"I am Beowulf!"

Beowulf is the “McDreamy” of the literature world. Women loved him and men wanted to be him. He is handsome, courageous, smart and heroic. Beowulf had such an influence in the poetic world that they transferred the poem into a short story, and the short story into a blockbuster movie. The short story Beowulf retold by Rosemary Sutcliff doesn't get into much depth like the poetry, leaving his character up in the air. According to Literature Across Cultures, the definition of character is a standard, recognizable type often is stereotypical and found in numerous genre types (Gillespie 1020). The character of Beowulf can be misleading. It is true that he was all of the above, but there are some key points that aren’t exactly spelled out for the reader. The attributes of Beowulf, not to mention, his goals, are misleading in the short story. He wanted fame, because the fame meant immortality; he was greedy and he had so much pride that it accounted for his death and the death of his people.
From the beginning of the short story, we are already able get a sense of the true character of Beowulf. He was on a selfish quest. He loved fame and lived for it. It didn’t matter where he had to go, or who he had to fight. His overall objective was to be remembered as a hero. So when it came time to save the Danish kingdom from the evil Grendel, Beowulf didn’t hesitate. He used the excuse that he owed the king for helping his father; but there was more behind his reasoning. Beowulf was always up for an adventure and more fame. Although Beowulf was a rather selfish person, he chose to fight Grendel without armor or weapons, because Grendel had none. The movie Beowulf portrays the fight differently than the short story. Beowulf fights Grendel completely naked. However, at the end, Beowulf still rips Grendel’s arm off; as the story goes, he had the strength of thirty men. The fact that Beowulf chose to fight Grendel with no armor or clothes, in some versions, is a clear sign of arrogant self-confidence. He didn’t care who was injured by Grendel in his quest, because he placed many in danger. If he was so determined to defeat Grendel on his own, he didn’t need any of his men in the hall when they were going to battle.But still, they were all there. One very interesting thing about his character is that the men who followed Beowulf wouldn’t be remembered as the hero, yet they risked their lives for him. It is a clear example that he had a large influence on the people that surrounded him. Thanks to the movie, readers are able to get a Hollywood version of the fight with Grendel. Many would be able to see Beowulf’s true nature. His need for fame led to many more downfalls in his character.
Beowulf was also a greedy man. His greed was what led to the rest of his life being a curse, so the movie goes. One of the other things that Beowulf longed for was the dragons gold. Having the gold would indeed make him rise to even more fame. With the many different versions and translations of the poem and the numerous short stories, the accounts for what Beowulf desired have been changed many times. Upon the death of Grendel Beowulf and his men were give numerous gifts. "Then the king gave to Beowulf a magnificant gold embroidered banner, and a helmet and a battle sark and a drinking cup all curiously worked with gold, and a great heavy sword wrought by the dwarf-kind long ago in the dark caverns beneath the earth" (Sutlcliff 42). If Beowulf had gone to help the king who once helped his father, why would he accept any monetary gift? Once Beowulf became king he was once again met by a dragon, that was searchin for his lost golden horn. The most common version is that Beowulf wanted the dragons gold horn, ending in his demise. The movie version accounts that Beowulf went to kill Grendel’s mother, he ended up making love to her in order to give her the son that he had taken. He then was appointed king and given the golden horn that he thought he destroyed, and when the golden horn came back to him, his life would be over. The movie seems to signify his greed more so than the short story. The short story tells us of Beowulf’s selflessness to save his kingdom from the dragon, sentencing himself to death. However, the dragon did have large amounts of gold that Beowulf would be given if he defeated the dragon. The greed and pride that he had in the end of his life, had led to his death. His last words in the story were once he defeated the dragon. He said," A fine bright gleam of gold to light me on my way. Glad am I since the time has come for me to go" (Sutcliff 90). On his dying breath, he still focused on the gold, nothing else.
Beowulf’s pride got him in the end. Not only did his actions account for his death, but it also counted for the affliction that his people faced while he was king. Beowulf’s pride had over powered him at the end of the story. He chose to fight the dragon on his own, wanting to have the fame come back once more. Unfortunately, his battle with the dragon would be his last. Beowulf’s death was caused by his own flaws. The movies place him in a great battle, saving the queen and his mistress. He would not allow anyone else to fight for him. However, in the story it is Wiglaf who slays the dragon. Beowulf always had a large amount of pride with all of his success in his younger days. His pride also had gotten his best friend and right hand man killed. Yet he had no guilt, he only felt glory. He said to the king, " the day that we land on our own shore, before evening of that day, shall the gold and the kings words be with Hondscios kindred" (Sutcliff 43). Beowulf thought that giving treasure to his comrads kindred would take away the pain, reflecting more of his greed.
Beowulf’s character has been changed many times over. He was the courageous, smart and heroic many that many knew. However, his personal demons and desires caused his own demise. His character will most likely be remembered as the hero, but looking deeper you can see that all of his so called selfless actions held benefits for him in the end. He became a King, had more gold than could be imagined and, the biggest prize of all, his fame. He would always be remembered as the one who defeated three monsters by himself. Beowulf needed nothing because everything that he wanted was given to him, but he always seemed to want more. The story of Beowulf will always be epic with many themes and historical context. At the end, Beowulf had gotten what he wanted, his immortality.

Works Cited

Sutcliff, Rosemary. Beowulf. New Yori: E.P. Dutton, 1961. Print.

Gillespie, Sheena., Tony Pipolo., and Terezinha Fonseca. Literature Across Cultures. New York: Pearson, 2008. Print.

If you haven't seen the movie, I recommend that you do. Here is one of the trailers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdiYWi3h3h8&feature=related