Beowulf (Week 2)

So far, reading Beowulf has been pretty interesting. I have never really learned a lot about this story or time period, but there are some key points that I have learned by reading thus far:

1) Men crave honor. It is very apparent that throughout the beginning of this story, kingdoms are built on power and honor. Whoever wins the battle gets the prize. Beowulf, as a character, seems pretty arrogant considering he "butted" himself into a situation where he wasn't necessarily "needed." I mean, I guess by the end of it, he was the warrior they were looking for to defeat Grendel, but Beowulf went out of his way to slay this monster; Quite literally he went from land-to-land.

2) Women are subservient in this society/time period. Throughout the story so far, women are barely mentioned. When they are mentioned, they are discussed as servants, more or less. In the book so far, they have touched a bit on Beowulf's mother, who is the one who raised Beowulf and has probably played a huge part in who he is as a person, and her name is not mentioned at all. A significant women who has been mentioned, Wealhtheow, Hrothgar's queen, is talked about someone who makes round, offering drinks to all the ranks, despite the fact that she is a queen. 

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