Directions: 1) Read Beowulf, pages 149-213 (32 pages) – Fighting the Dragon
2) Compose your final reflection using direct evidence from the text. Please use elements of Joseph Cambell's 17 Stages of Monomyth in your response. See the image below. I look forward to your responses.
After defeating Grendel and his mama, Hygelac is killed in a battle against the Shylfings. Beowulf is appointed King of Geatland because this is his nationality and "the greater right and sway were inherited by the higher born"(149). Five decades later, some guy makes off with a goblet he found in a hoard. He awakens a dragon, which travels all over Geatland destroying farms, military bases, and big cities. King Beowulf goes into battle once again, determined to "'pursue this fight for the glory of winning, if the evil one will only abandon his earth-fort and face [him] out in the open'"(171). He takes a few troops with him when he sets out to the dragon's lair. His sword is soon burned beyond functionality. All the soldiers evacuate, except for "Wiglaf, a son of Weohstan's a well-regarded Shylfing warrior related to Aelfhere"(175), who stays with Beowulf. He happens to be carrying weapons of a much higher quality. Beowulf is soon struck, but with Wiglaf keeping him covered, he manages to defeat the dragon before his wounds become fatally infected. He places an order for a barrow to be constructed at Hronesness in his memory and give Wiglaf some of the gold, telling him, "'You are the last of us, the only one left of the Waegmundings. Fate swept us away, sent my whole brave high-born clan to their final doom. Now I must follow them'"(189). Before Beowulf's funeral, a messenger issues a warning that the Franks, Frisians, and Swedes, who want to vengeance for what Hygelac and Ongentheow did years ago, will declare war on the Geats.
ReplyDeleteWiglaf spreads the word of Beowulf's last requests, and declares national mourning. The funeral takes place after the dragon-scraps are dumped into the sea, and a truckload of gold is extracted from the hoard to be placed on the pyre with Beowulf's corpse. Once the pyre burns out, the ashes and whatnot are placed into the barrow.
DeleteBeowulf becomes king of Geats and rules for 50 years - Apostasis
ReplyDeleteThief takes treasure: dragon begins attacking villages - Call to Adventure
Why did god do this? I’m too old - Refusal of Call
Has a sword made, doesn’t make a huge army because of pride - Crossing First (basically, like actually, the third) Threshold
Beowulf getting the thief to tell the team of 11 where the dragon is and recounting his past victories to his men making the vow to fight the dragon himself - Belly of The Whale
While Beowulf is fighting his men run in fear, but one Wiglaf. Beowulf’s sword breaks. Dragon bites Beowulf, and Wiglaf stabs him, but Beowulf gives the Dragon the fatal blow with his knife - The Ultimate Boom
Beowulf puts Wiglaf in charge of the Geats and gives him his own collar - Freedom to Live
The men return and see Beowulf dead, Wiglaf yells at them. He says now they will have no protection from other nations - Call to Adventure
I really liked the ending of Beowulf because it gave Beowulf a hero’s ending, but it didn’t end with his death. You can still see there is more to the story of the characters in Beowulf and the story is set up in such a way that you see Wiglaf has a hard journey to come. And even though Beowulf’s story has come to an end, another one is just to begin. We get the clean ending of Beowulf with all the people recounting his kindness: “They extrolled his heroic nature and exploits… they said that of all the kings upon the earth he was the man most gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win fame.” But we also know there is trouble brewing for these people: “So this bad blood between us and the Swedes this vicious feud, I am convinced, is bound to revive…” and we know that they will need a strong leader with the beginning of Joseph Cambell's 17 Stages of Monomyth again. Beowulf went through the stages over and over again, finally reaching “Freedom to Live,” but now Wiglaf has to go to trials to reach his “Freedom to Live”
And now, it's Wiglaf's turn. I'm surprised "Passing your instincts and duties onto the next generation" isn't one of the stages.
DeleteTime to train more Jedi!
DeleteThe first thing I would like to touch upon is how my impressions of Beowulf have changed. At first I though Beowulf a bad and prideful man but after reading more I realize that he is actually selfless and kind. Beowulf says, “I took what came, cared for and stood by things in my keeping, never fomented quarrels, never swore to a lie” (pg.185). He says this during his last words before he passes away and I think that all of this is true. He was a good king because he didn’t start fights with other kingdoms. In fact he helped other kingdoms. He does a very good job at protecting his kingdom, even as an old king he fights off a dragon and kills him. And before this battle with this dragon he even thought that he would die, this just shows that he is willing to die to save his people. Even his people think very highly of him. It was said that “He worked for the people, but as well as that he behaved like a hero” (pg. 203). Also his people said, on the last page of the book and last line, that “of all the kings upon earth he was the man most gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win fame”. He is loved by everyone and has a great reputation. So my opinion of Beowulf has definitely changed. As for the “17 Stages of Monomyth” I think Beowulf follows most of its ‘guidelines’. Beowulf and his men were called to adventure to fight Grendel who has destroyed the town of Herot. Beowulf's supernatural aid is his strength, allowing him to kill Grendel with his bare hands. Beowulf crosses the first threshold when he wins the battle with Grendel which shows him his true strength and powers. Belly of the whale stage is when Beowulf fights Grendel’s mother which is a true challenge for him but he wins. The Road of Trials is during the fight with Grendel’s mother because Beowulf has many challenges like his sword failing to do damage to the monster at first. Atonement with the father I think is when Beowulf has to fight the dragon that killed his people of Geat. This is because this dragon holds life or death power because Beowulf has a feeling he might die after this battle. Apostasis is when Beowulf is stabbed by the dragon's teeth which doesn’t kill him immediately so that he, with the help of Wiglaf, can kill the dragon which is the ultimate boon. Wiglaf tries to help Beowulf (rescue from without), but Beowulf realizes he is dying so he says his last insightful words sharing his wisdom (crossing the return threshold). Finally Beowulf dies and this is his freedom to live in the afterlife.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this epic poem. I liked it because it was unlike any of the other books we read this year and it reminded me of a fairy tale. The ending was very sad which was also unlike the other books we read this year, however the ending did a really nice job of just reinforcing how important of a man Beowulf was.
At the beginning, there were several stages of Joseph Cambell’s monomyth that were present in Beowulf’s adventure. Obviously there was the call to adventure where the person tries to steal the treasure guarded by the dragon which ends up angering him and provoking him into destroying stuff. Then Beowulf answered this call, made a long speech and crossed the threshold: “The fabled warrior in his warshirt and helmet trusted in his own strength entirely and went under the crag. No coward path.” Here, Beowulf and several other warriors enter the dragon’s lair and gets ready for a fight. Then it was funny how right after the dragon appeared, all of the supposed honorable and courageous warriors ran away, leaving Beowulf and Wiglaf on their own. As I mentioned above, Wiglaf just couldn’t find a way into the battle no matter what he did and eventually, Beowulf completes the Ultimate Boon: “He stuck it deep into the dragon’s flank. Beowulf dealt it a deadly wound.” However, in this adventure the Refusal of Return wasn’t much of a choice since Beowulf was dying.
ReplyDeleteIt was a very interesting battle between Beowulf and the dragon, and of course with Wiglaf spectating the battle. I found it funny how Wiglaf kept trying to be part of the battle but no matter what he did, he couldn’t really affect the battle very much. Additionally, after the battle when Beowulf was dying, he was bathing in the treasure. Basically in the end, Beowulf died to let Wiglaf be rich, which to me is quite humorous.
This beginning of the passage, much like the rest of the poem, wastes no time getting us into the action. The exposition of the thief stealing the goblet sets us up for the dragon that will eventually torch the countryside: literally scorched earth. Unfortunately, Beowulf is an old man at this point and is like "Can somebody else just fix it this time around?" But the response to that was obviously no. Realizing that he doesn't want to just be like Hrothgar and he must fight, Beowulf accepts the quest. He laments about all the times that he has risked his life, but he admits that this could potentially be his most challenging and deadliest foe yet. I believed personally that Beowulf would be ready to take on the dragon, given that he had already killed Grendel and Grendel's mother; this would just be an extra step to what he's already accomplished. On top of that, Beowulf is inspired by the fate of his kingdom, which gives him top notch motivation to win this fight. Beowulf is now outside the dragon's lair and he reflects on himself before he goes in. He gives a little pep talk to the dudes and then they go into the Dragon's barrow. Then, Beowulf begins combat with the dragon. All fall back except one, Wiglaf who stays to fight. Beowulf is bitten on the neck during the fight, and although he doesn't die quickly, he admits that he is probably going to die. With the help of Wiglaf, the dragon is slain via tummy puncture. Beowulf, realzing that he is going to die from his wounds to the neck, so he says his goodbyes and gives more proverbs to the fellas in his last moments. The spirit of Beowulf is what finishes the quest after this. Beowulf's inspiration fires up Wiglaf, and he retrieves riches and returns home with them, helping lead and be a hero himself. The return home also gives trouble, as the Swedes try to kill the kingdom of Geats. This doesn't work, however, and the Geats successfully fend them off. Beowulf's body is then sent out on the most masculine funeral of all time, and he rests a peaceful rest at the bottom of the ocean. The end.
ReplyDeleteThis was definitely one of the greater texts that I've read in any English curriculum. It wasn't too long, and it had lots of morals and proverbial influences that were excellently written. I thought the battles were exciting, and I was genuinely getting a bit of a rush while reading about them. I can't think of anything I specifically didn't like, which I think speaks well of this story.
DeleteIn the specific instance of Beowulf vs the Dragon I can see five of the elements of the monomyth:
ReplyDelete- Call to adventure: Beowulf's city is attacked by a long-dormant dragon, he must protect it.
- Belly of the Whale: Excluding Wiglaf, all of Beowulf's men flee at the sight of the dragon. This leaves only Beowulf and Wiglaf to fight the dragon.
- The Ultimate Boon: Beowulf kills the dragon.
- Apostasis: Beowulf dies.
- Refusal of Return: He can't return because he's dead.
LORD OF THE RINGS AND SKYRIM LITERALLY PLAGIARIZED THIS BOOK. First I thought it was so similar to Thor, and then the further I got into the story, the more I realized that it makes up the foundation for the two things that governed my childhood??? First of all, Beowulf has to fight a dragon. Why does he have to fight this dragon? Because a measly little thief went into his liar while he was sleeping a stole something quite small, which obviously is terribly upsetting, and resorted to burning down the entire city in revenge… Sound familiar? If this isn’t screaming the plot of The Hobbit to you, then you obviously haven’t seen The Hobbit and should immediately. “When the Dragon awoke, trouble flared again. / He rippled down the rock, writhing with anger / when he saw the footprints of the prowler who had stolen / too close to his dreaming head.”. The Hobbit is literally the dragon from Beowulf’s story told from the thief's perspective. Plagiarism at its best, I’ll let it slide because it was Tolkin and he supplied us with Lord of the Rings. Second of all, I was reading Beowulf and noticed I recognized some of the names. How in the world did I recognize some of these names, you might ask? Literally Skyrim was based on this entire book. The world is created based on Hrothgar, with the main monastery the main character must visit called HIGH HROTHGAR. PLAGIARISM. Now, if you aren’t aware of what the story of Skyrim encompasses, it’s basically a ton of history about these kings that’s really confusing and you tend not to pay attention to (much like Beowulf), and there’s this huge dragon (Alduin) that is going to destroy the world. The player is tasked with training and preparing for this important battle at the end of the game where you fight Alduin. In addition, giants roam the world that are quite difficult to destroy, and are depicted much like how Grendel is described. How come I could only find ~2 articles about how Beowulf connects to Skyrim? I’m not quite sure, but now I see why I’ve enjoyed reading Beowulf so much. It provided the basis for the things I grew up with. It’s like how in The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is SEPARATED from his home, went on this entire, threatening journey, basically his INITIATION, and then RETURNED possessing more power, knowledge, and experience than he had before. They all follow the same structure, as well as Thor, and it’s why we enjoy it. I find it funny that something that should be so predictable has maintained its popularity. As consumers, we’re addicted to the hero’s journey.
ReplyDeleteThor? For some reason, Beowulf seems more like Captain America to me.
DeleteCaptain America isn't as egotistical or overall powerful as Thor is.
DeleteAlso, Thor becomes king of Asgard and Beowulf becomes King of the Geats.
DeleteBut he still reminds me of Captain America somehow.
DeleteI don't know if I feel that Beowulf really fits the hero persona. Though he is constantly rescuing and fighting evil successfully, he never really refuses to fight. He is always up for the task. Part of Campbell's cycle is that a hero "refuses the call" and "refuses to return." Even at his old age he says "but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning, if the evil one will only abandon his earth-fort and face me in the open." I think he is more of a glory-seeker than a hero. Nothing wrong with that per se, but it's different than a hero. A glory-seeker seeks out valor and glory for fame, which is what he often does. Not to diminish that fact that he wants to save people as well, but he is a little too perfect to be a hero. A hero has refusals and setbacks, flaws that make them and change them. Beowulf may have a few setbacks when his weapons don't work, but he always answers the "call to adventure." Overall, an okay read. Reminded me of Homer's epics, but without the varied romance and multiple heroes.
ReplyDeleteIn the final chapter of Beowulf, a slave man stumbles across a cave full of treasure and steals one of the cups in order to free himself. Unfortunately, this awakens the mighty dragon which lives to protect this treasure. When the dragon cannot find the cup or the man, he decides to set fire to the land of Geatland, where Beowulf has ruled peacefully for 50 years after Hygelac and Heardred’s deaths(Apostasis). Heroically, the aged Beowulf decides to stand and face the dragon(Crossing First Threshold). All of the thanes he has brought with him flee for their own safety, leaving only the brave Wiglaf(Supernatural Aid). Beowulf is unsuccessful when he attempts to stab the fire-breathing dragon with his sword. The dragon is also poisonous, and when he does bite Beowulf, he is left defenseless with only Wiglaf to protect him. Wiglaf stabs the dragon’s belly with a sword, and eventually, Beowulf deals the fatal blow. The bite from the dragon proves to be fatal and in his final minutes, he predicts that other nations will attack the Geats, sensing their weakness. “Every one of you with freeholds of land, our whole nation, will be dispossessed, once princes from beyond get tidings of how you turned and fled and disgraced yourselves. A warrior will sooner die than live a life of shame.”
ReplyDeleteThe ending of this story reminded me a lot of The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. "a dragon on the prowl/ from the steep vaults of the stone-roofed barrow/ where he guarded a hoard; there was a hidden passage,/ unknown to men, but someone managed/ to enter by it and interfere/ with the heathen trove"(2212-2216). That is exactly what happens in The Hobbit, Bilbo is the thief who enters Smaug's lair and awakes him which leads to Smaug reeking havoc on the nearby fishing village, Lake-Town. The greediness of the thief only brings harm as the dragon is a symbol of destiny and death for Beowulf, which Beowulf would like to avoid. The thief is sort of a harbinger of death as he releases the dragon unintentionally, or intentionally. The dragon is Beowulf's call to action as he needs to stop it from destroying the kingdom, as he is king of the geatlands now it is his responsibility. The belly of the whale is the actual fight against the dragon as the departure of his comrades was one of the last things connecting his from his known world and certain death. The battle is in and of itself a trial that is thrown at Beowulf. Apostasis happens when both the dragon and Beowulf die leaving only Wiglaf left. Refusal to return is how Beowulf won't return from the dead and that gives a sense of relief to him to know that he died protecting everyone he cared about. Just like in Avengers Endgame. The return without is when Wiglif return alone, without Beowulf and with the dragon dead.
ReplyDeleteFinal thoughts, I really enjoyed the book and it's crazy to see similarities to other popular books and other media I enjoy. I've heard people call this book "boring" but I completely disagree. I read the entire thing and was intrigued throughout. 8/10 very cool book.
Beowulf is setting out on a journey to fight dragon. He is doing this regardless of his age which in reality is no the smartest idea. They battle to the death and Beowulf is nowhere near the man he used to be.The men that were supposed to assist Beowulf all run and abandon him to fight alone except one named Wiglaf. Wiglaf is the only one loyal enough to be by Beowulf’s side in his darkest hour. This can be interpreted as the rescue from without . Beowulf desperately fights the dragon but is bitten by poisonous teeth. After this though he digs his knife into the dragon and slays the beast. Unfortunately the wound was fatal and Beowulf dies to the poison in the bite. Although this happens Beowulf will live on with his legacy. He is well praised throughout many places for his acts of courage which is similar to master of two worlds. The fearless mindset while facing all of the foes Beowulf does during the poem can be interpreted as freedom to live
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this book and its more mythical elements tied together with lessons that can be applied to life.
