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The Reputation In The Epic Of Beowulf

635 Words3 Pages

Many people start out with good intentions which leads to a good reputation, but overtime it corrupts due to the influences and desires they aspire. The people have a set goal which they are trying to achieve, yet somehow they end up wanting something completely different. In the beginning, Beowulf volunteers to help defeat Grendel. He knows how to protect the thanes, so everyone is in awe of him trusts in him. Throughout the story, arrogance and glory overpowers Beowulf causing him to lose his phonomenal reputation, resulting in a unfaithful army.

The thanes struggle with what appears to be a monster. Nobody is brave enough to execute the creature except one man. Beowulf is determined to triumph over the creature Grendel. Beowulf “had great triumphs.” and he “heard the news of grendel” which was “hard to ignore, reached him at home” (49. 410) He has fought and won many battles before which makes him confident in battling the creature. He wants to help out the thanes and keep everyone safe again. He appears to be confident and honorable, hopefully to result in gaining happiness, and safety once more. He accepts the strength he has and uses it as an advantage to help people in need. He knows there are people in danger, yet he is willing to put himself in danger for the safety of others. …show more content…

Instead of easily killing Grendel, Beowulf is ready for a fair fight. “no weapons therefor, for either his night: unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares” (55.685) Beowulf is very confident in himself, he has a good heart which makes people realize how great of a man he is. Beowulf realizes he could easily kill the monster, but he wants to be equal to Grendel. If Beowulf wanted to gain the attention of the thanes he could have easily used weapons to execute Grendel, but instead he shows his hospitality by being fair. At first he doesn't want anything in return but that soon changes as the story

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635 Words | 3 Pages

In the fight, Beowulf is the only person who doesn’t use weapons, and he is the sole person who is able to slay Grendle (Beowulf 34.) When Beowulf doesn’t use his weapon, it does not mean much to us, but it is a huge thing to the Anglo-Saxons. Beowulf not using his weapon is a sign of reputation. A warrior killing a monster with a sword is not a big deal, but a warrior slaying a monster with his hands? Beowulf being able to slay Grendle with his hands brought him huge fame and reputation, which is what his goal

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533 Words | 3 Pages

Good and evil are always present but practices like honor, courage, and loyalty are examples of good and will outweigh the sinful evil. The ideas in “Beowulf” are reflected in the real world; courage, loyalty, and honor, will bring good, such as highs and newcomers. These practices will bring wonders. Happiness and joy will always outmatch evil.

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527 Words | 3 Pages

Grendel, the horrible monster, shepherd of evil attacked the people of Hrothgar for twelve years. Beowulf, mighty protector of men, took his bare hands and took the life of Grendel. Finally, the Danes thought they were free. Until Grendel’s mother invaded the mere due to the death of her son. Because of the feeder of ravens that Beowulf is he didn’t resist the battle.

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Beowulf is a historical poem that was made in the 8th century. Beowulf has taught many people in the world that we should always fight and succeed when it comes to our obstacles. Beowulf is a story that is mostly fighting the people that Beowulf fights for is his king and allies after all he is a strong warrior.he fights lot in the story and someone he fight is grendel a evil monster he fights and dies as a loyal soldier. Beowulf is a wonderful book that poems admiration and loyalty in every way possible. Beowulf was a strong warrior to show how he was i have this quote directly said by beowulf himself”If death does take me send the hammered mail to Higlac and return the inheritance i had from hrethel l and he from wayland fate will unwind

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Beowulf went through so much to prove he was worthy enough to protect their kingdom and defeat Grendel. The story Beowulf was a great story to read and a great movie to watch; however, the battles were very eye catching and had a lot of extravagant and heroic doings of Beowulf. The first scenario that I’m going to discuss in the movie and story of Beowulf is The Battle with Grendel. In the movie Grendel attacked Beowulf in the Heriot while everyone was dancing and singing.

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Compare with his encounter with the dragon. Beowulf treated Grendel as an equal by facing him his bare strength alone. “The prince of the Geats was putting his trust in his great strength and in God's favor. Off came the hero's iron mailcoat and hard helmet; he handed over his trusty sword to an attendant thane and asked him to safekeep all that war-gear (X)”. Beowulf’s confidence comes from his belief that he not matters how monstrous Grendel was, he isn’t invincible.

