Beowulf Critical Analysis

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Morgan Forbes Mrs. DeLong Honors British Literature and Composition 25 October 2011 The Deadly Sins While the epic Beowulf celebrates the deeds of the hero Beowulf, it more deeply reveals the malevolence of individual characters brought on specifically by three of the seven deadly sins. Initially, Beowulf’s possession of pride and greed is unnoticed and seems extraneous. *As time goes on, however, pride and greed become a main factor of Beowulf’s demeanor and appear to be interminable. For instance, while introducing himself to the king, Beowulf enumerates his accomplishments, bragging that he is completely capable of presenting Grendel with his ultimate fate: death. Once Beowulf delivers Grendel to his conclusive demise, his pride seems to progress even further. While admirers may believe Beowulf fights for the common good, they are fooled, as the narrator states “Beowulf / Longed only for fame” (Raffel 52). While arriving at the mead hall, Beowulf is described as “covered with glory for the daring / Battles he had fought” (Raffel 54). This infinite desire for success encompasses Beowulf, turning him into a covetous, unstoppable force of determination. Furthermore, once Beowulf defeats the dragon, his final words fall nothing short of conceited, as he hopes “sailors [will] see / This tower, and remember [his] name, and call it / Beowulf’s tower, and boasts in the darkness…” (Raffel 60). Overall, Beowulf’s obsession with success along with his plethora of pride eventually turns him into an avid, fame-hungry monster. Not only does Beowulf possess a vice, but each and every character is endowed with some type of personal flaw. *Beowulf is not the only character to possess a serious vice; deep-seeded anger is threaded into Grendel’s being as well. Alienated from the majority, Grendel’s anger escalades because of the ruthless badgering from the men in the

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