Beowulf Fame and Duty

There are plenty of stories about heroes that have been passed down in different ways. Some stories are forgotten by people but the tale of Beowulf has been remembered and been made into a movie. The story of Beowulf is a worldwide known story, and though, both the poem and the movie talking about the same Beowulf, the Beowulf embodied in the movie is totally different from the Beowulf in the poem, we can see the difference between the two very different character by their responsibility, their value of fame, and the transformation.

First of all, the Beowulf in the poem is far more responsible than the Beowulf in the movie. The Beowulf in the movie is completely different with the Beowulf in the poem when it comes to responsibility. In the movie, Beowulf could avoid the dragon as long as he’s not seduced by Grendel’s mother and have a baby with her. This shows that Beowulf in the movie is not responsible and doesn’t have self-discipline. Not only does Beowulf in the movie have sex with Grendel’s mother instead of killing her, he also lied about what happened. He said that he killed Grendel’s mother and he lost the gold cup, but actually he gave the cup to Grendel’s mother. In contrary, in the poem, Beowulf is more responsible and self-discipline. He kills Grendel’s mother and doesn’t lied about anything he has done. Another example of the difference between the Beowulf in the poem and Beowulf in the movie is that the Beowulf in the movie also has feelings for Hrothgar’s wife, which is not a responsible and self-discipline act since she is already married to someone else. Later in the movie, Beowulf has a mistress since he already has a wife, which is also not how a responsible people should act. In the other hand, the Beowulf in the poem never has any feelings for Hrothgar’s wife and he doesn’t have a mistress either. Which are acts of responsible hero.

Secondly, the difference between how Beowulf value fame is also significant. In the movie Beowulf values fame so much that he loses the moral of a proper hero as a consequence he is not the model for the people in the kingdom. In addition, Grendel’s mother promises Beowulf that he will become the most powerful man living, since Beowulf found himself couldn’t defeat her, he chooses to submit himself to the rule of Grendel’s mother. This shows that he values power and fame more than his duty. Beowulf in the movie values fame more than his duty, and that’s why he lied about killing Grendel’s mother, which is also the reason why the dragon appears. Beowulf is afraid of telling the truth to people because it will damage his reputation. Even though Beowulf in the poem also values fame but he still puts his duty first, using all the methods killing Grendel’s mother and having a death wish killing the dragon when he’s already old. The Beowulf in the poem will never give up to a monster even when he can’t defeat her, Beowulf in the poem will also not be