P.S. I commented on Collin's blog
Monday, January 26, 2015
When I read Beowulf it makes me want to grab Beowulf by his shoulders and just shake him. Everything he does, he does for glory or honor. I understand that was just the way people lived back then but at the same time, there is more to life. When he goes to fight the dragon he is at least seventy years old. He is a king that his people look to and depend on so I can understand if he wanted to fight to protect them. But he fights solely for the glory of it. To me this is one of those situations where stepping back and allowing someone else to receive the honor of killing the dragon would be better. His people need their leader and Beowulf is all too ready to give it away just for the sake of reliving past glories. I don't really see how that is the better thing to do at all.
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I agree with this. I found it really absurd that he would leave his people who could not stand on their own two feet because they had grown so dependent upon him. Also strange that he requested the gold to be brought to him for consolation as he died. Yes he won the gold for his people, but still the act of holding gold as you take your last breath seems very dishonorable to me.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, there were many, MANY times when I got completely fed up with Beowulf. I even said (on multiple occasions to multiple people over the course of reading this) that he reminded me so much of Odysseus. And, anyone who remembers any of my blogs from last semester knows how much I hated Odysseus. They were both glory-hungry men who, even when helping others, did so for completely selfish reasons.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me it was a sense of pride. He wanted to as you said, "relive past glories." It seems to me he could not get beyond the past. Furthermore I see good reason to argue that Beowulf had phycological issues.
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