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Theme of Life and Death in ‘Beowulf’ and ‘The Garden Party’

Death and life is a common theme in the two short stories, “Beowulf” and “The Garden Party.” In the two stories, the authors managed to bring into light the aspect of mortality, with some of the members of the society dying while others have the opportunity to live. Death can be caused by various things ranging from natural death to induced death that may result from war and accidents. In the two short stories, the theme of life and death causes grief, and there are various illustrations cited from the book that backs the theme of life and death. Therefore, the central theme in the two short stories is life and death, which is induced by the brutality with the victims dying of unnatural causes that include war and accidents.

While there are many themes in Beowulf, the most central theme happens to be that of mortality. Throughout the poem, death has been an imminent topic, and nearly everything in Beowulf leads to death. While the theme of mortality can be seen as morbid and depressing, this is not the case as the theme of mortality is the epitome of Beowulf’s prowess and heroism. For example, in Heaney (55), “Beowulf was granted the glory of winning; Grendel was driven under the fen-banks, fatally hurt, to his desolate lair.” The author even constantly reminds the reader that everyone in the short story is destined to die, but this does not stop the warriors from fighting, and this is where the heroic side of the poem comes in. The warriors depict bravery and courage through their continued fights in the face of probable defeat leading to death. An example from the poem that depicts acts of bravery and courage include “I shall win the gold by my courage, or else mortal combat, doom of battle, will bear your lord away” (Heaney, 171).

Beowulf in the story is constantly boasting about his strength, and this intrigues the reader of his fear of mortality. In actual sense, Beowulf does not fear mortality as he just does it in a different manner from what we are accustomed to in the normal lives. Rather than running away from his responsibility of protecting his people, Beowulf is ready to face death in the attempt of helping, a depiction of heroism. He risks his life on two occasions; facing the monster and his mother and fighting with the angry dragon. Through these acts, Beowulf earns respect and becomes popular. For example, in Heaney (171), Beowulf spoke, made a formal boast for the last time: “I risked my life often when I was young. Now I am old, but as king of the people, I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning.” Dying to save is an act of selflessness and heroic at the same time. In the end, Beowulf dies after killing the dragon, fulfilling the author’s words that everyone in the story shall die.

Despite being a minor theme compared to life in the story “The Garden Party,” it covers the whole story, telling the reader of Laura’s experiences. Mortality is the catalyst through which various changes occurs in a number of key stories within the overall work. Mr. Scott’s death in the story awakens Laura, the main character, a dislike of her family’s elitism as death in the story has been used as a method for enlightenment. When Laura visits the Scotts, she is surprised to find to find the dead man’s face wonderful and happy. Her journey across the threshold of Scott’s living place is a representation of her transition from sheltered adolescence to maturity of adulthood. In confronting the reality of death, she learns something about the nature of life and living. Laura even contemplates of stopping the party, as she finds it to be too difficult for the widow and her children to listen to joyful music when her husband just died. The theme of life and death has been a basement pillar in the story, although the author has not given it much attention.

Works Cited

Bausch, Richard, ed. The Norton anthology of short fiction. WW Norton & Company, 2015.

Heaney, Seamus. New Selected Poems, 1988-2013. Faber & Faber, 2015.