“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” This quote by T. S. Elliot tells us that in order to find out how far someone can go in life taking risks is a must in truly living. Taking risks could be small or large, difficult or easy, but in order to advance in what you want to achieve in life taking risks will get you where you want to be. In the stories and passages Beowulf, The Deep by Anthony Doerr, and Blackheat by Mark Brazaitis all prove to give an accurate description of how important taking risks are in a person’s life. These passages all have something to do with taking risks such as, The Deep, Tom takes risks in his order to truly live; Beowulf, the epic hero, takes risks in order to protect …show more content…
Throughout Beowulf’s adventures, he must take risks in order to protect the Geats. In all the three parts of the story, with his fight with Grendel’s mother, Grendel, and the dragon, Beowulf took risks so that he could gain glory, fame, and power by defeating some of the most powerful creatures known to man. Beowulf, already claiming to be powerful, approaches the Danes and tells them “...my duty was to go to the Danes’ Great king. [My people] have seen my strength for themselves, have seen me rise from the darkness of war, dripping from the enemies’ blood.” (151-153) Beowulf must defeat Grendel’s mother at the bottom of the lake in order to protect his people. “He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s answer;” (450-451) When …show more content…
The risks Tom makes is him trying his best to make the best of his short life span, and live his life to fullest. A example of this is when Tom sees Ruby at a small marsh and she asks him to help give her air through a hose and air pump. “One minute, two minutes. Tom pumps. His fragile heart does its work. He should not be here.”(178-179). Originally, Tom was supposed to be going to the butchers, which is his one time a day he goes outside. But Tom decides to take the risk of veering off from his daily activities, and takes the risk of pumping air into the hose despite his heart condition. When Ruby and him hang out at the marsh and play, this is one of the first times that Tom is truly living instead of sitting at home. Another example of Tom’s risk taking is when he visits Ruby at the aquarium after all the years of never seeing her. While they’re talking he talks about his life, “I used to think, Tom says, that I had to be careful with how much I lived. As is life was a pocketful of coins. You only got so much and you didn’t want to spend it all in one place.” (550-552) This quote signifies Tom’s idea about risk taking in life. That as a child, Tom’s mother made him believe that he needs to be safe, careful, and cautious his entire life. Because Tom was only meant to live around the age of eighteen, his mother wanted to keep him alive that long. Even if it
Beowulf was a true hero, in the eyes of many, through said traits. He fought a number of battles and was triumphant in all, except his last battle. Beowulf possessed the skills and power necessary to kill Grendel, the monster who had been terrorizing the Danes for over a decade, with his bare hands. While fighting, Beowulf detached Grendel’s arm from his shoulder, which was later hung up as a trophy. Beowulf eventually put an end to Grendel’s life, and naturally, Grendel’s mother had pursued Beowulf. Although Grendel’s mother was an even deadlier monster than her son, Beowulf once again proved his abilities by slaying her, as well. He slashed her neck with a sword that carried unbearable weight. Afterwards, he carried her head with only his own arms, while it took the a...
“…people need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want" (79). Both protagonist learned about the dangers of fear through the tribulations of their journey. Although life may constantly though curveballs our way, it is important to learn how to take risks. One must to have the audacity to continue on. Odysseus, a courageous Greek hero, would not have made it very far if he was apprehensive of taking risks. Instead, he sought
Beowulf is one of the most bravest legends. He has no fear! This man will go and fight whoever needs to be fought, with or without help. As soon as Grendel's mother came to get her son’s arm back, Beowulf immediately set out to go find and kill her. He went to the place where she lives and after he plunged into the water, Beowulf swam all the way down to her lair. After he reached the lair, “Beowulf got ready, / donned his war-gear, indifferent to death; / his mighty, hand-forged, fine-webbed mail / would soon meet with the menace underwater” (1442-1445). This task also seems to be a death sentence written all over it, but Beowulf looks death in the face, and goes after his mother. He knows that they are immortal, but right next to Grendel’s mother, is the only sword that can kill them. Beowulf is brave enough to grab that powerful sword, and kill both Grendel and his mother. Men today would not do that. Beowulf does not just stop at Grendel and his mother: he continues to fight more monsters to defend what is his. He then took a break and now decides to come home to Sweden. The son of Ecgtheow bids Denmark farewell, and has a moment with Hrothgar. Hrothgar says, “You are strong in body and mature in mind, / impressive in speech. If it should come to pass / that Hrethel’s descendent dies beneath a spear, / … and you are still alive, then I firmly believe / the seafaring Geats won’t find a
One of the first journeys includes Beowulf and his swim match with Brecca. “No man swims in the sea / As I can, no strength is a match for mine” (266-267). Beowulf speaks of his courage towards taking a dangerous journey to have a match against Brecca. Later, Beowulf travels to Herot after hearing of their troubles. Beowulf greets the Dane’s Lord and informs him that he heard about Grendel’s attacks on the people of Herot. Beowulf also mentions that his people said that it was his duty to go to the Danes great king (143-151). Beowulf travels away from his homeland to Hrothgar in order to defeat a monster that haunts Herot. Finally, Beowulf travels through the sea in search of Grendel’s mother. He leaps into the lake and for many hours swims through waves until he sees the mud of the bottom (570-573). Beowulf shows no fear as he, again, leaves his comfort zone to go after Grendel’s mother through a dangerous sea in the journey in the sea. Given these points, Beowulf takes many journeys from his home in order to protect
