Theme Of Self Reliance In Beowulf

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Beowulf is brimming with a variety of symbols, motifs, and themes. When examined through a through an analytical lens, it is obvious that the poem uses simplicity to reveal much deeper meaning. Beowulf’s slaying of monsters is not transparent, on the contrary, the majority of the text’s substance is found within the encounters that Beowulf has with these creatures. The hero’s encounter with the dragon is an allusion to the sin of greed, while his battles against the monsters in general show his heroic nature. In addition, the events in the story show Beowulf’s internal struggle of simultaneously being a hero and a king and the importance of self-reliance. Beowulf’s combat against the various monsters in the text show his true heroic nature, …show more content…

Throughout the text, there are many examples of a moment in which a character has to rely on themselves and cannot employ the help of others. This theme is illustrated in the constant failure of swords in the poem. Often, when Beowulf uses a sword it fails him, in other situations he chooses to not use a sword at all. Before his fight with Grendel Beowulf announces “I count myself no less active in battle…I will not send [Grendel] to sleep with my sword…this night, [we] / shall forego the use of weapons” (90-91). Beowulf chooses to not use weapons as a showing of pride, he wants to fight Grendel without a perceived advantage, the most important aspect of this battle for Beowulf is pride. Having the egotistical nature of a hero, Beowulf is confident in his abilities and believes he will easily emerge victorious. As a result, he would like to gain as much fame from defeating Grendel as possible and chooses to face him in hand to hand combat. Even when Beowulf entrusts a weapon it fails him, in the fight with Grendel’s mother Beowulf “whirled his blade, / swung his arm with all his strength… his gleaming blade could not bite into her flesh” (112). Beowulf was battling with Hrunting, a sword said to have never failed in battle until that point. After the hero realizes his blade is useless, he decides to “[trust] in his own strength” (112). The emphasis on self-reliance becomes obvious in the word “trust”, one should not have to rely on outside forces to face their challenges. It is important to have the strength to overcome obstacles alone, even when Beowulf finds a new sword among the creature’s horde of treasure and decapitates Grendel’s mother, the sword melts at the touch of her blood. If Beowulf did not have the strength to slay her with one strike, the second sword would have been rendered useless and Beowulf could easily have met his demise. Beowulf his victorious by his strength and

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