Virtue and Community in Beowulf

Virtue and Community in Beowulf

Option 1

David Williams

LIT/2325

May 14, 2016

Professor Joanne Eachran

Being Good in Beowulf’s World

I think that there are various aspects in this story that fall under what it means to be good. I think loyalty and devotion are a huge part of being a good person. In those times warriors, like Beowulf, were very loyal to their lords and kings. The hero is thought to be someone who does good for their community and helps it in times of need. That person puts their life aside for the sake of others, to do what is necessary in order to solve any problem that may arise. As Beowulf stepped up to the plate to volunteer to fight the demon, this is seen as courage and loyalty to the king and the community. I believe that this is a focal point of what it takes to be a good person in this story. It also follows along the lines of the heroic code mentioned in the story. We can also point out that good in these times would mean someone who is very difficult to defeat or maybe even dominate in nature. Beowulf also portrays this attribute in the way that he won so many battles and conquered so many other warriors and monsters. We can also see that same attribute in the king as he was a powerful ruler and dominated the entire land. He was able to defeat many other nations and forces to secure wealth from them. Again, attributes which would be considered making a person to be good in those times. Being generous, in my opinion, is yet another thing that is considered to make a person fall under the “good” category. In the story the King distributes wealth to his warriors. He expects them to be loyal to him and in turn he showers them with many treasures. Whenever a battle is won and treasures are found, he handed out the treasures according to their ability or what they accomplished during battle.

Relationship Between Prowess and Ethical Virtue

I think that the relationship between individual prowess and ability and ethical virtue is shown in Beowulf’s character quit distinctively. His character shows that he was a very talented person but did not really possess moral ethicalness. Though this is true about Beowulf, he still becomes a very powerful and smart warrior. However, a sense of pride overwhelms him, and he is not really able to stray away from what is keeping him down. He continues to want to be a great king and leader and hopes that his reputation will live on even after his death. The problem with that is that