Socrates had an idea of what courage looked like. He also had an idea of what could be perceived as courage, but wasn't really hitting the mark.
In a philosophy class I took freshman year, we talked about what constituted courage based onLaches and other old Greek guys ideas that are still considered. The example we used was bull-fighting. Bear with me here. If someone enters a bullfight, why are they doing it? Is it for fame? Rewards? Pride? If they are entering the bullfight for selfish reasons, that's not courage, because courage (as we defined it in class) is risking your own life without any promise of reward, for someone who didn't do anything FOR you.
I may be rambling a little, but long story short, Beowulf doesn't fall into that definition of courage, he's doing it for a reward. Not that that even matters, because who cares if Beowulf is courageous? Is that even relevant to the story? Probably not.
But even when you think about whether or not he is brave, I say no again. I made a grave error and didn't mark the page, but in the book there is a comment about Beowulf that he is "indifferent to death". Then to me, by default he's not brave. Bravery suggests some kind of courage in risking your life to save others, and if Beowulf isn't really scared of dying, is he a brave man?
Alright, well that concludes my ramblings about Beowulf's courage/bravery/lack thereof. I hope it made sense/was a somewhat interesting take!
You've been doing really well in class! I'm especially impressed by how good you were at the name repetition thing. This definition of courage wouldn't fit the definition of courage that was prevalent in Beowulf's culture, but I really like it, and I agree that it doesn't fit Beowulf in the slightest.
ReplyDeleteAfter your argument of Beowulf not being brave, I do agree with you...I would say that he was more audacious than brave. He may not have been fighting these monsters solely for the safety of the people, even though he was frightened for his life, which would constitute true bravery. However, he was going into the battles at least knowing that they were risky situations for him...so, while he may not have been brave, Beowulf was definitely very bold and willing to take action.
ReplyDeleteWell of course Beowulf does his “heroic deeds” for money, treasure, and rewards; doings so is his job, it is how he makes a living. If Beowulf did not go around and kill beasts for money or a place to sleep and eat, and instead did it for free, he would have no way of sustaining himself. Therefore, I think that basing whether or not he displays courage by the fact if he kills monsters for free does not quite work. I personally believe that Beowulf does display multiple acts of courage, whether he does them in a smart many or not is an entirely different story. Being a “hero” is the kind of life that is perfect for men like Beowulf—it is engrained in him. Even after he gets the cushiony job of being a king, he still unable to stay away from fighting these grand magical beings.
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