Why Beowulf Is Not An Epic Hero

Beowulf Essay Hannah Dudley 1st Period
Every generation and culture of mankind seeks a hero to emulate and look to for guidance. Heroes provide hope, determination, and safety to all who are affected by their actions. Epic heroes are smarter and stronger than the average human, and they are on a quest for something important to their people. They also have strong ethics and values. In the epic poem, Beowulf, Many would argue that Beowulf is an epic hero and can do no wrong, however his ethics and motives are incorrect. Beowulf is not an ethical man. When Grendel comes to the hall to attack, Beowulf watches him but doesn’t react, “Human eyes were watching his evil steps, waiting to see his swift hard claws. Grendel snatched at the
first Geat he came to, ripped him apart, cut his body to bits with powerful jaws” (lines 418-423). He knowingly lets one of his men die. Anglo-Saxons are all about loyalty to their fellow villagers, friends, and family members. However, sacrificing one of your men is not what most will call being loyal. When Beowulf arrives in Herot, he begins to tale tails of his adventures, “I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them on by one; death was my errand the fate they had earned” (lines 155-159). When he tells his story, it sounds like he fights the battles just so he can boast about them to the people. He isn’t fighting for the people. He is fighting for himself. His heart isn’t in the right place.
Beowulf’s motives are fame and money.
They make him look arrogant to people. Therefore they question his abilities as Unferth does. Unferth believes that Beowulf is stupid for fighting all the battles he does because all of them are not necessary to save lives. Some of them are for the people. Yet some of them are only for the notoriety and money. For example, Unferth accuses Beowulf of being foolish in his quests, “Are you the same boastful fool who fought a swimming match with Brecca, both of you daring, and young, and proud?” (lines 239- 243). This statement barely even fazes Beowulf, but it may convince the reader that his motives are wrong. It becomes obvious that Beowulf’s only motivation is the notability he gets when he defeats the beasts and the money he gains. Because he wants the fame so badly, he doesn’t think about the consequences of the battles before he goes into them. After Beowulf has defeated the dragon and is dying he is talking to Wiglaf. He tells him what to do with the gold he has earned.
“Have the brave Geats build me a tomb, when the funeral flames have burned me, and built it here, at the waters edge, high on this spit of land, so sailors can see this tower, and remember my name, and call it Beowulf’s tower, and boats in the darkness and mist, crossing the sea, will know it” (lines
809-817).
Is Beowulf’s decision supremely ethical? The right thing to do is to give the gold to his people, so that they could build walls to protect them and spend on their necessities. He becomes short sighted and fails to understand the long-term effects he has on his fellow villagers and ultimately himself. In the end his greed will do damage.
In his last quest, only gaining money and notoriety motivates Beowulf. He is also unethical. It becomes obvious that he is very prideful. Pride is accepted in the Anglo-Saxon society, but too much of anything can be a bad thing. Nevertheless, not enough of something as important as loyalty to your people will also cause problems. That is where Beowulf went wrong. He is considered unethical because he isn’t loyal to the people and he is fighting for himself. There are two types of success; you can be successful for yourself or you can be successful for the people. He is conflicted about if he should help the people or help himself. He ends up helping himself. Ultimately Beowulf’s success for himself is what kills him.