Examples Of Sexism In Beowulf

After the dragon made all the other "troops break ranks and run for their lives," Wiglaf "is ready to enter the line of battle with his Lord," (Haney 2598, 2625). The weak blood-based bond of Comitatus has broken, and the troops have abandoned Beowulf. Wiglaf is the only warrior who shows true Comitatus. Wiglaf becomes the perfect companion and a shining example of "Comitatus". All of the other troops lack Comitatus and run away out of fear for their lives.

In the article, Beowulf’s Androgynous Heroism, The author tells us that Beowulf is one of the “most memorable in his capacity as the masculine warrior and king.” (Robert Morrey, Beowulf’s Androgynous Heroism, University of Illinois Press) Even though he had no feminine companion beside him, he still fulfilled his roles, as he should have. Beowulf was authentically strong and unquestionably capable of standing up, even when nobody else could. He was able to stand up and arrest control when need be. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, he was struggling to be the best he could be until Enkidu died, his best friend.

Beowulf was the person who would take up for people that could not fend for themselves. Beowulf 's courage was so

Beowulf becomes honorable when he says: “O shelterer warriors and people’s loved friend, that this one favor should not refuse me that I alone, and with the help of my men may purge all evil from this hall. I have too, that the monster scorn of men is so great that need no weapons and fear none” (258-263). Beowulf means that he going to fight the monster Grendel using only hands because it's not fair using weapons. Beowulf is trying to get all the fame and glory defeating the monster but anybody can kill using weapons, Beowulf uses his hands. This shows how honorable Beowulf is.

He outright rejects feminine traits ergo, his character propagates ideals to the audience. In addition, the ability to sacrifice one’s life is tied directly to masculinity. When Grendel’s mother is seeking revenge for her son and needs to be killed, Unferth does not portray manly will. Thus, he is described as “not man enough/ to face the turmoil of a fight… and to risk his life”(1468-70). Through contrasting Beowulf’s readiness to kill Grendel’s mom and Unferth’s lack thereof, manliness is even more yearned for.

In Beowulf women are seen a force of destruction: 8the action or process of killing or being killed, the cause of someone's ruin. 4They are mainly characterized as a monster avenging her son. In doing this she manages to destroy not only a kingdom but the king himself (lines 1321-1344). Leaving him brooding over a friend’s death not to mention the many innocent people she killed when she attacked his throne room. Even Beowulf-the

In the poem of Beowulf, the depiction of femininity is largely relegated to small, inconsequential roles. In this poem women are not given much literary real-estate, and if there is mention of a female figure, it is dependent on and often in congruency to the actions or the mention of a male figure. I argue that in Beowulf, femininity is seen as the antithesis of masculinity. And as such, a feminine character must rely on being tied to a male character, or if there is a stand-alone female character, their actions are measured against the social concept of masculinity. This leads to a further argument of: womanhood, and therein femininity, can only be expressed when it is juxtaposed against the occurrence of masculinity or a male figure.

In the epic poem “Beowulf” the character Beowulf is the foundation for all of our modern heroes, but was he really a great hero? A hero is classified as a person who is admired for their bravery, achievements, or nobility. Although Beowulf displays all these qualities, there are several reasons he is not a hero, mainly him being egotistical and arrogant. This is why Beowulf is not a heroic person. Beowulf is often caught bragging about himself and his great accomplishments.

The continued honor shown in Beowulf’s character shines through when Beowulf never mentions that Unferth’s trusted sword was no match for Grendel’s mother. Beowulf could have simply boasted how the sword was useless and ineffective against the female beast, yet he was silent out of respect for Unferth. Finally, during Beowulf’s time as ruler (fifty winters), another beast arrives: a dragon. This time, Beowulf is much older and is in a much weaker state than when he first defeated Grendel and his mother. However, that does not deter Beowulf from going out and defending his kingdom.

Beowulf makes known that “no man but [himself] could hope to defeat this monster, [and] no one could try.” Beowulf wants to have this fight all to himself, so he can take all of the glory. He is too selfish to conclude that only he could defeat the monster alone. Beowulf cannot be thought of as a hero because “Beowulf only longed for fame.” Beowulf does not perform heroic deeds just to save the citizens, but to receive more admiration from the citizens.

In the article, ‘Lessons in Manliness from Beowulf’, it says, “A man is defined by his actions (or lack thereof)... Beowulf himself proves the integrity of his intentions by recalling how he has long defended his own people from many enemies” (Paragraph 4-5). We should be

First of all, despite the fact that men are highly emphasized in Beowulf, women are highly absent in the story. Even within the first couple of sentences, the style and wording create an atmosphere in which

Some critics have argued that “women had no place in the masculine, death-centered world of Beowulf”. Probably because of the importance of male heroism in this poem, the significance of women is reduced. The women have a huge role in Beowulf. The women's role has to do with carrying the mead cup and to pass it to the kings and warriors. This apparently unimportant task is more revealing than we may think; it establishes a hierarchy in the hall.

A hero does not fight for fame and glory but for the greater good. A hero is someone who goes through adversity to help others in desperate times. A hero fights evil, and defends people. Beowulf should be considered a hero because he is a strong, brave warrior who defended his people and slayed evil monsters. Beowulf proves himself to be a strong, brave warrior by killing Grendel the monster.

It is true that Beowulf is strong, a fair person, a hero, a monsters slayer, the strongest of them all, but the story also reminds us that Beowulf is still a man, who is then basically, made to be attracted to a woman and fulfillment of his pride. In the story of Beowulf, I had cited 2 instances were Beowulf failed to overcome his test that causes him to his dreadful end, which is synonymous to what we usually fail to surpass too. First is when he went into the devil’s cave to kill the mother. His purpose there is to kill the devil, but then it turned out that because the devil transformed into a beautiful maiden, he forgot everything and fall into the witches’ enchantment, he failed to overcome the bewitchment of the lady, after hearing all the promises and the greatness he may get, he seemed to be a different person for he easily falls in the temptation.