Examples Of Motivations For Beowulf

Beowulf’s Motivations There are a lot of questions many people may find themselves asking about why Beowulf does what he does. Why does he only choose to do good things with his mighty strength when he could do whatever he wanted with it? What does he have to gain by being a good person throughout the whole poem? The answer to these questions all lead back to one simple statement. Beowulf has three motivations that make him do good things; these include an obligation to sacrifice himself, wanting to be a hero, and wanting to leave behind something for his people. First of all, Beowulf has an obligation to sacrifice himself. Throughout the poem, he feels as if he should sacrifice his life for the people who weren’t even his. For example, on page 48, Beowulf said, “That this one favor you should not refuse me- That I, alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall.” He walked up to the king and started bragging about himself and how he is willing to kill Grendel, even if it meant he lost his life. He was in a way, begging for respect because if he did end up dying, he would have gotten respect before he left the Earth. Beowulf was actually looking for ways to have people remember him. He has the ability to do something that he would be …show more content…
In the poem on page 53, Beowulf said, “I shall shape glory with Hrunting, or death will hurry me from this Earth!” Some people may argue about our world still needing heros, whether that’s in stories, movies, or real life. However, children grow up these days trying to be like the people they see. They have role models and want to be just like them when they grow up. Beowulf was living in such a way that makes the younger generation of kids want to be like him and making people of the older generation give him respect. He was setting up an example for people all over the world, making them want to be a hero just like