Why Is Pride Important In Beowulf

Pride Conquers Teamwork

Throughout the epic poem of Beowulf, the main character is faced with numerous evils, in which he chooses to fight all by himself. At times, one would think pride is a great thing to have, but sometimes it is good to ask for help. The hero Archetype, Beowulf, comes from the great land of Geatland and travels to Daneland to defeat the manslaughterer that is roaming the country. Although Beowulf arrives at Daneland with his boat loaded with Geat warriors, he does not plan on needing/using them. In fact, while Beowulf was battling Grendel, “All of Beowulf’s/ Band had jumped from their beds, ancestral/ Swords raised and ready, determined/ To protect their prince if they could. Their courage/ Was great but all wasted…”

(794-797). As indicated by this quote, the Geatland warriors knew they would in all likelihood, not be needed for the battle against Grendel. Beowulf also knew he was not going to need his men in that fight, but would that last forever? The next beast Beowulf conquered was Grendel’s mother. He went after her with great pride, knowing “...Beowulf and fear/ Were strangers; he stood ready to dive into battle.” (1471-1472). Undoubtedly, he did just that, Beowulf dove into the lake with not a care in the world, and unsurprisingly he was able to kill her. Yes, he did struggle a little bit, but he got the job done without assistance from his fellow warriors. Daneland was remarkably grateful for Beowulf’s outstanding work and rewarded him with riches to take back to his country. Just as
Beowulf returned to Geatland, the king asked him to take his place and after turning it down for a long time, Beowulf finally took the offer. As the reader knows, Beowulf’s warriors have never truly fought, so as one would think, they would not be prepared when Beowulf actually needed them. Consequently, the day Beowulf never thought would come, finally came while he was fighting with the dragon. His men knew he was not going to be able to execute the dragon by himself, so “None of his comrades/ Came to him, helped him, his brave and noble/ Followers; they ran for their lives, fled/ Deep in a wood.” (2596-2599). Even as Beowulf was dying, he chose pride over companionship, he did not thank Wiglaf for being there for him, but instead chose to ask to be buried with all of the treasure. Such great qualities can be learned from Beowulf, but one thing that should not be learned from him is the over confidence in himself and not enough in his men.