Beowulf 1-19-10

From a very limited knowledge of Angelo-Saxon or English history, I have learned from Beowulf, and in class, that there are three cardinal rules not to break. The first major rule was not to kill your own brother (your own blood). We learned that Grendel signified this sin. It is suggested that Grendel's mother represents "the darkness of blood feud, and revenge." As taught in class, one of Grendel's wrong-doings was to reject gifts. It didn't allow the celebratory gift giving to be carried out. It was looked down on because, in this time, gifts were considered cordial and a way of showing respect. Gift giving was the thing to do.
Before Beowulf was made a king he was advised to be an exceptional gift giver unlike past kings who grew greedy and were eventually looked down on. Hrothgar gave many gifts and was the first primary example of the importance this brought to the culture. I believe the dragon represents greed in this poem. It is the last of the three morals the culture believed that hadn't been illustrated by an evil creature. When the servant stole the gold and jeweled goblet to make his master happy, there was a peace between the two. Greed (the dragon) couldn't stand it and began to terrorize the village. Ironically, the reason the treasure was there in the first place was because it had nobody to take care of it or give happiness to because the people that knew of it were all dead.
The Geats were at peace with Beowulf as king. There weren't any invaders during his reign. The dragon was the one last thing that needed to be defeated but it was greed that drove Beowulf to the dragon. He said, "And this dragon's treasure, his gold and everything hidden in that tower, will be mine..." I think it was for this reason that Beowulf had died. Had he gone solely to bring the peace once again he would have had a different fate. "Beowulf had gotten its gold, bought it with blood; dragon and king had ended each others days on earth." The kings greed had killed him according to my theory. As a result of greed, "And this people can expect fighting, once the Franks, and the Frisians, have heard that our king lies dead."
Wiglaf had a different motive. His was to help the king that had given so much. He didn't seek to be more wealthy, fame, or anything other than to keep his word. He said something that struck a scary thought to the Geats, "And now the giving of swords, of golden rings and rich estates, is over, Ended for you and everyone who shares your blood." If the dragon did represent greed than Wiglaf is saying, because you allowed your king to be killed by greed our culture of gift giving is now over. Over for you and your kids or any of your blood.
I'm not a religious person, but Adam and Eve's apple is a good analogy to sum this up. Greed, being the forbidden fruit, caused all the peace between lands and gift giving to come to an end. In Beowulf it reads, "Hiding that treasure deep in its tower, as the dragon had done, broke God's law and brought it no good. Guarding its stolen wealth it (greed) killed the king..." Even when the king had died he preferred to see the treasure before anything else.
The first two fights were to show how Beowulf would acquire his fame. He was on the path to greatness. He gained the highest credibility after leaving the two battles and bringing happiness to his king. People followed him and looked up to him. His name would already be remembered throughout history. Sadly, Beowulf wanted more. This is how "the dragon section" differs from the others. As mentioned above, his actions were no longer to pursue a great stature because he already had that, it was to fulfill his own agenda.