From the beginning Beowulf is characterized as being a great warrior, through every battle he prevails. The first battle that we experience is Beowulf taking on a monster that has killed more than 30 men and continued to cause trouble for 12 years until Beowulf slays him. The next battle we see is with Grendel’s mom and in order to reach her Beowulf must go into dark murky, creature infested water to face her. Both of these battles Beowulf was able to defeat the antagonist, however this was not the case when he decides to take on the dragon. This last battle would be the end of Beowulf. When going into the cave he tells his thanes to stay outside, and let him fight this last battle alone. He knew this would be his last battle because he had grown too old to keep fighting monsters. Some might consider Beowulf acting alone as being foolish; I believe it emphasizes his bravery as a warrior. His last few actions would help bring out the bravery in a young thane who will become his successor. The actions of Beowulf cannot be used as reason for his kingdoms hardships after his untimely death. He had no way of …show more content…
He may not have always had his people’s best interest in mind, but he fought valiantly to protect them. His acts should be considered courageous not foolish because out of all the people who could have fought the dragon, he was the only one to do it. The battles between Grendel and his mother with Beowulf can be called foolish, but his battle with the dragon is to be considered brave. By the time the dragon wreaks havoc on the kingdom Beowulf is an old man filled with wisdom. He has grown out of his compulsion to find every beast that terrorizes his people because now he is king. A king’s duty is to protect his land and that is what he did. Beowulf fought in the interest of his people, not as an act for glory. That is why his acts are to be considered courageous because in the end he fought to protect his