ReplyDeleteAs I read Beowulf, there are many tropes that follow the elements of Joesph Cambell’s 17 Stages of Monomyth. Though this book was very straight-forward, I surprisingly appreciated a lot of the elements that came up in this novel, especially since this novel was written in a time when having those elements were considered entertaining and not cringe-worthy. Although there are seventeen elements to Cambell’s stages, I want to focus on three of the stages that appeared in Beowulf. The first stage is the “Call of adventure” and this is where the protagonist receives a challenge that can’t be done by just anyone. In this novel, Beowulf has heard of the challenge to go up against a dragon with his troops and said that he’s “come to proffer [his] wholehearted help and counsel” and wants to “show the wise Hrothgar a way to defeat his enemy and find respite.” (21) This demonstrates how even though he shows his bravery through his words and actions, he’s also very prideful in his strength and his title, which ends up hurting him in the long run. Another element that shows up in the novel is the “supernatural aid”, which is when there’s a wise, prophet figure that can help the protagonist on his quest. Before Beowulf meets Hrothgar, he ends up meeting Wulfgar, who is “a Wendel Chief renowned as a warrior, well known for his wisdom and the temper of his mind: ‘I will take this message, in accordance with your wish, to our noble king.’” (25) This barrier between Beowulf and Hrothgar releases tension between these two powerful figures from creating harmful alliances from each other in the near future. The last stage I want to mention in this novel is the “roads of trials”, which when the protagonist goes through certain trials throughout the novel and they usually happen in threes. For Beowulf, he faces three dragons throughout his life and when faces the last dragon, he dies as a result. He first faces Grendel and was able to kill him by cutting his arm, making Grendel “fatally hurt, to his desolate lair. His days were numbered, the end of his life was coming over him, he knew it for certain; and one bloody clash had fulfilled the dearest wishes of the Danes.” (55) The second dragon was able to slay by a landslide was Grendel’s mother, who tries to avenge Grendel death, but fails when Beowulf “took a firm hold of the hilt and swung the blade in an arc, a resolute blow that bit into her neck bone and severed it entirely, toppling the doomed house of [Grendel’s mother’s] flesh; she fell to the floor. The sword dripped blood, [Beowulf] was elated.” The last dragon that Beowulf defeats but costed his own life was a dragon that had hidden treasures within his layer. Although Beowulf was able to defeat this dragon with his last bit of strength, Beowulf dies by the dragon’s “clamped sharp fangs into [Beowulf’s] neck. [His] body ran wet with his life-blood: it came welling out.” (181) With Beowulf’s defeat of his last opponent, he has defeated himself because of his failed realization to see that he wasn’t as strong and mighty as he used to be. His pride literally killed him in the end. To see these elements in the novel, I can definitely see how these stages were and are still entertaining today and how this brings up important lessons, such as about not being so prideful in oneself.