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959 Words | 4 Pages

Beowulf says, "No Weapons, therefore,/ for either this night: unarmed he shall face me/ if face me he dares"(55. 683-685). This passage shows that Beowulf is fighting Grendel for the pride of killing the greatest monster, instead of fighting Grendel to save the Danes. If Beowulf's top priority is to save the people, he would have known that his best chance would be to wear armour and use weapons, but because he wants the pride and fame he goes into battle without armour or weapons. Beowulf was the best chance for the Danes to be safe again, and if Beowulf went in with no armour and no weapons, and died, then Grendel could continue killing men, women, and children every day until he finally dies.

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1141 Words | 5 Pages

Although loyalty and liberality elevate a warrior’s quality throughout Beowulf, there are many absences of the two values in the poem. In the beginning, the narrator mentions the evil beast, Grendel who was kin to Cain (man who kills his own kin Abel in biblical terms) that only wreaks havoc on people and shows no signs of peace: “Suddenly then / the God-cursed brute was creating havoc: / greedy and grim, he grabbed [grabs] thirty men / from their resting places and rushed [rushes] to his lair…” (Beowulf 120-23). Here, the description of Grendel’s actions show a great example of the lack of both loyalty and liberality. At night time, the “God-cursed” monster silently sneaks up on these defenseless warriors while they sleep and takes their lives for no apparent reason.

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He is banished to the swamp lands and seemingly longs for acceptance and is jealous of the society he cannot be a part of. Grendel is extremely vile and evil, described in the poem as that demon, that fiend, Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild Marshes, and made his home in a hell not hell but earth. (16-19)He has no remorse for the crimes he commits and takes joy in committing even more crimes with no peace, offering No truce, accepting no settlement, no price in gold or land, and paying the living for one crime only with another. (69-72)He simply kills because he

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255 Words | 2 Pages

A reoccurring theme that is found within Beowulf is the importance of reputation. Throughout the story, Beowulf is constantly talking of his reputation and accomplishments. The first case of this can be read when he comes to the aide of the Danes. When Beowulf was allowed in to see the king, some of his first words were, “When I was younger, I had great triumphs” (Beowulf, 121). He then continues to name some of the triumphs he had had as though his reputation were a resume.

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621 Words | 3 Pages

Beowulf embodies many universal societal heroic values that are signified in the modern world like courage, bravery, and strength. In the poem, Beowulf displays courage. “Now, I mean to be a match for Grendel, settle the outcome in single combat” (Heaney 425-426). This quote shows courage because he’s telling them that he can fight Grendel and wants to weather he wins or loses.

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What he is most noted for is how important he finds glory to be. When he requests to fight Grendel for Hrothgar he states he will fight without a sword, as Grendel fears none and fights using his claws. Beowulf fears that if he points his sword to a creature that uses none would be disgraceful and will not bring glory. “But Beowulf longed only for fame, leaped back into battle” line 486, this shows that even as Beowulf is faced with a fight that may be his last, his need for glory

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But the author of Beowulf must have had the intuition to create a character bearing this load of supremacy because it was just a fantasy to claim it himself. The courage Beowulf pronounces is what makes him who he is as a warrior seeking glory and pride, he sought out to the Danes’ land in search of the monster Grendel after countless men attempted to kill him for the King’s riches and glory, but that is not the only reason Beowulf sought out for the riches. Beowulf’s courage led him to Hrothgar’s kingdom not only to kill Grendel but to also pay back his father’s debts. This just shows that Beowulf is a man of his word, dignity, and respect as well as glory seeking and warrior’s courage to raise his reputation for monstrous deeds to his people. The author might have created Grendel as a symbol that there might have been a figurative monster in his or her life that was destroying them as a person, such as depression or anger or a bad habit that took over their life and their dominant and glory seeking ideal of a attitude from Beowulf was their way of slaying that monster Grendel who represents that depression or anger in

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805 Words | 4 Pages

The continued honor shown in Beowulf’s character shines through when Beowulf never mentions that Unferth’s trusted sword was no match for Grendel’s mother. Beowulf could have simply boasted how the sword was useless and ineffective against the female beast, yet he was silent out of respect for Unferth. Finally, during Beowulf’s time as ruler (fifty winters), another beast arrives: a dragon. This time, Beowulf is much older and is in a much weaker state than when he first defeated Grendel and his mother. However, that does not deter Beowulf from going out and defending his kingdom.

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558 Words | 3 Pages

Beowulf cares greatly for his honor. When he is fighting Grendel, he decides to not use a weapon since Grendel has none. He doesn’t want anyone saying he won unfairly. When being spoken about his fighting it is said, “He, swiftly banished to mingle with monsters at mercy of foes…” (Part 2)

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