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Beowulf Epic Hero's Journey

376 Words2 Pages

In the last stage of Beowulf’s epic hero journey, fatalism determines his grand finale against the dragon. The warrior king’s long journey is now coming to a close and before going into battle against the dragon, Beowulf realizes that, “After many trials,/ he was destined to face the end of his days/ in this mortal world; as was the dragon,/ for all his long leasehold on the treasure” (Beowulf 2341-2344). After facing Grendel and his mother, fate has lead Beowulf to the crisis of his journey. The dragon is the final monster he must defeat in order to complete his monomyth cycle. He is a symbol of the deadly sin, greed. The serpent has been guarding his treasure hoard from long ago, left behind in a barrow after the death of a forgotten race.

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