Examples Of Envy In Beowulf

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Envy and constant aggression always end up rotting an individual’s soul. The more they feed their envy, the more it grows, until all that is left is rot, and the inevitably bad happens. Any amount of envy never resolves itself well. This is shown perfectly in both the story of Beowulf’s opponent, Grendel, and the historic duel between Hamilton and Burr. In fact, both of these stories end in death. Grendel is a vicious monster that repeatedly attacks the great hall of Hereot, killing large numbers of residents: “Grendel was the name of this Grim demon… / Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed / and condemned as outcasts. For the killing of Abel” (Heaney, 102-107). The significance of the Christian narrator is apparent in this description …show more content…
Although there were many things that led up to the duel, envy is the forerunner of everything. Hamilton and Burr came from incredibly different backgrounds and believed in far different principles. This caused the initial rift between them: Alexander Hamilton, born on the Caribbean island of Navis, came to the American colonies in 1773 as a poor immigrant” (“Hamilton”, 1). Hamilton fought in the American Revolution, and his brilliance brought him to the attention of General Washington. Hamilton made his name known throughout the country by his meticulous work and rowdy campaigns. He created a strong centralized government for the United States, and later saved the US government from utter monetary collapse. Hamilton was incredibly intelligent, and worked his way up to the top. Aaron Burr was much different: “Aaron Burr, born into a prestigious New Jersey family in 1756, was also intellectually gifted, and he graduated from the College of New Jersey (later Princeton) at the age of 17” (“Hamilton”, 2). Burr was also astoundingly brilliant, and put his wits to work in very similar ways. Burr and Hamilton worked together several times before their feud really began. However, in 1790, Burr defeated Hamilton’s father-in-law for a place in the US Senate. Burr also became Vice President to Thomas Jefferson after releasing a secretive paper against Hamilton. Hamilton and Burr grew to detest one another. Hamilton despised Burr for his constant victories and “opportunist” views, and Burr despised Hamilton for his opposing viewpoints and mass popularity. They were both incredibly envious of each other. Hamilton was George Washington’s number two, and wealthy Burr just kept on winning. It widened the ever-spreading gap between them. Hamilton and Burr were constantly publicly attacking each other, putting both of their names to shame. Their envy took
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