The Indestructable Mushu...Errr Beowulf.

            I would like to revisit Socratic Seminar Question 1, part E for Beowulf. The quote given from the poem is, “A warrior will sooner die than live a life of shame,” and the questions that follow are: What values are expressed? How do they exemplify the culture in which Beowulf lived? And do they reflect values that exist in our culture? 

            Let’s start with the first two questions since they go hand in hand. Many family related values are expressed through this quote. To boil it all down this quote is about honor, and bringing honor to yourself and your family. And with honor comes with making good decisions and bringing about a good aura to your family name for generations to come. Otherwise if you don’t bring a good name to your family you will look like a complete fool and will probably be dishonored by your kin. The same holds true in Beowulf’s culture. The pagan society was all about upholding the family name and living up to your family’s expectations. A direct instance in the poem where these values apply occurs from lines: 2435-2471. Here, Beowulf tells the tragic death of Herebeald. So it goes that Haethcyn accidentally shot his brother, Herebeald, with an arrow and killed him. Hrethel, their father, grieved continuously afterward and later disowned Haethcyn. Rather than live a life of shame, Hrethel who was, “Heartsore, wearied, he turned away from life’s joys, chose God’s light and departed.” In this case the warrior, Hrethel, would rather die than have the accidental killing of his son ruin his family name.

            Hearing this quote instantly reminded me of Mulan. At one point the lizard…I mean “dragon”…sent to rescue Mulan (who has joined the Chinese army to fight the Huns in her father’s place) exclaims to her “Dishonor! Dishonor on your whole family! Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cow!” and Mulan wants to bring honor to her family since she has been previously shamed. She made a fool out of herself in front of the matchmaker who even says to Mulan, “You are a disgrace! You may look like a bride but you will never bring your family honor!” And Mulan speaks out of turn in front of imperial soldiers and her father basically tells her she is a dishonor right then and there. So how does this all relate back to the Beowulf quote? Well Mulan is risking her life to bring honor back to her family and ultimately to please her father. Once again characters like Mulan and Hrethel are in that mindset of placing their family’s name before their lives and are willing to do anything to sustain it.

            The final question that follows the quote is: Does this quote reflect values that exist in our culture today? I think, in an essence, yes. We as human beings strive to do well in our lives, try to live by an honorable lifestyle, and make good decisions for ourselves. I know that I wish to do well in my family and not degrade my family’s name by making horrible choices. But on the career path, my philosophy is not as strict as in Beowulf’s culture. Like I said earlier it was all about living and fulfilling your family’s expectations. Today, I’m not going to follow in my parent’s footsteps for a career and I’m going to do what makes me happy. I’m pretty sure that seeing me in a successful career will make my parents just as happy. On the flipside, there are people out there who have made poor decisions, have brought a wretched name to their family, and instead of living a life of shame these people fall into depression and may even do the unthinkable. Once again, this follows the quote exactly. These people would rather die than live a life of shame.

            Ok this is getting extremely depressing, and it’s Halloween, and I have digressed. So to quickly sum it all up so I can get on with scaring small children: I believe that the quote “A warrior will sooner die than live a life of shame” all comes down to honor and giving honor to your family. Especially in Beowulf’s culture because honor was a big value that the people followed and respected. Also in today’s society, I believe our culture still lives by this quote but only to some extent in that our lives are to please us rather than to please our family. Alas! I leave you with one final thought, “will you bring honor to us all?”