The characters in Beowulf don't have any time for family dysfunction.
They're all too busy being identified as each other's sons.
We'll talk about the other ways identity is established in this poem—and why identity
is important—when we talk about Theme 2.
Lineage and reputation.
Sear those words into your skull if you want to remember theme 2—the importance of identity.
Beowulf is all about heroism.
Yes, it's about what it takes to be a hero, but it's also a chronicle of heroic acts.
Heroic acts, for which characters later become known ... thereby establishing their identity.
And that's why lineage and reputation are so important—they give characters a way
not just to identify with their own heroic acts, but also with the acts of those that
came before them.
Lineage sets out certain standards of heroism.
Characters take pride in those standards and attempt to live up to them themselves.
For example, Beowulf tries to live up to the reputation of his father.
Meanwhile, in attempting to live up to those standards, each character builds his own heroic
reputation, both through his deeds and through his values.
In the end, you can think of this poem's focus on identity as the way it puts a face on heroism.
Identity's importance lies in the fact that it takes heroism from the abstract ... to
the personal and attainable.