Beowulf is a story of lifes journey from adolescence to adulthood to old age. These changes occur through wisdom acquired from the pain and triumph of personal experience. At a young age Beowulf encounters sea monsters. At adulthood he faces the notorious Grendel. Finally, at his last battle when he is old, he fights the dragon. Through these experiences Beowulf gains wisdom and allows him to move on to the next stage of life, or in the last battle; to death.
When Beowulf is young, he is haughty and impulsive. He and Becca race around the world just for the sake of the danger and thrills. His impulsiveness impelled him to shun the warnings of the elders. Although he lost the race, he successfully defeated nine sea monsters. When Beowulf recalls the story he says What man, anywhere under Heavens high arch, has fought in such darkness, endured more misery or been harder pressed? At his young age, Beowulf feels the need to qualify his actions. Another time he says Becca could never leave me behind, swim across the waves faster than I could, and I had chosen to remain close by his side. Although Becca won the race, Beowulf feels the need to qualify himself by telling that Becca was inferior to him. Although as a child Beowulf is portrayed as purely egotistical, we see as he matures, his value system evolves.
Beowulfs maturation into adulthood conceives some new character traits. Although he is still haughty, he is no longer impulsive. Beowulf learned from losing the race that being overly arrogant can sometimes end unfavorably. When Beowulf is young, he fights for the sake of danger and adventure. We see when Beowulf is an adult; he is only drawn to battle when a country is threatened. He comes to the rescue of the Danes who have been tortured by the demon Grendel for twelve years. When the battle scene starts, Beowulf starts to show his ego. Beowulf fights without a sword; he feels confident that he will defeat the monster with his bear hands. Additionally, when he defeats the monster, he pulls of its arm, claw and shoulder and all, and hangs it on the ceiling of Heorot, the Mead Hall. There is no need to hang Grendels arm from the ceiling, but Beowulf needed to dramatize the scene to feed his ego. Even though Beowulf has matured since his younger years, he is not fully developed until he hits old age.
When Beowulf reaches old age, he is a lot wiser than when he was an adolescent and a mere adult. His haughtiness has almost fully dissipated and he learns to thank god instead of himself for his accomplishments. Beowulf learns not to be too egotistic because hanging Grendels arm in Heorot is what really made Grendels mother come and kill Beowulfs dear friend. His last words of egotism describe him as heroic because [he has] never know fear. However, his dominant tone at this point is dreary because he feels the possibility of death for the first time in his life. He is going to fight a dragon and he is not young like he used to be. In the fateful fight, Beowulf and the dragon are killed. The venomous fangs of the dragon disperse poison into Beowulfs neck as Beowulf stabs the dragon with his dagger. In his last moments he asks to see the gold he had won and he thanks god for everything he had given him. Also, he gives Wiglaf, his loyal soldier, his inheritances including the necklace given to him by Hrothgar. This symbolizes the shift of power and this allows Beowulf to die in peace. Because of Beowulfs wisdom at old age, he was able to die as a hero.
Beowulfs life is a lifelong fight of controlling his ego. He learns this through maturity, and he matures throughout the different ages in his life. He grows from an impulsive adolescent to a wise hero. Each battle teaches him more to help him move on to the next stage of his life. Beowulf truly is the story of lifes journey from adolescence to adul
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