The Motivation In Beowulf

even as a weak old man, he chooses to be selfless. He could have just been satisfied with his success in his older battles, but he picks honor over comfort. Beowulf knew that he probably wouldn’t make it after this battle, but he was content with his achievements for his people. He left to face the dragon, and when they arrived, his men betrayed him. (Beowulf 87-88).

Beowulf longed, like so many other Anglo-Saxons, to earn heroism through fame. Aside from killing monsters and wielding magical objects, Beowulf earned a reputation across the land of Great Britain for fighting as an extraordinarily gifted warrior. This reputation, earned over the course of many years, allowed Beowulf to take part in one of the most famous bard tales, a story which is verbally passed down from generation to generation of

The Battle Motivations! A discussion about Beowulf's motivations. Throughout literature all stories have specific characters that have motivations for what they do.

Existentialism in the Real World As my high school saga comes to a satisfactory conclusion, I am left feeling very accomplished, educated, and rounded as an individual. And as I prepare for life beyond high school, I do feel a little worried. How could it get better than this? The great friends, the great moments, all the school activities and events. There’s no way things could get better right?

Lastly, he wanted to teach his people that to keep the tribe safe, there must be sacrifices. Within the epic poem, “Beowulf,” there are three major reasons why he decided to fight the monsters. First off, in the poem, “Beowulf,” he explicates his reasoning for fighting the monster, Grendel, as his duty. As an interpretation of the Viking code, when one has the ability to better the lives of others, it is their duty to do so, and Beowulf is a prime example of this. Beowulf stated, “My people have said,

Second, the readers of "Beowulf " poem often confuse about whether Beowulf fought monsters for wealth or for pride. In my point of view as a reader I belief Beowulf fought monsters and beast for his pride and faith. So I chose "Goldgyfan or Goldwlance: A Christian Apology for Beowulf and Treasure " by Joseph E. Marshall from Studies in Philology journal as my critics to support my statement. In Marshall, Joseph E. “Goldgyfan or Goldwlance: A Christian Apology for Beowulf and Treasure.” Studies in Philology, vol. 107, no. 1, 2010, pp.

Beowulf is fighting for glory and to make a name for himself, but he is also fighting for the people that Grendel terrorizes. Beowulf is fulfilling his responsibility to the other

Rachna Shah 5th Hour All That Shines is Not Gold: An Analysis of Character Motivation in Beowulf At first glance, gold seems to symbolize greed. Yet in Beowulf, treasure is presented in a different light.

Beowulf attempted to comfort Hrothgar and the warriors by exclaiming, “Let your sorrow end! It is better for us all to avenge our friends, not mourn them forever”. He then aims to convince Hrothgar that “for the glory of his name, fame after death is the noblest of goals”. Beowulf believes it is worth dying for a good

Beowulf fights only to kill and to obtain bragging rights. The author shows that fights with imaginary monsters is a conflict between light vs. dark and right vs. wrong. An article to support this is called, “Good and Evil; Light and Darkness; Joy and Sorrow in Beowulf”. Which talks about,

The continued honor shown in Beowulf’s character shines through when Beowulf never mentions that Unferth’s trusted sword was no match for Grendel’s mother. Beowulf could have simply boasted how the sword was useless and ineffective against the female beast, yet he was silent out of respect for Unferth. Finally, during Beowulf’s time as ruler (fifty winters), another beast arrives: a dragon. This time, Beowulf is much older and is in a much weaker state than when he first defeated Grendel and his mother. However, that does not deter Beowulf from going out and defending his kingdom.

In the poem, Beowulf, there are three primary motivations behind the actions that he takes that inspire the superhero stories. One motivation for Beowulf’s actions is duty. He felt as though he had a duty to his and all people to aid the Danes and lead them to victory. In the text, Beowulf says, “My people have said, the wisest, most knowing and best of them, that my duty as to go to the Danes’ Great king.”

While searching for the fame of killing Grendel, Beowulf ultimately “purges all evil from this hall” of Herot, where the Danes would have been unprotected (“Beowulf” 27). This supports the idea that Beowulf’s quest for glory also benefits the whole kingdom because the people are no longer threatened by Grendel. Moreover, it allows for everyone to benefit from the success, which can be considered a form of comitatus. Armies also relied on the desire for glory to keep them together. When Beowulf is fighting the fire dragon, “only one of them (his men)/ Remained, stood there…

With the battle to protect the city against the dragon, even though Beowulf was king he fought the dragon. He fought the dragon because no one else could. No one was as selfless as he was to risk his life to protect the city. Without Beowulf these monsters would over power good and there would be no balance between good and evil.

Even when he saves countless lives, the hero never intends his quests to benefit anyone else than himself. This is constant throughout the book, and not even at his deathbed does Beowulf acknowledge something that is not about him or gold. He is often preoccupied by money and fame, but the wellbeing of other people is not in his vocabulary. For example, when a dragon begins to terrorize his kingdom, Beowulf 's first thought is not to protect his people. Instead, he says, "I 've never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles.