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Essay On Beowulf's Fatal Flaw

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From the beginning of time humanity has looked for a hero. In an epic a hero is someone who is a great warrior but also has a fatal flaw. An example of an epic hero is Beowulf. Today a hero would be someone who could save a nation not with brute strength but with intelligence.
The tale of Beowulf takes place in Sweden and Denmark. Beowulf was a warrior and a young prince. King Hrothgar send him out on a mission to defeat Grendel, a monster who is terrorizing King Hrothgar’s warriors. Beowulf followed Grendel onto a swamp where he would fight against him and end up killing him by ripping his arm off. After the death of Grendel, Grendel’s mother arrives to avenge her son. Beowulf fights against her and ends up defeating and killing her as well. Beowulf was seen as a hero for his bravery and ability to defeat monsters. However Beowulf’s fatal flaw was that he was greedy. Beowulf placed too much value on material goods as was seen after battles when he would have to collect something as a “trophy”. As described by the Encyclopedia of English Literature, the fatal flaw must lead …show more content…

In the story, Beowulf refers to religion and how God has helped him win wars, "The fight would have ended straightaway if God had not guarded me.” Nowadays, we have the same values but they are not strong as in the past. Courage for example, sometimes we are afraid to act or defend a friend because we are afraid of the consequences. We are afraid of become a victim or being judged for our actions.Wiglaf shows courage when he refuses to withdraw from war saying, “A warrior will sooner / die than live a life of shame” (2890-2891). Beowulf also talks about destiny, “fate goes ever as fate must”(455). In my opinion, we are the masters of our destiny. It is up to us to to be or get what we deserve. We believe we can change the world. We march, protest, and raise our voice if we do not agree with the status

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