Pride And Honor In Beowulf
Charlie Feuerbach
Mr. Buckingham
AP literature, period E
September 12, 2010
The Power of Pride Pride and honor can be lost or won. In the movie Beowulf and Grendel, and in the elegy of Beowulf, pride and honor are very important things to all of the characters. The Beowulf of the old English story is seeking honor by killing Grendel, the Beowulf of the movie is looking to preserve his honor by justifying the killing of Grendel, which swore he would do. In both the movie and the book, the Danes have lost there pride, they have failed to defeat Grendel and must rely on an outsider to do the dirty work and save them. The Old English Beowulf is addicted to pride and honor, he always wants to be the hero and does really care about anything
else. His Pride consumes him, leading him to do more and more dangerous challenges. Some might say that his behavior is justified because he dedicates his accomplishments to his King or the Lord but he is just using it as a cover for his unquenchable thirst for honor and renown. His quest for fame starts with the daunting task of slaying the monster, Grendel. After defeating him, it all goes down hill from there, he is success full in defeating Grendel’s mother, but ignores King Hrothgar’s warning of pride. In the end it is the pride and glory that he loved so much that ultimately destroys him. The Beowulf of the movie is a honorable man, he has pride in himself and his crew. He is very worried to loss that pride and honor, and that is why he questions himself and King Hrothgar about the killing of Grendel. He is worried about killing something he doesn’t fully understand, is Grendel all monster or am I killing something just because it is different. He believes he loses his honor when his me start to be the targets of Grendel’s attacks. This Beowulf is more about protecting his men then protecting his name. Pride binds the Danes to the world they live in. King Hrothgar’s world revolves around his people’s pride in their nation, and now that Grendel has come to his mead hall and terrorized his people, his world is crashing down in front of him. In both the movie and in the book, Hrothgar is overjoyed to see the arrival of Beowulf on his shores. He is very thankful for a hero to save his people, but not everyone shares that opinion, Unferth is a drunk who speaks openly about his disproval of an outsider saving the hides of the Danes. For many of the Danes its probably a very shameful moment when a Geat steals the show and kills your enemy with out any expectations of a reward. The Danes are a prideful people but in the end, unlike Beowulf, they learn from their Kings warning of pride. In the movie Beowulf and Grendel, and in the elegy of Beowulf, pride and honor are very important things to all of the characters. The Beowulf of the old English story is seeking honor by killing Grendel, the Beowulf of the movie is looking to preserve his honor by justifying the killing of Grendel, which swore he would do. In both the movie and the book, the Danes have lost there pride, they have failed to defeat Grendel and must rely on an outsider to do the dirty work and save them.
Mr. Buckingham
AP literature, period E
September 12, 2010
The Power of Pride Pride and honor can be lost or won. In the movie Beowulf and Grendel, and in the elegy of Beowulf, pride and honor are very important things to all of the characters. The Beowulf of the old English story is seeking honor by killing Grendel, the Beowulf of the movie is looking to preserve his honor by justifying the killing of Grendel, which swore he would do. In both the movie and the book, the Danes have lost there pride, they have failed to defeat Grendel and must rely on an outsider to do the dirty work and save them. The Old English Beowulf is addicted to pride and honor, he always wants to be the hero and does really care about anything
else. His Pride consumes him, leading him to do more and more dangerous challenges. Some might say that his behavior is justified because he dedicates his accomplishments to his King or the Lord but he is just using it as a cover for his unquenchable thirst for honor and renown. His quest for fame starts with the daunting task of slaying the monster, Grendel. After defeating him, it all goes down hill from there, he is success full in defeating Grendel’s mother, but ignores King Hrothgar’s warning of pride. In the end it is the pride and glory that he loved so much that ultimately destroys him. The Beowulf of the movie is a honorable man, he has pride in himself and his crew. He is very worried to loss that pride and honor, and that is why he questions himself and King Hrothgar about the killing of Grendel. He is worried about killing something he doesn’t fully understand, is Grendel all monster or am I killing something just because it is different. He believes he loses his honor when his me start to be the targets of Grendel’s attacks. This Beowulf is more about protecting his men then protecting his name. Pride binds the Danes to the world they live in. King Hrothgar’s world revolves around his people’s pride in their nation, and now that Grendel has come to his mead hall and terrorized his people, his world is crashing down in front of him. In both the movie and in the book, Hrothgar is overjoyed to see the arrival of Beowulf on his shores. He is very thankful for a hero to save his people, but not everyone shares that opinion, Unferth is a drunk who speaks openly about his disproval of an outsider saving the hides of the Danes. For many of the Danes its probably a very shameful moment when a Geat steals the show and kills your enemy with out any expectations of a reward. The Danes are a prideful people but in the end, unlike Beowulf, they learn from their Kings warning of pride. In the movie Beowulf and Grendel, and in the elegy of Beowulf, pride and honor are very important things to all of the characters. The Beowulf of the old English story is seeking honor by killing Grendel, the Beowulf of the movie is looking to preserve his honor by justifying the killing of Grendel, which swore he would do. In both the movie and the book, the Danes have lost there pride, they have failed to defeat Grendel and must rely on an outsider to do the dirty work and save them.