Again, he has no logical reason to want or need to fight the dragon, but he does it simply to be a hero and to keep his reputation of a warrior. He even states, “I am old, now, but I will fight again, seek fame still” (Raffel 101). Beowulf only wants to fight to prove himself as a hero yet again. However this time, the risk is too great and he ends up getting killed in the fight. But, he died a hero so he had no regrets.
Fame and honour were more valued than monetary values. Beowulf gave most gold and other materialistic rewards given by Hrothgar to Hygelac and the tribe. Death in honour is a value appraised highly by the society. If you died in honour, you will have a proper burial versus if you died in shame, you will not publically humiliated. The tribes admire their leaders because of their extraordinary strength and courage.
A hero is a concept that lives in all cultures. It is someone who protects people by showing strength, courage, power, and leadership. A legacy is something that is pasted down from people to people. In the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf is a self-sacrificing hero with a legacy that still lives on today. He has fought dragons, monsters, and demons to protect a kingdom that didn't even belong to him.
This battle is for much more than the hero’s life. Other lives or an entire world may be at stake. And the hero must now prove that he has achieved Heroic status and willingly accept his sacrifice for the benefit of the Ordinary world. Other allies may come to the last minute rescue to lend assistance, but in the end the Hero must rise to the sacrifice at hand. He must deliver the” blow that destroys the death star (Star Wars), or offer his hand and accept the ``magic`` elixir of love.` 12 Return with Elixir: The final reward, the hero has been resurrected, cleansed and earned the right to be accepted back into the ordinary world and share and share the elixir of the journey.
Without recognition of your accomplishments and status there could be no epic hero. “ I would rather my body were robed in the same burning blaze as my gold givers body than go back home bearing arms.”(781-783) To be willing to sacrifice his life for his men and people must mean those whom he was willing to sacrifice his life for were truly worthy. What he saw was not death, rather the victory and ensured prolonging of his kingdom. ”so the great people his heart companions sorrowed for the lord who had been laid
However, the chance of failure is great, that is why most people study for exams. This is contradictory to Beowulf who applies full belief in his thoughts, so much to risking his own life to vanquish evil, even if it meant putting everything on the line to do what he promised. He risked his life, his material wealth, and his men, who were loyal to him and would die for him, to save the people of Herot. Beowulf may not have thought of the safety of his warriors, in the short run but was looking out for everyone in the long run, by "quickly commanded a boat fitted out." He was not conscious of others' lives, but instead focused on his bigger goal of vanquishing evil.
Although those are virtually the same, you can go deeper into the tasks and detail his courage. When he fought Grendel, he did it with no armor and that shows tremendous courage. He constantly puts his life on the line for others, because he feels it is his duty to be a protector. The three categories of loyalty, strength, and courage are vividly illustrated in the epic poem, Beowulf. He represents what a hero was back then and always should be.
He never backed down from a fight even if he knows he might die, such as when he fought the dragon he went into the fight even though he thought he would die. This proves that Beowulf is brave even in life threatening moments. Beowulf is a great king who won them many great battles and protects them. He was a very generous and powerful king. Even though he was the king he still went to go fight the dragon.
Instead, Beowulf does the right thing and because he does fate repays him by allowing “her stabbing blade to be blunted by the woven mail skirt” (71, 1547-1549). This shows that since Beowulf didn’t have to fight but knew it was and did fight, fate repaid him by sparing his life. Finally Beowulf proves he has the characteristic of fighting for what’s right by fighting the dragon in his old age. Beowulf, now in his 70s, could’ve just lied and down said his time was near anyway. However, that doesn’t represent a hero so Beowulf knowing he might not make it back, knows he must fight and he “feels no shame, with shield and sword” (101, 2517-2520).
It’s as if it were written in order to gain pride in their country and its warriors amongst the rest. The author simply wrote to express pride in his hero Beowulf and to display the warriors of his time. The only lessons that were learned were the mere fact that it was widely accepted and encouraged to fight for one’s self or for one’s country, or die fighting. The moral was that to always be a warrior.