Comparing Beowulf And American Culture

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After reading the epic poem Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, one would see culture from the Anglo Saxon civilization. Taking a glance into the American’s pop culture you would see a parallels between the two. You see how they boasts, how the appreciate values, and how they handle their views on the afterlife. When looking at American cultural values, one could find similarities and differences while looking at the Anglo Saxon civilization’s life. When looking at both the Anglo Saxon and American culture, the reader would see how the upper class boasted, and they could see a main difference between the two is religion. There was a moment in the text where Beowulf said there were “No tales of you, Unferth, telling Of such clashing terror, such contests in the night!” (Beowulf 545-585) He says he’s able to boast …show more content…

“And then pride...forgetting did not care”(Hergar 1740-1750). By the saying this Healfdane’s son, meant that no matter what happens in a warrior’s life, the fighters never forget why they're fighting. The warriors always remember that God is helping them throughout their journey and that there will be future rewards. The upper class in the American society seem to forget that they came from a small town. They neglect the fact that while they’re making millions of dollars, while their hometowns are struggling in poverty. They also fail to give thanks to God, they claim that it was them that got them to the top. Beowulf declared that “...the she-devil victorious, If our Father in Heaven had not helped me.” (Beowulf 1657-1658) By saying this he gave praise to God for his victories. Beowulf never once tried to deny any help from his Lord. All of this proves that when it comes to praising religion, the Anglo Saxon people do a better job of it than the American

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