breca doing a swimming race in the open sea to show that Beowulf can win, but after seven days Breca outswims Beowulf. Beowulf ends up among the Heatho-Reams and makes his way back to his country, while Breca proves himself the winner.

In Grendel’s first encounter with Unferth, he finds out that Unferth can understand him leading to Grendel mocking Unferth in all chances he can get. This power of language lowers Unferth’s heroic quality and thoughts in a matter of a few lines and reactions. Unferth is further buried by Beowulf’s words in their little spat of insults. Unferth attempts to belittle Beowulf’s reputation through talk of how he lost a swimming match, to which Beowulf retorts with the sharp dagger of words that is the line, “... I don’t recall hearing any glorious deeds of yours, except that you murdered your brothers.” (Gardener 162). Finally, Beowulf’s words get to sting one last time in his fight with Grendel. Beowulf talks to Grendel as if he were nothing, creating thoughts in Grendel’s mind of loss and of an unwinnable battle. Beowulf’s words may have had a stronger effect on the fight than his strength did, for his words crippled his opponent making him weak and

Randy Pausch. Who is he? What does he stand for? The day he gave the last lecture... His last lecture he only had months to live. He packed a lot of lessons into his lecture. The claims he gave that stood out were to be optimistic, to be determined, and to take risks.

In Grendel’s cave, Unferth stumbles in wishing he “had a chance. That [He] knew [He] had no more than that. It’s all a hero asks for,” (Gardner 89). Unferth believes that it does not matter if he lives or dies, or whatever the outcome would be, he just wants a chance to be a hero. He then speaks of what a true hero is; “The hero sees values beyond what’s possible. That’s the nature of a hero. It kills him, of course, ultimately, but it makes the whole struggle of humanity worthwhile,” (Gardner 89). In Anglo-Saxon times, it was normal for that to be the one goal of people’s lives. Unferth tells Grendel that he knows he is a hero, not by his successes or failures, but his dedication to the heroic craft . Unferth is very comfortable with his suicide for he knows he is a hero before the rewards and glory that come along. Unferth’s intentions are pure, but his actions are not. There is a clear hypocrisy between these characters where Beowulf acts like he wants to help, but has negative intentions. Unferth has the right intentions, but his actions are

Jimmy knows too well the agonies of abandonment. First, when his mother, Cecilia, ran away with Richard to pursue a better lifestyle. Then, due to his father’s, Damacio Baca, alcoholisms and violent behavior; he also had to leave Jimmy behind. In spite of the drawbacks from abandonment to being a maximum security prisoner in Arizona State Prison, Jimmy preserver’s the darkness of prison by overcoming his illiteracy. However Cecilia and Damacio is not as fortunate as their child; Cecilia is shot by Richard after confronting him for a divorce and Damacio chokes to death after he is released from the detox center(Baca 263). Therefore the most significant event in this section of the memoir, A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca is the death of Jimmy’s parents.

When Unferth finds Grendel he declares that killing Grendel will make him a hero among his community. When Grendel hears that Unferth wants to be viewed as a hero he states, “An evil idea came over me - so evil it made me shiver as I smiled” (Gardner 83). This evil idea that Grendel is referring to is purposefully ruining Unferth’s reputation. Grendel’s humiliation of Unferth is evident when Grendel says, “And now I was raining apples at him and laughing myself weak” (Gardner 85). Not only was Grendel causing physical harm to Unferth by throwing apples, his laughter implies that he found joy in doing the evil act. Grendel’s evil character is expressed furthermore when he explains, “I got more pleasure from that apple fight than from any other battle in my life” (Gardner 86). If Grendel truly was not evil, why would he feel “pleasured” by altercations and harming other individuals? Unferth only wants to die after being humiliated and pleads Grendel to kill him. While Grendel does show mercy in not killing Unferth, he only chooses not to so that Unferth can be viewed by his community as defeated, not heroic. Because Unferth does not want to be viewed as any less than a hero, he suggests killing himself after Grendel refuses to. Grendel, however, mocks this thought of Unferth by

In what sense does he "become" himself?4. According to Unferth, what is heroism? What is poetry?5. Why doesn't Grendel kill Unferth? And why is Unferth so bitter?6. Who or what is the dragon?

In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller was based on the Salem, witch trials when the people of the town where accusing each other of witchcraft and those held for questioning would stand trial had a choice to be valor. In Miller’s portrayal of the ghastly, sickening inquiry of witchcraft many people in the 1690’s were people of the township were maintaining guard for their beliefs; while others of the community of Salem were cowards who took the easy out of the accusations they were on trial. The townspeople of Salem are going through a day people are courageous even in a way others could not be or were never suppose to be. Those characters display their courage in the town at the time of need, John Proctor is a selfless man when only stating

“Everyone in society should be a role model, not only for their own self-respect, but for respect from others.” ~ Barry Bonds. In this world bad situations occur frequently and it takes a good strong person to handle them in a mature way. Dealing with them this way not only shows that the person has self-control, but also makes them a good role model for people to look up to. In the book The Chosen, Chaim Potok uses Mr. Galanter to express his opinions of a good role model. Acting as a baseball coach and gym teacher, young boys look to him for guidance and motivation every day. Having this kind of position causes stress at times, and requires him to stay calm and level headed. Throughout this book, Mr. Galanter

Unferth is presented halfway through the book Grendel. His presence is significant as it is the first sign of mental equality with Grendel and another person. He is a hero of his own land and personally believes this. Unferth is seen as a character of nobility, however he is also a foolish human which shows through his actions when he challenges grendel, his personal definition of a hero, along with his character during battle.

The book Grendel, written by John Gardner, and the poem Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, both have very distinct opinions on what role each character plays. The translator of Beowulf and the writer of Grendel follow the idea that everyone has a story. A story is the writer’s perspective on a character’s personality, the way people in the story see and treat the character, and the way it ties the ideas together. There are many examples in these two writings of this concept, but the main instances connect with the lives of Grendel, Beowulf, and Unferth.