Beowulf is a story about a geatish warrior saving Denmark from the god-cursed Grendel, killing Grendel’s mother, becoming king of the Geats, and fighting a dragon. It is a classic take on the Anglo-Saxon society and their ending. This paper will be discussing about whether or not Beowulf was altruistic in his quest to save Denmark from Grendel. Altruism is the act of helping others for unselfish reasons, rather than for ones own benefit. Beowulf is not an altruistic character in his quest to save Denmark from Grendel. This is because if he defeats Grendel he will win fame and glory, he will be given gold by Denmark 's king, Hrothgar, and he owes a debt to Hrothgar because he saved his father, Ecgtheow.
The whole quest starts when Beowulf
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Because Half was from a noble family Ecgtheow could not pay the debt, known as a weregild, so Hrothgar decided to help him out by paying the debt for him and to bring back the peace between the Wulfings and Geats. We hear about this as Hrothgar says “ your father has brought about by fight the greatest of feuds, he became a man of a tribe as a man-slayer among the Wulfings,...., Thereupon I settled the feud with riches,..., they swore oaths to me” (Haney 26). Ecgtheow has yet to pay him back of this debt so Beowulf sees this as an opportunity to pay him back. This in some ways is a selfless act, but Beowulf ows Hrothgar that payment of debt since his father cannot do it. Therefore, it is a obligation of Beowulf to pay the debt and sees this as his opportunity to pay back Hrothgar for all that he has done for his father and saving …show more content…
This is because it is part of our natural law, always wanting to do what is right, or rather knowing what is right and wrong. But it is not always easy doing it for the right reasons. Beowulf shows that sometimes he does do it for his own well being, of fame and fortune, but he also is doing it for the love of Denmark and to help his father repay his debt to