Today’s given in class assignment put simply, was to find a passage or two in the book that stood out to us and write it on a white board in the classroom. As I paced the room glancing at my classmates’ variety of thoughts scrawled in black, red, and green ink, the two phrases, “God’s will” and “fate” continually emerged on the room’s façade. It seemed as though many of my peers’ decided to explore the passages describing Beowulf’s multiple successes, his one failure and the explanation behind it all. Ms. Franks then presented us with these two questions, “Why does the book end this way?” and “Did Beowulf die a success or a failure?” As usual my class jumped straight into discussion and concluded that Beowulf succeeded in the sense that he kept Geatland safe from harm during his lifetime, but failed in providing his people with long-term tools that were vital to their survival after he perished. He basically did everything for the people and kept them secure to the best of his ability, yet hardly gave them any responsibilities. As we discussed this topic further our class discovered that either side could be argued.

As I delved down deeper into the question I immediately deviated from the general opinion and formed an entirely different argument from the rest of my class. This repetitive notion of everything happening exactly according to God’s plan was so prevalent in society that it completely de-emphasizes the importance of human will. The idea of a fixed future, composed by God is stated in the book on multiple occasions, an example being, “ What God judged right would rule what happened to every man, as it does to this day.” (p.193) With this in mind I drew the conclusion that Beowulf in fact does not succeed or prevail, he merely follows the story that God planned for him. Not one of his choices was actually “made” by him. Every single one of his actions was predestined by God. Beowulf was purely going through the motions and “waiting for (our) his end.” (p. 97) He was just a pawn in God’s game. The King’s demise was inevitable regardless of his so-called choices, decisions, and actions. Beowulf didn’t even fight his own battles, for it says, “God, who ordains who wins or loses allowed him to strike with his own blade when bravery was needed” (p.193) He was “indifferent to death,” (p.101) conveying that his allotted time just depended on when God decided to end his story, when his purpose in life was fulfilled. Beowulf may have conquered the unconquerable, but only because God allowed him to.

How is it possible for Beowulf to succeed or fail at something without playing a part in the decision making process of the sequence of events? It seems as if it is impossible for him to have even had a role. He was solely there to fulfill a prophecy spoken by God but unheard of by man. The quintessence of their belief of God’s will is perceived in middle of the story where it is stated that in the “Past and present, God’s will prevails. Hence, understanding is always best and a prudent mind. Whoever remains for long here in this earthly life will enjoy and endure more than enough.”(p. 71) Meaning that destiny is inexorable regardless of how exceptional or retched a person may be.

Now, after philosophizing on the impact of God’s will, I think rather than questioning whether Beowulf succeeded or failed we should ask ourselves if Beowulf’s actions had any real impact on the sequence of events and ending of the story keeping in mind the societal belief that God controlled everyone’s destiny.