In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heany, man's perception of himself impacts his decisions to behave the way he does . Beowulf is a humble warrior who attributes his combat prowess to God's divine intervention. He fought realistic, internal demons that began to become a challenge as each encounter was more difficult than the last. His perception of his abilities as a hero transforms after each battle he successfully wins, making him believe he is unstoppable. Ultimately, Beowulf's death during his final trial reveals that becoming too prideful can be the main reason for a person's downfall. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Initially, Beowulf is a humble warrior, who attributes his combat prowess to God's divine intervention. Beowulf is a warrior who prepared to fight Grendel to defend the land of Denmark, but he attributes his bravery as a gift from God. Before doing this, some of the warriors and the king feast and chat, but Unferth warns Beowulf that Grendel will be a challenge and that it will be difficult to handle him alone, but Beowulf insists that he is capable of handling the stain. . While sitting with everyone at the table and talking, he explains to everyone that his "sword had slain/nine sea monsters [...] and hard trials he had never heard of." Beowulf boasts about his ability to easily kill nine sea monsters without problem and that there is no task too difficult for him to accomplish. Beowulf continues to recognize that there is no task too difficult for him and he refuses to wear armor and bring weapons to fight against Grendel, only to prove that he is not afraid and 'he's just as dangerous and strong as him, which isn't necessary. . His success changes his perspective and, even though he puts his life in danger, he begins to believe that his success is due to himself. Beowulf is convinced that he will be known as one of the greatest heroes, otherwise he will die trying to be one. He was no longer doing it for the people. He was only doing it for his own benefit. Beowulf was ready to pursue his glory at all costs. Once Beowulf defeated Grendel without armor or weapons, he had this unrealistic look about himself that he could do anything. He starts going into these dangerous battles to look better and get a higher reward each time, which eventually catches up with him. Beowulf fights realistic, internal monsters, which became a challenge as each one he passed was more difficult to face. than the last one. Throughout the poem, Beowulf fights against several different demons. When Beowulf comes to his last battle with the dragon, he was unable to defeat it and that is where he fell. The other demons were easy because he knew what he was doing and everything, but the dragon was difficult. Beowulf would have “preferred not to use a weapon if he knew another way/to fight the dragon and make up for it […] as he did against Grendel in the past.” Each of the demons that Beowulf fought symbolizes something that is considered to be Beowulf's internal demons. The first battle with Grendel represented envy, but Beowulf was able to overcome it. The second battle with Grendel's mother represented revenge and he was able to overcome that one as well. Unfortunately, the very last battle against the dragon represented greed and pride and Beowulf could not defeat that one. Beowulf let his greed and pride get the best of him and be the cause of the end of his life..:10.2307/4335160