Who Is Beowulf Selfish

One of the strongest men on the face of Earth was Beowulf—savior of souls, and annihilator of evil. Beowulf is an epic poem that originated in the Anglo-Saxon period, told in Anglo-Saxon English. The poem depicts the odyssey of a man, Beowulf, who comes from the land of Geats to defeat a hellish creature, Grendel, which has been spawning terror upon King Hrothgar and his men, who live in the land of the Danes. On the way to King Hrothgar’s land, Beowulf encounters many monsters, and upon his arrival to the land of Danes, Beowulf vows to destroy Grendel in order to return peace and safety to King Hrothgar and his men. The poem often characterizes Beowulf with two distinct traits: pride and selflessness. Beowulf shows several moments of motivation

Throughout the poem, Beowulf’s deeds seem marvelous and good, yet in end his deeds are shown to be done solely out of lust for glory. The first indication of this occurs when Unferth interrogates Beowulf on Beowulf losing a simple race. Beowulf immediately counters this criticism with a boast stating he lost the race to save sailors, “From now on sailors would

Beowulf’s strength is beyond any of human comparison and has allowed him to accomplish tasks that would have obliterated lesser men and gain renown throughout the world. Beowulf’s boasts of his strength are not to be received as prideful or egotistical but rather as a true representation of his power as Beowulf always fulfils his boasts. When Beowulf pledges to vanquish Grendel, he does not take it lightly and tells Hrothgar and his wife, Wealhtheow, that “..I shall fulfil that purpose, prove myself with a proud victory or meet my death here in the mead-hall.”(636-638), showing that he is prepared to die, if needed, to defeat this hellish creature. Later that night, in his battle with Grendel, Beowulf showed his strength. “The Captain of evil discovered himself in a handgrip harder than anything he had ever encountered in any man on the face of the earth… in all his days, he had never been clamped or cornered like this”(749-752,755-756). Beowulf’s strength surpassed that of even supernatural beings and allowed his to go on the offensive against a foe that had ravaged Heorot for years and thus allowed him to fulfill his boast. Beowulf power is brought out in his recitation of his deeds and again later actions against the mother of Grendel and a fire breathing dragon that threatens his home. In all of this fights, Beowulf is not seeking glory for himself, but

The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf touches on the vice of pride, and is instilled in the main character, Beowulf, the great and mighty warrior. His boasting and arrogance when first dropping anchor at Heorot transitions throughout the poem, and, in contrast with his ideal kingsmanship, motivates him to accomplish and overcome the many challenges he faces as an epic hero. The contrast of his absent humility in the rise and fall of the story help promote the progression of the story, through its different purposes. Beowulf, when first landing upon Hrothgar’s kingdom, boasts, which does not go unchallenged, so that he might gain the trust of the Danes, but when knowingly facing his last battle, uses bragging to comfort and brace himself for his ultimate demise.

The epic poem Beowulf describes the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. The hero, Beowulf, is a seemingly invincible person with all the extraordinary traits required of an Anglo Saxon hero. He is able to use his super-human physical strength and courage to put his people before himself. He encounters many monsters and horrible beasts, but he never fears the threat of death. His leadership skills are outstanding and he is even able to boast about all his achievements. Beowulf is the ultimate epic hero who risks his life countless times for glory which to him meant eternal life.

However, Beowulf shows his loyalty by turning down her offer. He becomes king when Heardred dies. After ruling the Geats for 50 years, Beowulf decides to fight the terrible dragon. He brings eleven warriors with him. While Beowulf struggles fighting the dragon, his warriors hide except for one loyal thane named Wiglaf. Wiglaf tells Beowulf, “’Now, great spirited noble, brave of deeds, you must protect your life with all your might, I shall help you’”(47). He has remained loyal to his king so Beowulf decides to make Wiglaf the king. This gesture again shows how the value of loyalty to one’s king and kingdom will benefit and reward those who are loyal and give them better reputations.

