Sacrifice In Beowulf

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Gallant Warrior
A Discussion of Beowulf’s Motivations from Beowulf

“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” said influential singer Bob Dylan. Burton Raffel is the author of the translation of “Beowulf.” Burton Raffel is the author for numerous poems, screenplays, and novels. He has also won the Translation Prize for the French-American Foundation. “Beowulf” is an epic poem about an Anglo-Saxon warrior from the land of the Geats who comes to the land of the Danes to rescue King Hrothgar by battling three monsters. The three monsters Beowulf fights are Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. This battle leads to Beowulf becoming a hero and later the king, which gets passed …show more content…
Beowulf was willing to sacrifice his life for the greater good. The Anglo-Saxon code is concerned about selfishness and argues that people should put others before themselves for the benefit of others. “The law of sacrifice is uniform throughout the world. To be effective it demands the sacrifice of the bravest and the most spotless.” (Gandhi) The idea of representation in involved in part three of the epic poem along with strength and honor. After Beowulf has been kind for fifty years, he comes to realization that there is a dragon in a cave with stolen treasure. Beowulf says that he will fight the dragon, but since he has aged he will need support. When he goes to fight the dragon all the warrior are fearful and Wiglaf is the only warrior there to help. “But he raised his sword and struck at the dragon’s scaly hide, the ancient blade broke, bit into the monster’s skin, drew blood, but cracked and failed him before it went deep enough” (Lines 687-691) Beowulf dies, but before he dies he asks Wiglaf to get some treasure from the dragon and share it with the people. Beowulf also says he wants his memorial to be a building of a lighthouse on a cliff.
Beowulf’s motivations can be understood by the evaluation of the Anglo-Saxon code. Beowulf’s first motivation was his duty. Because he had the talent of strength, he was obligated to put it to use for the people. His second motivation was the notion of glory. He used his talent to save the people not only for them, but also for the remembrance of his name. Beowulf’s last motivation was his willingness to sacrifice. The hero sacrificed his own life for the
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