Is Beowulf A Hero

Throughout the story, Beowulf’s boasts resemble nothing less than a symbol of his arrogance. “…sailors have brought us stories of Herot, the best of all mead-halls, deserted and useless when the moon hangs in skies the sun had lit, light and life fleeing together. My people have said, the wisest, most knowing and best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’ Great king. They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies’ blood. I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth. I swam 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, and I’ve come…I, alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall. I have heard, too, that the monster’s scorn of men is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I. My lord

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

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.

Beowulf exposes Unferth’s shortcomings, but he explains it through piercingly negative manner. Unferth surely is shallow-minded for questioning Beowulf however the deprecation and harsh rebuttal provides no help for the situation. Beowulf has absolutely no respect for Unferth even knowing such personal information about him. The lack of sensitivity only feeds into Beowulf’s supremacy and he has no motive to possibly have Unferth help him in this dire situation of a monster. Beowulf thinks his higher achievements garner arrogant and degrading actions. In the novel’s final encounter of the original hero and villain, Grendel falls into Beowulf’s control. The defeated Grendel describes, “He smashes me against [the wall], breaks open my forehead. Hard, yes! Observe the hardness, write it down in careful runes. Now sing of walls! Sing!”(171). Although Grendel envisions much of these events, there is no mistake of his injuries. Grendel’s image of Beowulf can also connect to his actual personality without restraint. Beowulf has total domination over Grendel and he decides to torture him instead of quickly terminating the ordeal. The extensive torment bears no positive impact other than satisfy his own desires and prosper with superiority. Beowulf exerts greed and lives to be conceited while he ignores all oppositions.

When Unferth talked to Beowulf, he calls Beowulf out with his stories that were spread across the land. Unferth stated “the same Boastful Fool who fought a swimming match with Brecca,” (Ln 239-240). Unferth showed no interest with Beowulf calling him a boastful fool for going aginst Brecca, who was considered the strongest of men. Unferth continued saying that Beowulf struggled against Brecca for seven long nights and still lost. Unferth said ‘young and proud, exploring the deepest seas,

Beowulf shows both wit and patience in his swift retort after Unferth challenges his skill. Later, after proving himself by dismembering Grendel, he accepts Unferth’s sword to face Grendel’s mother. This offering can be seen as an act of

During one of the dinners in the mead hall, Unferth decides to talk to Beowulf about one of his past losses. A few years back Beowulf had decided he would show his strength and courage by going up against Breca for a swimming match. Which he lost, but had a great reason for the loss. He had needed to stop and defeat 9 different sea monsters during it. So, he explained how he was the more worthy opponent for the win.

To start off the book, Beowulf introduces himself listing accomplishment from his home land, and how he has pleased his home kingdom. He comes to the Danes with bold claims, that he is going to solve the issue of the land and save the people. Some chose to challenge this idea. One challenger in particular, Unferth, tries to denounce Beowulf and ruin Beowulf’s prized belonging, his reputation. Unferth claims that because Beowulf lost a brutal swimming race, he therefore is not worthy of the hero title. Beowulf presents the information about his epic battle with the sea monsters and strengthens his reputation across the land.

Beowolf’s poise is strong and Grendel pushes away from his compelling squeeze and conclusively destroys himself. Another Character that contrasts with Beowulf is Unferth. Unferth’s test toward Beowulf’s honor differentiates him from Beowulf and assists in revealing some of the subtleties of the heroic code thar becomes maditory for the warriors to follow. Unferth is illustrated as inferior, a compliment to the almost flawless Beowulf. Unferth can also be seen as a foil. (a foil is a character who contrasts with another character(usually the protagonist) in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character.)The harshness of Unferth’s berating of Beowulf over his swimming match with Breca evidently mirrors his resentment of the praise that Beowulf gains. It most likely started from his guilt at knowing he is unable to defend Heorot himself. He is Obviously not the kind of warrior that legend would have any recollection of as a person. In the current time of this poem, ostentatious behavior is a form of self -affirmation, Unferth’s strong words displays that it not a great idea to become sour or unfavourable to others. Rather Instead of exuding qualities of heroism, Unferth’s intimidation shows dignity and jealousy. Further in the story, when Unferth gives Beowulf his sword for his battle with

