Generosity In Beowulf

1) I would consider Beowulf to be an epic as it meets many of the universally accepted criteria. First and foremost, the hero of the story is, as always, larger than life but is also presented unbiasedly showing flaws and all. His strength and courage are reinforced through a series of battles across many nations and his interactions with both humans and mystical entities. Epics are generally produced by cultures that place a high value on honor, loyalty and love of country and fellow man. The values presented in this epic support exactly that. Beowulf illustrates the heroic code that holds very highly the values of not only fortitude, valor, and devotion, but also hospitality and generosity in its leaders. You can see this code demonstrated when Beowulf decides to fight Grendel unarmed as Grendel

I do think that people in general do have a difficult time accepting what is different and making sense of things that sometimes just cannot be made sense of. In regards to Beowulf, I don’t feel that the monsters themselves were dehumanized outcasts but more representative of societal abnormalities as a whole. They represent chaos and lawlessness. Grendel had a blood lust that could not be satisfied. He acted like a thief in the night killing without reason or warning and using only his hands. Grendal’s mother is the embodiment of revenge. She is an example of “eye for eye, tooth for tooth”. She is representative of a retaliation mindset. I don’t necessarily feel sympathy toward these characters but do have an understanding of their roles. There are people who exist and events that occur that can cause an imbalance in the scales. Society has a need to know that good will triumph over evil and that the world will be set right again. Beowulf is just one of many tales to reassure that there is a higher power keeping score and that injustice doesn’t go