Beowulf is “the strongest of the Geats -- greater / and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world” (ll.110-111). Even though he is famous for his massive strength, Beowulf has other attributes that are noticeable other than his strength. These attributes, arrogance, bravery, and a strong love for his people are what make Beowulf become such a powerful, epic hero. Beowulf is arrogant. He constantly brags about his supreme strength. The “strongest man alive” lets people know that he is the most powerful person around by saying, “no strength is a match for mine” (l.267). Beowulf does not think that he could ever be destroyed by anything. He obviously never questiones how his fighting ability would be when he was around seventy. Since Beowulf is convinced that God is watching over him, his ego makes him act as if he is invincible, because of the idea that he has a guardian angel. But, as Beowulf gets older, wiser, and fights in more battles he should realize that there was a possibility that he can die. Beowulf also boasts about his many battles, and is proud of himself for winning all of them. One of these triumphs is the battle in the water when he meets up with nine sea monsters which he killeds, and fights with a monster that is digging its jaws into Beowulf’s flesh. Beowulf proclaims that “ I fought that beast’s last battle, / left it floating in the sea” (ll.290-291). This epic tale reads that while Beowulf is in battle with Grendel’s mother, all he cares was about the fame he would get for defeating her. Unferth thinks that Beowulf was arrogant, by saying, “ You’re Beowulf, are you the same / Boastful fool who fought a swimming / Match with Brecca” (ll.239-241). Yes, Beowulf is a boastful fool that loves the attention that his strength gives him. A strong man and an arrogant one, Beowulf is also brave. Even after all of the horror stories that he hears about Grendel, he still fights the cursed beast without any hesitation. When he battles with Grendel, he does it without the things that everyone else would use--weapons. This shows that Beowulf is not scared of anything in the world. He also must be brave to fight a sea monster after swimming in the ocean for days. He went straight into battle exhausted, from the strenuous journey across the ocean.
Early in the poem, Beowulf hears accounts of Grendel’s destruction of Herot, Hrothgar’s majestic mead hall. Knowing his strength and military prowess, Beowulf immediately devises a plan, recruits men, and orders boats, thrusting himself into a battle that was not necessarily his to fight. Beowulf felt obligated to end Grendel’s reign of terror. Though he knew the death of Grendel would bring him fame and honor, the idealized Beowulf was able to set aside personal ambition in order to end the suffering of the Danes. Shortly after slaying Grendel, Beowulf again displays an awareness of duty when Grendel’s mother extracts revenge upon Herot, killing one of Hrothgar’s best men, Aeshere. Instead of leaving Herot in a state of frenzy, Beowulf comes to King Hrothgar’s side, pledging allegiance and service. Bolstering the defeated king’s moral, Beowulf boldly addresses the older King Hrothgar saying, “So arise, my lord, and let us immediately set forth on the trail of this troll-dam. I guarantee you: she will not get away, not to dens under ground nor upland groves nor the ocean floor. She’ll have nowhere to fall to. Endure your troubles to-day. Bear up and be the man I expect you to be.” Beowulf could not set aside his duty and obligation, though he knew full well the suffering and pain that might result from his actions. Thus, Beowulf is a portrait of
The mighty warrior Beowulf volunteered to help fight off the monster, Grendel. Beowulf showed great bravery because even though Grendel over sized Beowulf, he still accepted the challenge. He also showed strength, Grendel’s head was so massive that four men each had to carry it, but Beowulf could handle the head all by himself. Lastly, Beowulf revealed loyalty by coming to Hrothgar’s assistance, to help with defeating Grendel. Even after Beowulf became King he went to his last battle to defeat the dragon without any help from his
We all know that staying safe will keep us alive, but it is a boring way to live. The biggest regret a person can have is never trying what they always wanted. As mentioned before, time never stops, so it is crucial that they act now. We fight a battle before we are even born against millions of others to see who will get to the egg first and be fertilized and born. We did not come to this world to just be safe and to be afraid to do new things. We all have a reason to be here and the journey of life is to find our purpose in life. It is what makes life so great, but to get their we must take risks and overcome that fear. People are afraid of taking risks because of failure. They are afraid to fail and not get anywhere. However, that fear can be overcome is they keep pushing and keep trying and keep taking risks. Taking risks will get a person out of their “safe” comfort zones and the result of this can be something so
Everyone has taken risks whether they be big or not, they will lead you down the path you choose in life. In the short stories Beowulf, Black Heart, and The Deep taking risks was a big part in all three. In Beowulf, there is many risks that he took, but the main one was that he risked his life to save the people that he loved. In the second book Black Heart by Mark Brazaitis, the girl risked her life to make friends with something she knew could kill her because she was so lonely. In the final book, The Deep by Anthony Doerr the main character made risks every day because he never knew if he was going to wake up to see the next.
