From what I have read of Beowulf, I do not like him very much. He travels with his friends to go defeat a monster, and he says he wants their help, but it really just feels like he brought along a bus of cheerleaders to watch him slay the beast. When they get there and he's telling the king he wants to slay the dragon, his entire speech can be summarized as "I'm Beowulf, I'm awesome, we're distantly related, I've done lots of stuff, I'm gonna do more stuff, let's party." "YYAYYYY!!!" cheer the Danes, and they party and get drunk and fall asleep.
Later in life, upon meeting the dragon, he again refuses the aid of weapons, declaring that God will decide who will win, and who will die. I'm sorry man, but I'm pretty sure God is still capable of helping you win if you've got a sword. I mean, it can't hurt to bring a weapon, right?
When his fellow Geats run away in fear of the dragon, and no one but Wiglaf is left, what does Beowulf do? Insist on taking on the dragon himself. While Wiglaf goes and get the loot.
Time and time again, I found Beowulf's arrogance to be annoying, unrelatable, and stupid. When I look for interesting characters I look for flaws, I find their fears, I seek out what makes them human. I understand that he's a metaphor for God and God's power and what happens when you fight for God's will. But I thought it made Beowulf really boring.
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