Materialism In Beowulf

We humans have come to the conclusion that we are forever evolving. Many literary works were created to preserve world views throughout the ages. Looking back, we learn about the values of the people who were before our time. There is a stark contrast between the cultures of the medieval world and those of modern civilization; in the fold epic Beowulf (Heaney) and the movie Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson). In these, examples there are clear differences between the materialism and idealism of the past and present. The movie resembles how modern ideas of heroism can also mean feeling sympathy for one’s antagonist, while the epic representing past ideas entitle the hero to be ruthless; the differences are proof that every time period perceives situations such as good and evil with disparity. As values change, cultures change, and

these changes become reflected in the characters found in a culture’s literary works. This truism is especially applicable to the story of Beowulf.
The idealism of heroism during the middle ages was, every warrior must die in battle in order to receive honor and glory for his past actions, if one did not then he would be considered unworthy. On the contrast modern idealism of heroism does not entitle the hero to act that way. Modern times are willing to accept how diverse a person’s disposition can be. In the epic Beowulf (Heaney), the main character, Beowulf, is known as the typical hero ready to save the day. He comes from out of the blue; answering the worrisome call of the Danes. He then claims that him and his thanes soul purpose is to kill the troubled brute and return the Dane’s merry lives back to normal. Only one side of Beowulf is shown throughout the epic, which is his noble warrior phase. Beowulf has no mercy for the weak or the monster who created chaos in a admired village. Strong and confident in his decisions; enough to fight Grendel unarmed and be successful. The motion picture conveys this as well, but adds some modern twists. In Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson), Beowulf comes to the Heorot to help the troubled people but in this modern piece you see more sides of Beowulf. He starts off in a resilient manner but gradually his demeanor shifts. Once Beowulf starts to understand Grendel he learns to have compassion for the brute. For example, In the movie the witch becomes the translator, she is in the middle of both worlds. Beowulf gets aggravated that Grendel would not fight him when confronted. The witch explains that Grendel is just a misunderstood creature and that there has no reason to fight him when Beowulf has done nothing to him. When Grendel finally perishes, Beowulf learns that Grendel had a son, and felt new compassion for him. Before Beowulf leaves Daneland he constructs a finally resting place for Grendel; in order to acknowledge his life and the reasons why he did what he did.
The idealism of antagonism in the middle ages between good and evil could convey a multitude of possibilities. If you were seen as doing the opposite of what everyone else was doing; worshiping another god, not listening to the king, or causing complete chaos, it would result in the labeling of evil. In modern times, antagonism would just mean going against the main character in the story. Grendel in general in the beginning is known as the enemy in both examples but later the perspective will be changed. Grendel in the epic was known as just being the monster who would terrorize the villagers, considered to be brought about from a descendent of Cain. Grendel started wrecking havoc on the Daneland because the merriness of the great hall disturbed him. There was no particular reason for Grendel to be the villain he was just casted into that role. On the other hand, In the movie Grendel has a purpose for acting the way he does. The movie has additional characters, one of them being Grendel’s father. It shows that Grendel’s father was being chased by King Hrothgar and his thanes. King Hrothgar killed Grendel’s father right in front of him. He saw Grendel but just left him alone to fend for himself. This foretold us that Grendel would get vengeance for his father’s death.
Materialism is shown from beginning to end in the literary works of Beowulf (Heaney) and Beowulf and Grendel(Gunnarsson).

In the middle ages we believe that gold and other physical possessions determine one’s value. Currently we understand that there is more to offer someone than just material objects. The king can be discerned from all of the garish clothing and embellishments he wears. King Hrothgar in the epic is all about having the most elaborate of items. He bequeaths armor and gold to the defeaters of Grendel, Beowulf and his mighty thanes. This materialism displays that only the noblest have the high quality belongings. Another sense of materialism in the epic was when Beowulf kept Grendel’s claw after their fight. This action infers that Beowulf would not have gotten the credit if he did not show some sort of proof to the Danes. Beowulf is very fond of his sword. Later in the epic he duels the dragon and relies on his sword to help defeat the creatures like always. The sword was a big part of his life. It was always there to help Beowulf when he needed it and once it did not work on the dragon, Beowulf was in complete

shock.
A good example of materialism of current perception is in the motion picture Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson), when Grendel kept his father’s head. We see similar concepts to this in modern times. In modern times we think that we will have eternity with people who are dear to us but when that dream is shattered and our eyes are open to the harsh reality that they can leave us in a blink of an eye. We tend to keep items of the people who have left us in replace for their actual beings. Because Grendel lost his father so young, he really needed some type of physical remembrance in order to provide a sense of presence. Grendel had kept his father’s head in good condition all the way to when he was fully matured into a grownup. When the Geats went into his home in the cave and destroyed the skull Grendel became furious. He felt like he lost all connections to his father so of course he was going to take action; fueled with the bitter hate from the very beginning of the movie. Same goes for Grendel’s mother, the sea brute. In the movie she gets revenge on the Geats and Danes who helped kill Grendel. Grendel’s mother kept his body in her lair because like Grendel, she did not want to let go. When Beowulf came and tried to disturb his body, Grendel’s mother assumed he was trying to disrespect him once again. She wanted to make sure no more harm would come to his body that she died trying to protect it.
Thanks to recording our cultural changes through literary works we are capable of attaining the values of the past. We can differentiate ourselves from each other because of how we perceive certain situations and conflicts. In the middle ages there were simple yet drastic reactions. In modern times, we tend to be more considerate and complex. The literary works of the story Beowulf help us to understand the shift in materialism and idealism of the past and present. Beowulf (Heaney) and Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson) use the same baseline but are completely different in retrospect due to the time periods they were created in. In conclusion we are left with the truism when values change, cultures change, and we will continue to change until the end of time.