When it comes to taking risks people tend to view them as unwise, complicated and far out of their comfort zone. As a result, they become frightened and obtain the mistaken belief that they are incapable of taking on new opportunities, which can possibly set them up for success. Such beliefs are what cause people to make poor choices, and thus disable them to live a life worth living. Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the Places you’ll go” was intended to express the various amounts of great places life has to offer, but it is all up to the reader where they decide to go, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. (…). And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”(Places). Every single person has control over what they want to be in l...
He was looking for a way to become known, so he arrived with his fellow Geats to help the Danes. Beowulf had access to many weapons, armor, and warriors, but he still decided to take on the deadly challenge alone and without protection. He doesn’t think of the consequences, or abilities of the opponent. “‘When it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel.’” (47: 677-678). Beowulf is overconfident in his abilities, and doesn’t take into consideration how many people Grendel has killed. He goes in with his own men not expecting to see him again. “None of them expected he would ever see his homeland again.” (47: 691-692). This is why the inner threat of Beowulf was more barbaric. Grendel was indeed a worthy opponent, and very dangerous, but Beowulf’s careless actions could have
When the story begins, Beowulf has gone to the land of the Danes to kill Grendel for the people, not for the glory. Beowulf brings his own hand picked, group of soldiers with him throughout his battles, and refuses to allow help from others. Beowulf also tells the readers he will not use weapons unless necessary. Before the battle against Grendel, a Denmark officer states, “A chosen warrior who bravely does battle with the creature haunting our people, who survives that horror unhurt, and goes home bearing our love” (ln. 210). Also, when Beowulf’s men abandon him in the battle against the dragon, he does not choose to run in fear, but to continue fighting. In this moment much like in his past, Beowulf shows how honorable he really
“In my youth I engaged in many wars”, Beowulf boasts to his warriors, which is certainly true. Throughout his life, he faces many deadly foes, all of which he handily defeats, save one. His story focuses on the most challenging, as well as morally significant of foes, Grendel and the dragon. These creatures reveal much about society as well as Christian virtue at the time. Even after Grendel and the dragon are defeated physically, the two monsters pose a new threat to the hero on a higher plane. Beowulf is not only at risk of losing his life, but his humanity, virtue, and even spirituality.
Beowulf was brave in that he fought many battles for the good of others. In the epic poem, Beowulf fights the monster Grendel, saves his mother and loses his life while fighting the dragon. Next, Beowulf decides to fight Grendel with his bare hands. He could have easily obtained some kind of weapon to fight with. Beowulf was the first warrior ever to have enough sheer bravery to go up against such a monster with neither help nor weapon or shield to aid him. He was a warrior that believed somewhat in fate and in God. Believing that God made the decisions and was in control, Beowulf trusted that his life was in good hands. Defeating Grendel with his bare hands, Beowulf not only proved his bravery but also his loyalty. Defeating Grendel weaponless was another display of magnificent bravery. He kept coming back and defeated Grendel 's mother along with a fire-breathing dragon until he was fatally injured and killed. Bravery should not only apply to warriors but also to everyday people. Beowulf fights Grendel, saves his mother and loses his life while fighting the dragon. After defeating Grendel, Beowulf came back twice in order to kill Grendel 's mother and a fire-breathing dragon. Although during his bout with the dragon, Beowulf was fatally injured. As his services were needed, he always prevailed; Beowulf 's bravery never tired. He
Beowulf’s first accomplishment as an epic hero was his battle with Grendel. Grendel was a huge beast, a descendent of Cain, who ruthlessly murdered innocent Danes because he felt pity for himself. Upon hearing of the Dane’s problem, Beowulf set off to help the Danish without having been called upon. Even though Beowulf had men backing him, He drew battle with Grendel alone and without armor or weapons. Yet, Beowulf emerged victorious with the arm of Grendel as his trophy. Beowulf then went on to kill Grendel’s vengeful mother and a huge fire-breathing dragon who thought it had been done wrong by the Geats. Alas, the killing of the dragon would be Beowulf’s last great battle for the dragon took Beowulf’s life in the struggle for his own.