In response to the Beowulf article...

One of the statements I found to stand out from the article was that we never see any sort of human characteristics such as feelings and thoughts from Beowulf. In the article it says "No interior monologues or authorial descriptions of the hero's states of mind open up Beowulf's consciousness for our direct observation." I honestly hated Beowulf and I had no idea. After reading this statement though, I feel like this clears up a lot of my feelings. I didn't feel that he was human. Beowulf through the whole story showed no sort of expression. It was frustrating to try and figure out how he felt and why. By not having the audience in touch with his inner thoughts, we lose a sense of connection to him and can't relate. Another statement was "In Beowulf, fame and the pursuit of fame become an ethical and moral ideal..." I couldn't agree with this statement more. The more I think about it, the more frustrating I get with Beowulf. The idea of fame in Beowulf made it seem like it was ruining the characteristics and definition of a hero. It seemed as if that in order to make a difference, you must be famous. Which is so messed up. This can be shown in many scenes of the poem. The ancestors are only known for their fame in battles. Beowulf is pursuing fame by defeating Grendel, his mother and the dragon. There is a continuous drive for fame in Beowulf. Fame is the main focus of the actions carried out by many characters who pursue to be "heroes."