Beowulf-Beast.page

A people of honor, sophistication, and exultation verses a people of greed, cowardice, and braggarts. The first hails from the north in the eighth century while the later is the generation of people that walk the earth today. It seems a tragedy to see how far the human race has fallen from its pinnacle of magnificence. What's even worse is that these descendants seem to be totally oblivious of their decline in civilization. On the contrary, they seem to believe that they have actually advanced the human race closer to its destiny of being masters of the world! If people would only take the time to study their past, they might be able to rekindle that philosophy of life that would give birth to such men as Beowulf. He was a great warrior whose deeds were recorded in a renowned epic so that all might learn of how courage and skill are honored and rewarded. By studying such texts, one might learn that the people of that time are far more civilized than the people of today.
One of the most prominent points used to classify what makes a people civilized, is having a culture that shows a sense of enlightenment and higher thinking. The Norsemen, the people from which Beowulf came from, had a philosophy of life that amounted to the fact that one should enjoy life everyday, because you could die--quite literally--the next day. They would throw feasts as often as they could, calling in friends to fill their hall while minstrels came from across the land to play for the lords and ladies. This "live every day as it counts," does it sound familiar to anyone from the present? It should since it seems to be the theme of every coffee table book in the world. People have debased so far that they now must read a book on how they should live their life instead of instinctively knowing! Then, compare the members of societies. Long ago people were fit and healthy because their lives depended directly upon their strength and skill, while today powerful nations like America have been proclaimed as having the most obese population in the world. Then there's both societies' view on the world around them. The Norsemen carried the idea of co-existing with nature and honoring it with such events as hunts and festivals. The people of today share the same idea, but they pay homage by cutting down the rainforests and bemoaning all the pollution done by past generations while continuing the same practices. The differences in the cultures have just grown over the years, until they are almost opposite of each other.

The Beast that Calls Itself a Man

Beowulf's Mead Hall

How a culture is developed is based upon the values of the society. Therefore, whichever people have a better set of morals is the more highly developed civilization. For the men from the past, their values were simple and viewed in a very strict manner. One either possessed said morals, or one was one of those lowly curs who wasted their lives as outcasts of society. A true upstanding citizen was supposed to have courage, both physically and mentally. They were to be able to face a beast straight from the gates of hell, as well as be able to stand up for their beliefs, even should those beliefs prove to be unpopular. Those men were to stay true to their bonds of friendship and family, never deserting those friends if they should ever call upon their fellows to help them in their need. But above all else, a Norseman was to have honor. His oaths were taken as truth, and he would fulfill his promise, or else die trying. If someone of his house performed a deed that brought shame to the family, then the Norseman would shoulder that burden and try to right the wrongs in any way possible. A profound difference from what man does today. Present day citizens tend to treat their morals as one would treat a pair of shoes, to be worn until they proved to be uncomfortable. People have only stayed true to those morals that will lead them to wealth. They are the ones who believe that the end justifies the means; that as long as you reach your goal, you shouldn't care how unscrupulous you were to reach it. The next moral has developed so far as to even change the way in which man carries out a war. Long ago, one had to face the person he was killing, sword in hand, and the judgement was based upon their match of skill and strength. Today, a single person can wipe out an entire city with one touch of a button. They have no need of training or preparing themselves for the fact that they will be sending people to their deaths. All they have to do is look at a picture of a cloud and then read the digits that represent the number of people who they killed with their touch. There is no repsponsibility of true guilt that weighs upon that person. There is no connection that comes from looking into a man's eyes as both of you realize the deathblow is coming. In the olden days, when one went to war, you prepared yourself so that if you were to die that day on the field, you would hold no regrets and leave nothing unsaid. In today's time, that button takes away that chance of peace that awaits a warrior once his mind is clear of everything but battle, when his heart is at rest and his step is lifted in excitement for the coming test of skill. There are innocents who along with the combatants when that button is pushed, people who never even entered the conflict that die becuase someone decided that it was far more cost effective to simply bomb a place instead of fighting the actual warriors.

