The Warrior Lifestyle
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The Warrior Lifestyle In the story “Beowulf”, written by Burton Raffle, takes place during the Anglo-Saxon period. Keep in mind that the Anglo-Saxon society placed a great emphasis on warrior culture. Beowulf the main character does a great job of displaying this. In the story King Hrothgar of Denmark builds a mead-hall called Heorot. This is basically a place where his warriors can gather and drink and party with each other. Well the noise of Heorot angers Grendel, who is a demon who lives in the swamplands. Grendel terrorizes Heorot every night by killing them and this goes on for many years. When Beowulf first hears news that the Heorot is under attack by some creature, Grendel, he immediately takes arms, a small group of men, and travels to Heorot, to kill the beast. Beowulf embraces warrior culture and the values of the warrior lifestyle. When Beowulf shows up and presents his idea to King Hrothgar, he holds a feast in honor of Beowulf. At the feast a Dane named Unferth accuses Beowulf of being unworthy. Beowulf responds by saying, “ King Hrothgar, because all knew of my
awesome strength. They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea brutes Now I mean to be a match for Grendel, settle the outcome in single combat” (Raffle). He is boasting about his accomplishments in the past. He is trying to show that he is a true warrior and likes to stand up against beast-like enemies. A good warrior’s values are supporting his people through the pursuit of personal fame, whether on the battlefield, or showing of strength, or even by seeking out conflict. All of which Beowulf shows throughout the story. When Grendel shows up again in the story to terrorize Heorot, Beowulf and him fight, but Beowulf doesn’t fight Grendel with a weapon, only his hands. Beowulf rips his arm off and and kills Grendel. Beowulf shows how strong he truly is and boasts about it: “Hanging high/ From the rafters where Beowulf had hung it, was/ the monsters/ Arm, claw, and shoulder and all” (Raffle). This shows the true strength of Beowulf because he didn’t even need a weapon to defeat this creature that has been killing the Kings people for years now. As the story goes on Beowulf gets older and becomes a king. One final dispute happens when Beowulf goes to battle with a dragon who has attacked his kingdom: “I risked my life often when I was young. Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning” (Raffle). This shows Beowulf, even as an old man, as the ideal warrior, he will not back down from anything that threatens him or his people. But not every great