Theme Of Character Flaws In Beowulf

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“Every person has negative character traits that they struggle with and should continue to improve. That’s part of being human (Thomas). Every person who has lived has had to battle against human character flaws like anger, jealously, wrath, and greed, over the span of their life. Nations, world leaders, down to the average person has had their downfall due to these negative character flaws. The three monsters in Beowulf each represent a specific flaw in human character with Grendel representing envy, Grendel’s mother representing wrath, and the dragon representing greed, and each show the consequences of said character flaws. Beowulf is a poem written in Old English and is the oldest surviving work written in this language. It is considered …show more content…

Greed is defined as excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions (dictionary.com). The dragon gives a clear representation of greed because over the years he has built a large treasure-trove and he reacts in anger when one of his treasures is stolen. This treasure-trove contains an abundance of wealth and it is no use for anyone. He hoards it for no other reason than to keep it for himself and away from everyone else. One day a piece of his treasure, a goblet, was stolen while he was asleep. “When the dragon awoke, trouble flared again. He ripped down the rock, writhing with anger when he saw the footprints of the prowler who had stolen too close to his dreaming head” (Puchner, 1286). The dragon’s greed caused him to fly into a rage at the thought of one missing treasure. He started to scorch the ground and everything else. “The dragon began to belch out flames and burn bright homesteads.” The consequences of the dragon acting out in greed were total destruction for the people. Their lives and homes were destroyed. The consequence for the dragon was the destruction of his life. Beowulf was sent on a mission to kill the dragon. The dragon lost the battle and his

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