Respecting Morals In Beowulf And Common Sense By Thomas Paine

Navneet Kumar

Respected Morals Many poems have hidden messages for readers to eventually understand. Poems also try to explain when a person is changing, either from good to bad or vice versa. Take for example in Common Sense by Thomas Paine; he argues for American independence and shows that people should be fighting for what they believe is right, their morals. He does not just talk about how strong people can fight for independence. The epic Beowulf is not just depicting a typical warrior saving the day, but that the whole poem is based off morals that define characters while affecting its plot line. Everyday people have to face danger, and they have to show off some type of bravery. Bravery is a huge factor for the characters in Beowulf,

Some would fight for what they believe is right, such as their king, their society, and themselves while others take the bad side and lost themselves by being controlled. In some situations, men show that they would do anything for a great, respectful king, “In the end each clan on the outlying coasts/ beyond the whale-road had to/ yield to him/ and began to pay tribute. That was one good king” (9-11). Men understood that if a king died fighting evil to protect what is good (in this case the king’s people) then they will show their gratitude by thanking him after his death. The one’s that took the side of evil had no way of turning back, “So times were pleasant for the people there/ until finally one, a fiend out/ of hell,/ began to work his evil in the world” (99-101). In this line, one of the antagonists, Grendel, is being described as the one who took the side of evil, coming to destroy all that comes in his way, showing no mercy. There are those that show that they will fight for good no matter what, such as Beowulf:

I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea./ As I sat in the boat with my band of men,/ I meant to perform to the uttermost/ what your/ people wanted or perish in the attempt,/ in the fiend's clutches. And/ I shall fulfill that purpose,/ prove myself with a proud deed/ or meet my death here in the mead-hall.

Without god, society in the middle ages did not have a purpose for living. In Beowulf’s society, god and faith determines if the person will live or not, “Whichever one death fells/ must deem it a just judgment by God” (440-441). God determines if one will live, depending on the deeds they commit. During battle, talking about god was natural, “No need then/ to lament for long or lay out my body:/ if the battle take/ me, send back/ this breast-webbing that Weland fashioned/ and Hrethel/ gave me, to Lord Hygelac./ Fate goes ever as fate must" (450-455). Men believe that fate decides if they will survive the battle or not, and this is significant because men put their whole faith into god and trust the “Almighty” with all of their life. When a man commits a bad deed, people believe that god shall determine what outcome this person must face, “Like a man outlawed/ for wickedness, he must await/ the mighty judgment of God in majesty" (976-978). If a person is to show disloyalty or make wrong decisions, they are punished in the name of god. With god and fate used throughout a person’s everyday life, they do not have any regrets in putting their faith into