“A Selfish Hero” Many people recognize Beowulf as the hero of Anglo-Saxon times. Judging by his amazing resume of feats and strengths, this is not hard to believe. Beowulf exemplifies the traits of a perfect and valiant hero, or so it seems. However, Beowulf, written by an unknown author, illustrates the great length the character goes through to succeed. Beowulf does anything in his power to prevail, leading him to become a selfish individual. Examining Beowulf's speech, thoughts, and actions, it becomes evident of the selfish hero within. Firstly, Beowulf's speech proves that he would do anything to prevail, illustrating his inflated ego. Although defeated in some battles, Beowulf manages to carry out every mission in order to justify his loses and make himself look successful. Unferth, who attempts to criticize Beowulf’s battles says, "Then winter churned through the water, the waves ran you as they willed, and you struggled seven long nights to survive. And at the end victory was his, not yours” (22;6;248-51). However, upon hearing this, Beowulf accuses Unferth of being drunk in order to make people believe he never understands what he says. "Ah! Unferth, my friend, your face is hot with ale, and your tongue had tried to tell us about Brecca's doings” (22;6;263-65). After hearing this, people are lead to believe Beowulf never takes this criticism seriously, for Unferth‘s drunkenness hazes his rationality. Thus, Beowulf makes Unferth, appear envious, while making himself appear in control in the conversation. As the speech progresses, Beowulf addresses Unferth's murder of his own brothers and tells him that no one is aware of his title as warrior. This speech, made in front of numerous people, succeeds in making Beowulf look heroic and Unferth look like a fool. Beowulf, careless of his boastful and arrogant attitude, never even considers the feelings his words have on Unferth. Beowulf sacrifices the feelings of others in order to make himself appear successful. Through this, Beowulf goes to great lengths to appear successful, even if it means the sacrifice of others' feelings.

Secondly, through Beowulf's thoughts, it becomes obvious that this character will do anything to prevail. In the epic, Beowulf goes to Denmark in order to fulfill his pre-ordained destiny. Solely because Beowulf thinks it is his wyrd to kill an unbeatable monster, he travels across the sea to defeat him. "Heard how Grendel filled night with horror and quickly commanded a boat fitted out, proclaiming that he'd go to that famous king, would sail across the sea to Hrothgar” (17;3;112- 15). His drive for success becomes so great that he believes anything in relation to it, including his thoughts alone. Beowulf relies on his “destiny” to such a great extent that he travels across the sea to Denmark. Even though the chance of failure is exceedingly high, Beowulf contradicts all odds and fully believes in his thoughts. He trusts these ideas and attempts to pursue the thought of killing this monster, even if it means risking everything to find out if his destiny will come true. Beowulf travels across the sea to defeat Grendel, thinking it as a fulfillment of his purpose in life, yet not knowing the outcome. He risks his life, material wealth, and his men. Beowulf never once thinks about the safety of his warriors, but instead quickly commands a boat to sail out. Beowulf, unconscious of others' lives, focuses on his own success. Through his thoughts, it becomes clear of how far Beowulf will travel to reach success, regardless of how costly the mission was.

Most importantly, Beowulf's actions illustrate that he will go to any extreme to succeed. "Human eyes were watching his evil steps, waiting to see his swift hard claws. Grendel snatched the first Geat he came to, ripped him apart, cut his body to bits with powerful jaws” (25;8;414-24). The "human eyes" are the eyes of Beowulf who watches eagerly as Grendel dismantles one of his own warriors. By allowing the death of this warrior, Beowulf is able to observe the evil, ogre methods of killing and murdering; thus ensuring his victory. Nowhere in the epic does it mention how Beowulf tries to save the warrior, but instead, describes his use of the warrior as a tool to study Grendel's methods. In addition, Beowulf uses this solider as a detraction while he attacks Grendel. If not for the warrior, Beowulf would have failed to examine Grendel's fighting habits and no distractions would have occurred. It is Beowulf's plan to let his warrior die, otherwise he would have saved him. Beowulf never considers the hardships the warrior's family and friends suffer through, but instead cares only about his own successes. His victory of defeating Grendel takes precedence over his own warriors life. Through this action, one can clearly see the depth Beowulf would go to prevail.

Beowulf, a recognizable character in literature as the Anglo-Saxon hero. Beowulf exemplifies the traits of the perfect hero. Through this character’s speech, thoughts, and actions, one can see the great lengths Beowulf faces in order to achieve this fame. Beowulf does anything in his power and authority to succeed, leading him to become a selfish person. Beowulf while extremely egotistical, still remains a main character discussed in classes today. In addition, through his many feats and life threatening adventures, Beowulf still receives praise for his bravery. Through this analysis, one can conclude that sometimes, one must be selfish in order to succeed.