Theme Of Pride In Beowulf

Pride is something everyone posses or obtains throughout his or her life. Pride can be beneficial, the reminder of one’s achievements to help sustain one during a time of distress, or while proving oneself to another. In contrast, pride can also be detrimental to a situation. One’s boastfulness can cloud his or her vision and make every environment seem like one advantageous to that person. Pride can even lead to a death, whether that be physical or metaphorical. As a result of excessive plume, the companions one has may turn against him or her. In a time of humility, one’s acquaintances will remain trusting in him and remain so without falter. Despite this, if one relishes in his or her accomplishments and become enamored with him or herself, …show more content…
His humility is evident throughout the beginning of the epic; he knows God controls all of his world, and even though his blessings are plentiful, there is an ever-present probability that he will die. As the epic progresses on, he blinds himself with the victory gained from his battle with Grendel, and takes his strength for granted when he grapples with Grendel’s mother. Eventually he becomes so fulfilled with himself, when a dragon burns down his home, he does not even view fighting it with a small army as an old man as a threat and a deathwish. Incidentally, as his pride grows, the loyalty of his squad deteriorates. His men have an extreme amount of trust in him during the brawl with Grendel, one warrior even sacrificing his life for the protection of the mead-hall and Beowulf. After that fight, however, they begin to lose faith in him. When Beowulf takes on Grendel's mother in her underwater lair, killing her and beheading her son’s corpse, a wave of blood surfaces, which leads the people above to believe Beowulf has died. Although he does not, and the company celebrates his return, their instant assumption that Beowulf could not make it clearly conveys their slow decline in their belief in him. Lastly, Beowulf’s dragon-fighting sentry, a carefully-picked group of young combatants, desert him once his sword fails him and the dragon’s anger swells even more so. The depiction of Beowulf’s pridefulness and the reliability of Beowulf’s team from the beginning to the end of the epic truly exhibits the idea if one grows too proud, the aftermath could be