ReplyDeleteI actual liked Beowulf, it was fun and easy to read and understand like a fairytale book. On page 151 we meet the dragon and which is the one of the trials and even though it wasn't something he caused. It was caused by the intuder. Though I was confused why the dragon was circling on page 157 "Hot and savage, he kept circling and circling the outside of the mound. No man appeared in that desert waste, but he worked himself up by imagining battle" It was funny because I imagine him just going around in circles the cave. I felt that page 163 is the last time you see the intruder and you never hear from him again I wonder if he got him comeupons. Everyone that Beowulf took with him "no help or backing was to be had then from high-born comrades; that hand-picked troop broke ranks and ran for their lives to the safety of the wood." Only Wiglaf and I think he kind of ends the 17 Stages of Monomyth and with the death of Beowulf. Beowulf becomes the mentor that dies causing the cycle to repeat himself. With Wiglaf becoming the main character/hero at the end Beowulf going to a new life after death.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading Beowulf, I noticed just how similar it was to the Stages of Monomyth and many other action stories that have a tendency to follow that same path. The road of trials is generally very clear in stories, as is the case with Beowulf. His road of trials is a series of battles he participates in so as to prove his skills as a warrior. While these stages of monomyth can be applied to Beowulf’s life as a whole, they can also be applied to specific parts of his life, like after he becomes the ruler of the Geats and rules them for 50 years. During this time, he is living a relatively mundane life, as much as one can given that he is a king, since he is not out and about fighting magical beasts and dragons. Beowulf then experiences another call to adventure with the dragon attack his people and lands after realizing something was stolen from his lair. The dragon wreaked havoc after learning of this theft and “began to belch out flames and burn bright homesteads; there was a hot flow that scared everyone, for the vile sky-winger would leave nothing alive in his wake” (157). After hearing of these terrible things happening to his people, Beowulf is called to protect his people from this beast. However, he thinks that he is too old for that and wants to refuse the call, but he does end up going to fight the dragon to protect his people. Going to fight the dragon is crossing the threshold and picking just over 10 men to go with him into this unknown represents the belly of the whale. The road of trials is his actual fight with the dragon in which he gets severely injured. During their battle, “Beowulf was foiled of a glorious victory” (175); this is a common thing to occur during the road of trials to help the development of the protagonist. Despite this, he is able to successfully slay the dragon with the help of his loyal soldier Wiglaf. The achievement of his goal to kill the dragon is the ultimate boon. Beowulf’s death is apostasis, and despite his physical death, his legacy lives on.
ReplyDeleteOn a separate note, by reading these pages, my view of Beowulf changed considerably. When he was first introduced, I was very skeptical of his goodness and intentions, since he seemed to be too good to be true. At first, it appeared to me that he was just trying to keep up appearances and look good to maintain his fabulous reputation. Once reading this section, I came to realize that Beowulf was actually a very good man and ruler and did his best to help anyone he could, while not being selfish whatsoever. His people also loved his and that said that “of all of the kings upon the earth he was the man most gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win fame” (213). Beowulf was a genuinely good person, helping and protect others whenever he could and in anyway he was able to.
I enjoyed reading Beowulf. It proved that it was such a good template for acting that many movies had copied it. After realizing this I noticed how I had never noticed that some of the movies which I have seen before have this type of format. One part which I liked the most of this section of reading was ending of the battle Beowulf had with the dragon. When all of his fellow soldiers had ran away from the fight, Wiglaf was the only one to stay and help. Wiglaf tried to convince the others to help Beowulf but when he noticed that there was no point in him attempting that, he went in on his own. Wiglaf and Beowulf were able to take down the dragon but it was at the cost of Beowulf being killed. As the soldiers who had ran away in the first place started to come back to the fighting scene, they noticed the fatally injured Beowulf. Wiglaf made sure they understood that if they had stayed and helped them fight then this might not have been the outcome. I enjoyed reading this part because it shows that in true times of terror is the only time that people will reveal who their true self is. Even though these men had taken an oath to be loyal and protect their land, they were all truly cowards.
ReplyDeleteThe end of this book was crazy good. It reminded me a lot of things like the video game Skyrim, Thor, and the Hobbit. I really enjoyed reading the battles and seeing just how much influence that story gave newer media. Going over the Monomyth, the Call To Action happens when Beowulf has to fight the dragon to protect his kingdom and those he loves. The Belly Of The Whale is the actual battle between Beowulf and the dragon, with the exiting of his men is one of the few things connecting him to his world and certain death. Apostasis happens when the dragon and (sadly) Beowulf end up dying in the end. Refusal To Return is how Beowulf isn't able to return from death (honestly surprising seeing how insanely strong he is), thus giving him a sense of relief in knowing that he died saving his people and those he loves. The Return Without is Wiglaf returning home safely after the dragon is slain, sadly without Beowulf by his side. At least, not physically.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, this was a great book. Though I only read the battles, I plan to read the whole entire thing sometime in the future. It was very entertaining to read. A classic strong guy is so strong he wins every fight somehow is always fun to see. Though, that can get a bit predictable at times. As in, you know Beowulf is gonna win. But all that aside, I'd give it a 7/10. Strongly recommend (from what I've read).
