Beowulf Essay

Through out the whole poem I could not decide on what kind of person Beowulf was. In the beginning he came off as a genuinely kind young man who was set out to help other people in their troubles. But some parts of the poem made me wonder if Beowulf was a vain, selfish man who only cared about popularity, and fame. The two prime parts of the poem were the two main battles that Beowulf fought. The first one was against the demon, Grendel, and the second one was against the dragon. The two battles show two different sides of Beowulf that is hard to put your finger on.

In the beginning of this poem the narrator makes out Beowulf to be the greatest hero in the world. The narrator gives off the impression that Beowulf is a brave, kind, strong, trust worthy man which gives the reader the idea that Beowulf has come to the land of the Danes to save the people from Grendel out of pure kindness. Beowulf makes an interesting entrance to the poem. He does not introduce himself until 143 lines after he was brought into the poem. The author brought Beowulf into the poem as a mysterious yet miraculous, powerful man that gave the reader excitement on who this character might be. “There was no one else like him alive. In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, high -born and powerful” (lines 196-198). These lines get an idea in the reader’s head that Beowulf is a great man. But once Beowulf begins to talk you start to contemplate whether Beowulf is really there to help or to build his reputation.

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The first battle that Beowulf fights is between him and the horrible demon, Grendel, who is taking over the land of the Danes. In the battle you see more of a self absorbed side of Beowulf. Before the battle begins Beowulf's delivers a speech with a boastful demeanor as he declares his intention to slay the monster; “Come here to you King Hrothgar, because all knew off my awesome strength. They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea brutes. I have suffered extremes and avenged the Geats (..I devastated them). Now I mean to be a match for Grendel, settle the outcome in single combat.” (lines 417 - 426). In these lines Beowulf seems to be bragging about himself. He makes sure to name every battle he has been in and has won to make him look like even more of an hero to build up his reputation. At the end of the speech he goes into strong detail on the why Grendel will kill him if he becomes defeated. “If Grendel wins, it will be a gruesome day...my face won’t be there to be covered in death... he will run gloating with my raw corpse and feed on it alone...if the battle takes me, send back this breast-webbing that Wendland fashioned and Hrethel gave me, to Lord Hygelac.” (lines 443-454). He went into to much deep detail on how Grendel would kill him. He does this as to make the people of Danes believe that the battle verses Grendel will be enormously dangerous and difficult so that when he does win the battle he will get more glory and will come off as a strong, and powerful hero. When he ends up defeating Grendel he becomes worshiped and rewarded by the king and his people.

Beowulf has won the reputation he has wished for. For some readers boasting is seen a different way. Throughout Beowulf, boasting is presented as a key component of one's reputation, a way to assert one’s position in a hierarchy determined by deeds of courage. Beowulf’s boasting actually increases his honor and raises the level of expectations, for both those around him and the reader, as to how the battle with Grendel will end. This brings me to the next battle between the dragon and Beowulf.
Fifty years have passed since Beowulf fought Grendel. He is now about 70 or 80 years old. Beowulf changed a lot in those past years. He has become more calm and humble. He is the King of Geats and owns an endless amount of treasure. He no longer needs to try and build his reputation because he is well liked and very famous for his heroic deeds. One day a great dragon targets the land of Geats. But Beowulf has no fear of this dragon. He is on his feet in no time ready to fight this dragon. The fact that Beowulf has all the fame he needs and all the treasure he wants to show how much he is doing this deed out of kindness. He has changed so much that he genuinely cares about his people more than he cares about his reputation. He even receives a premonition of him dying in the battle between him and the dragon yet he still goes into the fight feeling brave and confident. This is such a change from when he was a young man and only cared about reputation.

We will never truly know if Beowulf is a person that wants what's best for his people or if he wants his people to give him fame and love. I believe that he is more of a genuinely kind man but he also has a conceited side to him. In the battle with Grendel he was more self absorbed and only cared about what other people think of him. In the battle with the dragon he is much more mature and cares for his people’s life's. Being conceited and selfish is something that many young people hold with in them selfs, but let go when they become older and more mature. This is what happened with Beowulf. Towards the end of his journey in life he relized that he doesn't need fame and reputation to live, and that you should live for love and kindness.

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