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I've Won... But At What Cost?~ Logan Turner

 Instead of doing something creative or profound, I'm just going to discuss my thoughts on one of the questions we talked about in class: the question about whether or not Beowulf won against the dragon at the end.

In determining whether he won or not, we should consider his goal. That is, killing the dragon and gaining fame. Does he do it? Well, obviously. The dragon is killed by his hands (or rather, his dagger), and the tale of Beowulf lives on. Since his tale is still told today, I think it is fair to say that his goal of attaining fame has been reached. But then again, he is a fictional character, so who cares? But the question remains: does he truly win if he dies in the end? Well, there is a literary term called a Pyrrhic Victory. It means a victory at a terrible cost, usually a cost in resources or men. In this case, it was Beowulf's life. But again, the term is Pyrrhic VICTORY, so I believe he did win in the end. At least, those are my thoughts on it.


Edit: Commented on Jacob Clabo's and Haylee Lynd's posts

Comments

  1. Madalyn DillardMarch 1, 2021 at 9:52 PM

    This is exactly what I had in mine when we discussed this in class. Beowulf could have very well known the possibilities of not coming back alive. But, Christian heroes (since the book is based off of some Christian beliefs) do not care what their fate holds; they only care for the fate of others which is what Beowulf, in my mind, exhibits with no fear of dying.

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  2. Jamie PetersMarch 1, 2021 at 9:59 PM

    To add to your discussion, I think we should reanalyze what Bewoulf's true goal was in fighting the dragon. Sure, he wanted to beat it and gain fame, but his first goal was to protect his people. In this light, he did protect his people... for the time being. I think that explains the depressing ending of the work.

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  3. Jackson RiddleMarch 2, 2021 at 12:20 AM

    I agree, I think he won in the end too. He succeeded in his goal of defending his people, the Geats, and served a heroic death in the process. Not only did he succeed in defending his people, he also helped defend the Danes from Grendel and Grendel's mother and proved himself to be a valiant hero.

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