Throughout the whole story, Beowulf never does anything solely for himself; he is always working to protect others. When Grendel was terrorizing the kingdom, and took over the mead hall, Beowulf disregarded his own safety, and went forth to emancipate the people. During his reign as king, he was always working to make the lives of his people better, and he lived altruistically. Toward the end of the story, he understood the threat of the dragon, and he understood that he would likely die, but still, he set out to fight the dragon. Even when the thanes were scared, and tried to protect themselves, he continued on to the battle. In the end, he showed selflessness through the ultimate sacrifice - giving his own life to protect his