Beowulf’s sins revolve around personality traits, namely his boastfulness and greed, however the author does not acknowledge this sin. First and foremost, it must be made clear that these sins truly exist in Beowulf and are in opposition to Christian morals, regardless of whether or not the author condemns them. Upon his arrival in Heorot, Beowulf’s conversation with Unferth demonstrates how his pride and boastfulness is integral to his reputation. Unferth asks, “Are you the Beowulf who took on Breca / in a swimming match on the open sea, / risking the water just to prove that you could win? / It was sheer vanity made you venture out / on the main deep,” (Beowulf 506-510). Considering that this is the first sentence Unferth speaks to the hero, it is

Beowulf is a young and great warrior his name and exploits has been heard from all around. In the text, he depicted as someone very caring about his reputation and very self confident through his entire life journey. After his arrival, Beowulf encounter Unferth which revealed a lot about his character. Unferth, envious of his kinsmen’s admiration of Beowulf begins to taunt the Geat “Unferth, a son of Ecglaf’s, spoke Contrary words. Beowulf’s coming, His sea-braving, made him sick with envy: He could not brook or abide the fact That anyone else alive under heaven Might enjoy greater regard than he did” (lines 500-504).

Beowulf describes a world not of Christian harmony and logos but rather of barely restrained chaos, in which life is at best somewhat futile and at worst totally meaningless. Religion and courtly manners have not become as elaborate, and are generally more fluid. Beowulf is judged a hero, then, against different criteria. His deeds are valiant because they bring him reputation and glory: among his very first words to Hrothgar upon his arrival Beowulf proclaims, "the days/ Of my youth have been filled with glory" (Beowulf chapter

Characters such as Unferth act as a mouthpiece for the writer of Grendel, as he represents the heroic ambition in all warriors of the time. During the Anglo-Saxon period, if one was to retreat from battle as a coward, they would be faced with an array of retribution. Unferth was well aware of this standard of the time, as it is shown in the scene where he refuses to retreat from Grendel's home, even when in the face of death. Instead of retreating from battle to spare one’s life, warriors were taught to believe only in remaining in battle and defend their people. If one was to perish in battle, they would be forever remembered as a heroic being. When Unferth is on the brink of death, he explains such notion to Grendel, telling him to kill him so that he may die as one of the most worthy, at the hands of the beast. “Quote” Grendel responds to this by threatening to take him back down to the mead hall, and action that would ironically humiliate Unferth. Another scene where this notion of “kill or die trying” is seen in one of the latter scenes in the poem. In an attempt to slay the dragon for terrorizing his people, Beowulf heads to his lair, but when confronted by the beast, all of Beowulf's warriors cower in fear and flee. As a result of their actions, Beowulf perishes in battle, and they are heavily reprimanded. It was believed that not only were Beowulf's men failing to meet their oath to protect Beowulf himself, they also broke God’s will, for if they were to die in battle, that would be their fate. Although Unferth may show great pride in protecting his people, the overall mood of his encounter with Grendel is rather anti-heroic, as it makes him seem inferior to the beast despite his

Beowulf is not a typical hero he understands his shortcomings and strives to become better. He knows everything is a mix of good and evil nothing is completely good or bad. When beowulf is confronted by unferth who insists beowulf drowned his best friend Breca instead of losing his cool beowulf calmy proves unferth wrong and impresses the king and queen immensely. “Unferth was unpopular and they liked the way this mild tempered stranger had put him in his place.” Unferth was weak and drunken and had a foul temper while Beowulf on the other hand was calm, sober and

After college, many people are thrown into the big and open world with only a little experience from past experiences. People often know at this point what they are going to do with their lives and have some experience to work with. Beowulf is now working, yet again, to protect the people of Herot, but this time he has experience from his previous battle and is more prepared for the next major battle. As was said in class, Beowulf may have felt obligated to defeat Grendel’s mother because of his previous triumph against Grendel, and he may have been seeking more fame. This can be compared to someone in real life who does something to impress their boss in order to get a promotion or just to be on their good side. Unferth is very resistant to