The 17 stages of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth can be applied to many stories. Going through the process of steps in which the hero must take I'm reminded of fairy tales and Disney movies that I grew up with, for example you can find Atonement with Father in The Lion King. The book, Beowulf was written roughly around 1,000 A.D, the fact that a story that follows a specific set of stages that is still relevent and commonly used today is astonishing. A possible Road of Trials can be found when Beowulf and his fellow Geats are momentarily stopped by a lookman, although this does not last long or cause much distress. At the end of the story, the dragon is a final test to Beowulf. He is much older and weaker than when he fought Grendel, yet he insists on fighting him anyway because he takes the dragons destruction of his throne-hall as a personal attack. The dragon itself symbolized both greed (he protects piles of old treasure and will destroy and intruder that disturbs him) and fate (when Beowulf goes to fight him, he gets the feeling he'll die and he did). I was reminded of Aladdin and how nobody was supposed to touch any of the treasure in the sand cave or else they'd be in danger and also Harry Potter, where the three-headed dog guards the door that leads to treasure. The point is so many examples come to peoples minds when they read Beowulf because it is such a basic following of steps, but it somehow still stands the test of time and is a really enjoyable story. Personally I really liked reading Beowulf.
ReplyDeleteBeowulf was the ultimate soldier who was proud that he could slay anyone, anywhere. So when the King had a monster problem. Who you gonna call? Not Ghostbusters... Grendelbuster Beowulf. He Crossed the First Threshold because Grendel was also a threat to Beowulf’s own kingdom so he could get the glory for killing him. He was not modest but he may have been a family man by killing Grendel because King Hrothgar was a good friend to his father.
ReplyDelete“Behaviour that's admired is the path to power among people everywhere." Beowulf loved the power of positive reinforcement. If you get a positive consequence for a certain action, you will repeat that action. Beowulf gains his power by first killing Grendel, then Grendel's mom, and finally the dragon... though not before getting wounded himself and knowing he will die. The Road of Trials appears in three occasions but Beowulf was driven by the fact that when people do heroic acts and then stop doing great acts, people will abandon them. Sort of like it today’s time how people lose faith when someone doesn’t have their act together.
“Fate will unwind as it must!” shows that even Beowulf knew he had little control of his destiny when he met his fate at the dragon's claws. It was his Freedom to Live by not fearing death because he saw it as his fate. What we can see is that Beowulf believes that a brave and honorable life will lead to a death with honor and without fear.
This book was interesting, to say the very least. As one might have been able to assume, I was not a fan at first. I thought that it was very cheesy and weird, and looked like it was being improvised as the writer went on. I then gained a greater appreciation for the book when more blood and killing was involved, and when Beowulf died I realized that I actually enjoyed the book. I like the symbol of Beowulf, someone that stands for his people and dies for them, and I like how heroic he was. Beowulf was a symbol of bravery and giving everything that you can for the people you love, over and over again, even when it kills you. I think that he showed how your people and loved ones are more important than everything and you should do everything that you can for them, no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI've never read a book like Beowulf. It is quite interesting because it is composed of a series of poems portraying a story about a hero and teaches its readers about pride and honor. I think throughout the book we see Beowulf mature into more of an "epic hero" then his ignorant cocky self he was in the beginning. He has truly changed as a person because even as an old person he tried his hardest to kill the monstrous beast to save his people. The author of Beowulf used countless of literary devices to convey meaning and bring more richness to their text. The use of alliteration is an example of a literary device that is used in this story, "He moved quickly through the cloudy night, up from his swampland, sliding silently, toward that gold-shining hall..." These alliterative sounds create rhythm and mood emphasizing Grendel's movements. You can tell by the previous quote the repeated k and s sounds heighten the mood and are used to imply danger. On another note I feel like even with Beowulf being the "hero" of this book, Grendel could be more relatable to humans, and as ironic as I think that is, their are more humans that could relate to being an outcast and excluded rather than being a heroic or king like figure. Overall, I liked this book. It definitely wasn't my favorite, but I think that it was important that we read it because it was written in such an early time period and we haven't been exposed to much literature that was written in the early ages, therefore it exposes us to different writings that we could learn from.
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