Boasting In Beowulf's Day

Pride is something that must be second when it comes to potential change and

Fame is the one thing that all men crave. I have travelled several lands and slain many monsters in order to prove myself worthy of the ever so desired fame. I have received word of another opportunity to gain recognition although this call is from a foreign land. Nonetheless, distance is nothing more than a number and my men and I have already set out for the adventure. We held up for a dozen sunsets along our journey but it did not faze us.

Years and years ago, many qualities could be found in warriors that are still prevalent today both in the present and past world. In “Mulan”, Fa Mulan from China is a very courageous woman. Defending her people and ,ultimately, saving her people despite the fact that she is a woman and could be killed if her secret were ever found out. Chris Mintz, a former 30 year old Army infantryman, threw himself into harms way, taking seven bullets, and surviving the encounter. Beowulf, from Scandinavia, held a great deal of pride without too much arrogance.

In the epic poem “Beowulf” the character Beowulf is the foundation for all of our modern heroes, but was he really a great hero? A hero is classified as a person who is admired for their bravery, achievements, or nobility. Although Beowulf displays all these qualities, there are several reasons he is not a hero, mainly him being egotistical and arrogant. This is why Beowulf is not a heroic person. Beowulf is often caught bragging about himself and his great accomplishments.

Boasting and self-possession were another common custom of the Anglo-Saxons. (“Anglo-Saxon Warfare Group”). Beowulf represents a quintessential Anglo-Saxon hero through his confident poise, his willingness for self-sacrifice, and his tenacity through near-impossible odds. Beowulf possessed the trait of self-assurance, almost to the point of hubris. Beowulf quickly rose through the ranks and was entrusted by King Hrothgar simply by asserting himself as the leader and savior of the Danes.

Motivations The three cardinal motivations for Beowulf to fight the monsters.     People often have very different reasons to do something than others. Sometimes, people wonder why others do the things they do.

Questions of Honor: Beowulf Beowulf’s honor and integrity can be questioned throughout the entirety of the epic poem, Beowulf. Whether or not his actions are inspired by his own pompous arrogance or confidence, one can argue that he is a hero nonetheless. Evidence and experience prove that Beowulf is more of a fearless hero than an excessively prideful man, and his hubris is more than justified due to the formidable duties he is able to execute. Throughout the poem, Beowulf expresses his intense strength and courage to the fearful people in the poem. His daring sense of self-assurance is backed by his victories against all three monsters, (even though he suffers a tragic death after facing the dragon, it is a defeat nonetheless).

    In conclusion pride can mean many things and can be shown in many ways. At some point we may be humble. On our way there it may be be more difficult. The concept of pride is like a explantion of how theuniverse started.

How does this affect your self-perception? 3. Looking back at your achievements, can you identify moments when you denied yourself pride due to fear of being seen as

Beowulf is only thinking about himself. Performing these acts alone just to get the fame forms the quality of selfishness in Beowulf. Beowulf is putting all of his strength to be credited as a hero, but he displays acts of selfishness which marks him as an insignificant

People today experience pride in their life, just has Odysseus had

Throughout the writing a tone of confidence shows through. As a reader, you can easily relate because confidence and pride go hand and hand in everyday life. To have pride you need to be confident to some degree and the same for the opposite. Considering this, the writing is very abstract and opinionated in the sense that pride is different for everyone depending on the circumstance. We realize this when reading whether it is taking pride in your store, watching your son graduate, or in your video games.

In the great epic, Beowulf, an unknown poet describes Beowulf as an invincible hero with the amazing strength stronger than any human ever, but does having the traits of an incredible warrior, make him a great king? A great king is loyal, generous, reliable and should be able to realize what he needs to do to make sure his people are safe. Beowulf is brave, strong, and extremely confident in his combat abilities, but Beowulf does not think about the possible effects of his actions. Beowulf cares about his fame, fortune, and legacy, but he often makes rushed decisions that risk his life and could potentially leave his people powerless and unprotected. During Beowulf’s transformation from thane to king, he has always had more of a warrior’s mindset,

Beowulf had done the unthinkable—he had killed a demon that no warrior of Denmark could have done. This opened several new doors for Beowulf, including one that promised of honor, glory, and riches. Beowulf had achieved his goal of fame, a goal which had created a poem of a hero that birthed and shaped a story to be told even years later. Furthermore, Beowulf’s fame was set in stone by Hrothgar, the king who owed Beowulf his everything, including his thanks. After giving Beowulf the speech to further glorify his prominence, Hrothgar declares, “Glory is now yours/

This pride is nothing but destructive; it can lead to a false feeling of self importance or even worse, to prejudice. However, there are still a lot to be proud of. One can be proud of their children because part of the children is what we raise them to be. One can be proud of the good friends they have made because again, they are choices and not forces. In article 1, it says “When pride substitutes for our need to hold ourselves with dignity, it disconnects us”.