The Reasoning for Beowulf’s Killing
(An Analysis of why Beowulf Killed The Three Monsters in The Story Beowulf)
Beowulf is an epic poem of a man, who had the strength of 40 men, called Beowulf. He is a Norsemen which were scary, brutal killing men. The tale begins as an oral story, told around campfires and not being written down until several years later. These men live by a code called the Anglo-Saxon code. The code set guidelines on how the Norsemen are supposed to act and behave. This code gave an understanding of the power of a role model, which the men would look to, or in other words, the leader. Beowulf faces three monsters in the poem, and tries to defeat them all. In the epic poem, Beowulf, Beowulf has three motivations for killing the three monsters.
In the story, Beowulf, Beowulf’s motivation to kill the first monster, Grendel, was because of duty. Beowulf travels from his country to Harot in order to fight Grendel because his people knew of his ability to fight, therefore, making it his duty to kill the monster. When Beowulf meets Hrothgar, the aging lord of the Dunes, and gives him information about where he comes from and his background. Obligation is another word associated with duty, which made Beowulf …show more content…
Beowulf was very well known by his people and they seen him as a hero. After going and fighting Grendel and Grendel’s mother, Beowulf was now seen as a hero to more than just his people, thus, giving him glory. The Anglo-Saxon code also stated that a hero must do actions that will gain him glory, therefore, Beowulf was motivated to kill the monsters in order to gain glory. Gaining glory would give the Norsemen fame and also give Beowulf’s country fame. He would gain respect from lords and people would remember his name, even after he’s dead. The Norsemen preferred to die in a battle, which Beowulf was content with if one of the monsters killed him because he would still have