1. Sentence of the Stack:
“For ever Superman, there is Kryptonite. For every hero, a weakness.”

2. Using a quote as your introduction
Julian Casablancas uncovers the problem with religion in one sentence: “Religion is never the problem: it’s the people who use it to gain power.” Ever since the beginning, faith has been something that can, supposedly, always be relied on…

3. Quote Integration
[Beowulf] must first convince Hrothgar to allow him to fight Grendel, so he says to the him, “Then news of Grendel, hard to ignore, reached me at home…” (Heaney 29).

4. Quote Integration
Beowulf, who is a powerful fighter is drawn by the duties left to him by his father, who was a friend of Hrothgar, to relieve the Danes from Grendel by defeating him. “Now Holy God has, in his goodness, guided here to the West-Dane, to defend us from Grendel” (Beowulf 27).

5. Summary
Humans have always believe in some power greater than themselves. An all-powerful being is part of almost any religion that has existed since the dawn of time. People who exhibit qualities similar to that being often act as such and hold power over a society. In the epic, Beowulf, Beowulf is one such person. He defeats many enemies to save his own people, the Geats, and other peoples in other lands. Beowulf is made king of Geatland without dispute. The people considered that his rightful place. Rather than being a Christ-like figure, Beowulf’s resilience in battle and greed make him the embodiment of a demigod.

6. Summary
Working together is an essential part of success in accomplishing a particular goal or simple an everyday task. Individuals who share ideas, compromise, and ask for assistance when needed will often prosper over people who keep to themselves and never choose to be a team player. Throughout Beowulf, Beowulf, a Geat Warrior, triumphs in his own glory after defeating many creature of sin and being acknowledged by the king of the Danes. He always preferred to battle the enemies alone, oftentimes without a weapon for assistance. Beowulf’s ability to defeat evil creatures gained him more self-pride and the warrior eventually assumed he was capable of overthrowing all the sin in Geatland and Denmark. The falsity of the warrior’s presumption left him to battle the fire dragon, the strongest and deadliest creature in Geatland. Beowulf’s boastful attitude of never requesting assistance from his army proved to be his downfall when he suffered inevitable defeat.

7. Summary
Beowulf the man is a Geat who travels to Denmark to fulfill a promise to King Hrothgar. Never one to back down from a fight, Beowulf goes above and beyond what is originally expected of him and now only defeats Grendel, but also Grendel’s mother. He returns to Geatland and becomes king. His reign ends when he attempts to fight a dragon alone, dying in the process. Despite his bravado, Beowulf is an insecure character who lashes out when pressured by the love of legacy in Anglo Saxon culture.

8. Appositive as character descriptions
In the case of Beowulf, an Anglo Saxon poem that depiects the title character’s quest to defend the surrounding lands from evil creatures, that flaw is pride. The first instance in which Beowulf’s pride manifests is when Unferth, an envious Danish warrior, makes the claim that the Geat participated in a swimming contest only to prove he is the best.

9. Analysis – Claim and Key Words
Claim – Beowulf is controlled by cultural expectations which force him to become a hero that is remembered. “Now Holy God has, in his goodness, guided here to the West-Dane, to defend us from Grendel” (Heaney 27). Beowulf is not in control of his fate but he is subject to the will of Good and the needs of the people. Pagan culture values heroes especially because they did not believe in any type of afterlife so their way of coping with death for them to strive to be remembered by the people left hind. Beowulf’s actions, although they are portrayed in a way that makes the reader perceive him as selfless and honorable, are actually results of his culture, so without culture to shape the expectations that are put upon him, he is a very different character. The Danes seem to almost expect someone to come and rescue them because there is no on that is capable in their own country to defeat Grendel. Beowulf is then sent to the Danes by God to rescue them. This means that he did not have much choice in the matter and he was obligated by God to be a hero and rescue the Danes. Beowulf although it seems like he comes to the rescue on his own accord is subject to cultural expectations and God’s will.