In the book Beowulf, Beowulf, the main character, is a man of great strength and ability. He is depicted as a man of wisdom, and that he is a prince that comes from a kingdom that is well respected. He fights many battles, and is seen as a hero with glory to his name, but this does not mean that he is as flawless as he seems to be. Beowulf is a man who desires to help those in need, however, he is greedy for the glory and treasure that he will receive in thanks of his success. He is truly confident, but because of this he is impulsive, never questioning his ability to take on a task. He is also brave, he has almost no fear, but this tends to make him reckless. He is a hero to many, but he believes in himself in such a way that he acts foolishly, and it will eventually be the death of him.

Years pass by, during which Beowulf becomes king of Geatland, before his third and final battle ensues. In this circumstance, it is a dragon that had to be defeated for his own peoples ' safety to be ensured in later years. Beowulf chose a special few from his court to assist him in the extermination of the dragon, though he did not expect to need their assistance. As Beowulf and his party approached the dragon 's lair, he bellowed an enormous roar to awaken the great ravager. The dragon, overcome with anger, swooped down upon and assaulted Beowulf. Beowulf fought with sword and shield in hand, the dragon with the flames spurting from his mouth. The longer the battle went on, the more apparent it seemed this would be Beowulf 's last moments upon the earth, the dragon seemed to be too much for that great man.

As Beowulf gains wealth through winning battles, he also gains status. By defeating Grendel, he receives treasures from king Hrothgar. Also, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats after Heardred, son of Hygelac, dies. He continues to gain vast treasures through multiple victories. His increase in wealth and status inevitably causes an increase in pride, clouding his judgement. When the dragon attacks the Geats, Beowulf insists to fight the dragon alone even at such an old age. Although pride in the Anglo-Saxon culture is seen as a positive characteristic that warriors possess to gain confidence and perform well during battles, Beowulf’s overwhelming pride from an increase in wealth ultimately persuades him to make the fatal decision. The consequences

When they fight his men are overcome with personal greed of the treasure and are foolish in battle and die. Beowulf then fights the dragon single-handedly, killing it but getting himself killed in the process. The author of Beowulf portrays the societal values of honor and bravery through this plot. Beowulf goes because, as Hrothgar described it, “I brought the end to Edgetho’s (Beowulf’s father) quarrel, sent ancient treasures through the ocean’s furrows to the Wulfings” (Beowulf 204-206).

“Yet Beowulf's gaze at the gold treasure when he first saw it had not been selfish.” (207:3074-75) Unlike most men in the kingdom Beowulf was fighting for his people not the treasure. Wiglaf speaks again this time speaking of the king he was, “Often when one man follows his own will many are hurt. This happened to us.” ( 207:3087-88) In this passage, Wiglaf explains that Beowulf cared too much for his kingdom that eh fought alone leading to his death.

He risked his life by staying and fighting the dragon that had critically injured Beowulf. The Geatz admired Beowulf so much that in his memory, they built him a tower so his legacy would live on. As a result of Beowulf’s death and Wiglaf’s loyalty and courage, Wiglaf becomes the new

Imagine that you are the hero of a village. You are the person that everyone looks up to- you have all the fame and fortune you could possibly want. But, this doesn’t just come to you on a silver platter. There are risks to take, challenges to overcome, and lives to be put at stake. You must defeat creatures of all sizes and strengths to gain this honorary title. This is Beowulf’s reality as he must conquer unbelievable tasks that nobody else would dare to face. Because of this, Beowulf is recognized as a boasting person, brave, and selfless; and rightfully so.

Later in his life, Beowulf is himself king of the Geats, and finds his realm terrorised by a dragon whose treasure had been stolen from his hoard in a burial mound. He attacks the dragon with the help of his thegns or servants, but they do not succeed. Beowulf decides to follow the dragon into its lair, at Earnanæs, but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf dares join him. Beowulf finally slays the dragon, but is mortally

Beowulf was an ancient oral story told by the Anglo-Saxon about a hero who saves a kingdom from two grueling monsters. Roman monks took account of this story and wrote it down to bring it back to Rome. A nasty monster named Grendel has been attacking Herot, the kingdom of Hrothgar, so a warrior named Beowulf comes to the kingdom to kill the monster. When  Beowulf kills the monster and its mother, only be slain by a dragon years later. Beowulf was different from a normal person, and possessed many characteristics of a hero.