Motivation In Beowulf

Motivations

(The analysis of Beowulf’s motivations for his actions.)

“Feeling important makes one heavy, clumsy, and vain. To be a warrior one needs to be light and fluid,” Carlos Castaneda. For the Angelo Saxon Warriors, “Fighting was a way of life, and not to avenge the death of a family member was a social disgrace, so endlessly intricate blood-feuds generated perpetual excuses for going to war.” (Mursell, Gordon, 1997)These people believed they must work together to fight, not one individual is more powerful. Beowulf learned this later, his first two battles he fought alone, but he soon realized he could not do it alone, he needed help. He received a lot of the glory; however, he had much help. He was a true leader and warrior, because in the end he died for his people. In the epic of Beowulf, Beowulf has three main motivations for his actions.

The first motivation that Beowulf has is the action to gain glory; also, because he feels it is his duty. Gory is praise, or being thought of in a good way; duty means

obligated, or you feel you must do it. Beowulf sees that the Danes are in trouble, and it is his duty to go and fight for them; even though he has never met them. His people have told him that since he has the power to help them he must go forth and do it, he does not have a choice for he is helping those in need. Beowulf, then, understands that it is his duty, and then sees all the glory he can bring upon his family lineage. The honor is no just the individuals, like I said; it also goes to their family. Just like glory is important to Beowulf, glory is central to the Greek character. Greek heroes must live their lives according to glory. It is the epic war that takes the lives of numerous men. The fall of Troy is “a thing… whose glory shall perish never” (Homer, Iliad 2.324). The goal of both the Greeks and Beowulf is shown by them not being afraid of death, and by letting nothing get in their way. Glory is what defines a true hero, and Beowulf shows this perfectly.
Beowulf’s second motivation in his actions is to be a hero. What does it mean to be a hero? Why do we need heroes? Also what inspires us about certain people and makes us hold them up as examples of greatness? This man tells of it beautifully, “The truth is that we look up to people who make a difference to our lives while at the same time overcoming personal struggle and hardship to achieve that goal. We admire their bravery and dedication; we aspire to be as courageous and focused as they are to achieve what they set out to do. So being a hero isn't necessarily about achievement only. It's the effect that their achievement has on the rest of us and what we can learn from the struggle and hardship they underwent. They are what we could call exemplars - they are people who demonstrate high standards of character and dedication and who inspire us to achieve the highest that we can in order to emulate them.” (Ramen, Neel, 2007) That is exactly how we look to superheroes today, they do something in our lives that we think is a big deal, because of the way they do it. We think that they are such courageous people, so we strive to follow their example. Beowulf shows courage and bravery in the Beowulf epic in lines 896-901 he states, “Sorrow not, brave one! Better for man to avenge a friend than much to mourn. All men must die: let him who may win glory ere death. That guerdon is best for the noble man when his name survives him.” He is talking to the King of the Danes here, my favorite part is the ending about a man is noble when his name survives him. Beowulf really wants to leave a lasting legacy; he wants people to talk about him years after he is dead.
Lastly, Beowulf feels he must leave a legacy behind him.

Beowulf as he walks in, to talk to the King of the Danes, tells him of what we would call today as a resume. Instead of writing it all down, he tells the King of all his accomplishments, and talks of his families’ legacy. This shows that Beowulf has much respect for the king and how he presents himself is important. Beowulf wants to do his duty and create a lasting legacy, “Legacy-building is about the big picture. It focuses us on the long term and gives us values by which we can judge our actions. If you are in a role of power and influence, who will you pass it on to? Do you believe this is a responsibility of leadership?” (McElroy, Ken, 2014) It is not going to be easy, but he believes he can do it, and he does. At the end of the epic, they build a tower for him, that they look at every day and talk of his many accomplishments he had. He created the ideal legacy with his

motivations.
In conclusion, Beowulf fights his battles courageously. That is such an important thing to do, for he pushes himself for what he believes in. his three top motivations are: one, is doing his duty to gain the glory, he does this not only for himself, but because he want to be the hero everyone looks up to. Also, he wants to create a lasting legacy for himself. This is an important factor and something he truly strives for, he wants this because he has been taught since he was a young boy to live a life that will live in his generations to come. People will look at his grand kids and think, wow that young man did so much for himself, his people, and his family. The people actually build a tower for him, just as he asks, because that is how badly he wants to be remembered. ”Courage is something that everybody wants- an attribute of good character that makes us worthy of respect. From the Bible to fairy tales; ancient myths to Hollywood movies, our culture is rich with exemplary tales of bravery and self-sacrifice for the greater good. From the cowardly lion in, The Wizard of Oz, who finds the courage to face the witch, to David battling Goliath in the Bible, to Star Wars and Harry Potter, children are raised on a diet of heroic and inspirational tales.” (Greenburg, Merideth, 2014) I like this because it is true, this is how we look for our heroes in the past and also the present.