The Allegory In The Beowulf Poem

“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” An excerpt from Erich Fromm, a German-born American social psychologist, and Humanistic philosopher who studies individuals good and bad mental states by observing their emotions, cognitive, and social behavior. By definition, Greed is the intense and selfish desires for something, especially wealth, power, and or food. It is an Unappealing trait that ideals in civilization.which can cause individuals to yearn to be too greedy which can lead to many downfalls in a person's life or in this instance a characters life. In Beowulf, the author uses Allegory to sculpt how greed lead Beowulf to his death, which shows how the dirty desires that linger in humanity to excel no matter the cost.

To begin with, Beowulf, if you didn't know already, is an Old English epic poem. Which is by far the oldest surviving long story written in old English based on a character. Beowulf grew up with the Gates until he was old enough to choose to leave and pick his own path. The destination he chooses to go to was to King Hrothgar to save him and his people from a demon named Grendel. Now, Grendel is a monster that shows no remorse against killing and eating the Danes. Though the reason he is so hateful towards the Danes was that he was personally exiled from humanity for the way he looked and acted. Beowulf saw this as an opportunity to grow his legend. Beowulf is a very boastful person who wants nothing more than fame and wealth. Ever since Beowulf defeated Grendel his boastfulness soared substantially as he received rewards for his successes. He got money and fame which made him hungry and, greedy for glory “The cup was carried to him, kind words/ Spoken in welcome and a wealth of wrought gold/ graciously bestowed: two arm bangles, a mail-shirt and rings, and the most resplendent/ torque of gold ever heard tell of/ anywhere on earth or under heaven” (Raffel53). Grendel was just another check off of Beowulf’s accomplishments. In the fight with Grendel Beowulf `s character exhibits confidence. Which then shows that he needs no help defeating a creature of darkness, and to prove this he needs and wants a trophy, Grendels arms, to display how well he’s done and to prove his win and worth.

Furthermore, as the book prolongs Beowulf`s legacy grew vigorously until his unenviable death. In a study conducted by Mussel and his colleagues, they learned that greedier people struggled to learn from their mistakes.When their experimentation on people started to come to an end they found out that greedy people tend to ignore warning signals from the brain – and therefore, take on higher risks. And as Beowulf got older it became visible that he lost the spark he once had when he was younger. Nevertheless, he continued to strive to be the best. Until he faced the root of all evil, the dragon. In spite of everything, he knew that he had to defeat the dragon even if it had cost him his life. Although his fight still took valor from him, brought on a different hero in Beowulf, a hero who was genuinely fighting for the protection of his people. All good things do come to an end, but Before Beowulf dies he explains to Wiglaf, “ Now that I have bartered by last breath to own this fortune, it is up to you to look after their needs” With that said, He finally did something that wasn't out of greed but, out of the pure kindness of his heart. But was it all worth it in the end?

To conclude, there is a thin line between success-driven and greedy. But Beowulf was exceptionally glad for himself and what he had done. Be that as it may, it was never adequate, and he kept on hunting down more greatness to fulfill himself. Every triumph energized his longing for more pride, and he kept on hunting down fights to accomplish the status he needed for himself. His hunt drove him to his demise, and his pride and ravenousness unavoidably caused his ruin.