The thing that defines a people the most is their faith. The core of a man is based entirely upon how he views the world around him. To view that world, he is brought up by a system of morals and codes of protocol. These codes and morals are derived from the teachings of prophets and priests of a religion that defines how one can enter into the grace of the deities. If a man has nothing to work toward after death, then they shall enjoy every vice known to man because he faces no consequences after his death. Yet a man who wishes to enter into the realm of his Lord will strive to stay upon a path that is in keeping with the faith of his god. The Norsemen believed in a large family of gods, headed by the fierce All-Father Odin who traded an eye for the wisdom of the universe. Each god was human in the fact that they could be tricked, killed, and even become prey to the emotions of the heart. The Norsemen created these gods because they could connect with them. There was no feeling of unworthiness or such because one could always remember the tales of the gods' embarrassments and follies. The Norsemen were free to worship their gods becuase they truly respected and loved their deities. There was also a sense of earning the respect of the gods in return. The gods of Valhalla would not accept just anyone into their paradise. Only those who were deemed true warriors who had died a hero's death in battle would be admitted past the gates into Asgard. There, the fallen warriors would fight and train until the Raganok, the rebirth of the world, had come. Then they would face all those souls who were not accepted by the gods, lead by Loki, the champion of Chaos, who would strivde to end Odin's rule of Law and end the world. Such was the religion of the old times. To reach Valhalla and fight beside the gods come Raganok, that was the goal of every Norseman. To earn such an honor, one must always be aware of their responsibilities and actions because the gods would not accept anything less than the best. The Norsemen were honest with themselves and their religion, never trying to cover up their love of war and conflict. They would run to battle, becuase every confrontation gave them a chance to prove to the gods their worthines. They did not try and subdue the animal savagery that hides in each person, but instead embraced it with all their soul so that they might enjoy its power and vitality.
The people of today seem to hide their strength behind a religion that praises peace and tranquility, yet their urges can not be contained. Sports like football and events like the WWF try to quell that urge, but still the world remains a sarcastic and bitter place. People often speak of helping their fellow man and seeking peace, yet they shy from strangers and carry guns under their coats. In the cities, people gain the ability to block out all the homeless who sit on the sidewalk, hand outstretched for some kind of aid. The world primarily worships a god that demands peace and passive actions, yet we strike out in anger and bomb our neighbors while our children shoot each other. How can one worship someone who is totally different from what they themselves seem to act and hold true to? Perhaps it is the sense of God is forgiving, surely he will understand why I must choose this instead of keeping my honor to him. When people no longer truly fear the consequences, then there is no incentive to do the right thing and keep close to your vows. The people of today tend to rationalize their every action until it fits their own skewed sense of the world. Once they can justify what they did, then they have no need to fear guilt or retribution. Thus, by keeping a close but respectful bond to their gods, the Norsemen are able to remain true to their human nature and live a life keeping to their morals and way of life. In contrast, the people of today sustain a bond with a god of a total opposite personality and therefore can not remain close to the animal forces that a part of each of us.

That idea of doing whatever is "most convenient for me" is the final leg of what the present world rests upon. The people of the world have forgotten what it is to have honor, to actually care what one promises to do and how one acts. Nation leaders lie to their followers under oath, children shoot classmates, and sex reigns over all aspects of media in an everyday fashion. No one seems to care how their actions affect their families or friends. They simply do what ever seems appropriate at the time and the future be damned! Why should anyone be allowed to decide how I should act after hours? I know I'm the presuident, but I'm also a man! No one likes me at this school, so why should I care about their lives and what happens to them? Why shouldn't I experience sex now? Who cares about my vows to my future spouse; that's a long time away and they won't care anyhow! Such ideas are spoken, perhaps not in the same words, but the underlying thoughts are the same. The people of the past would hang their heads in shame and send offerings to their gods to plead for forgiveness of giving birth to such beasts that their descendants had grown to be. Never in a million years would such thoughts enter the Norsemen's minds, and if by chance it did happen to slip in, never would such a thought ever bear fruit. A people of morals and purity shall reach toward the stars, while a people of sin and abandon shall ever fall back into the depths of the pit that birthed them.

To live a good life, one must remain in touch with their true mentality and keep close to their morals and religion. Without those three pillars, a soul begins to crumble and the disease of corruption will begin to pass to all those around the wasted individual. The Norsemen built strong pillars, from which their civilization flourished and their people remained joyful with their lives. The people of today have built a foundation in the sand, constantly shifting and sinking into oblivion until they will someday only be a ruin on the shore. The people of today change their positions quickly and carelessly, forever seeking a destiny that will never be until they take the time to remember the past: the people, the principles, and above all, the faith.

This was my final Beowulf project. The goal of the assignment was to show my understanding of the Anglo-Saxon culture and the morals represented in Beowulf.