Unferth

Unferth is a local-hero Dane that is jealous of the hero Beowulf. He brings up a swimming race that Beowulf had against a man named Breca. He talked about how Beowulf lost the simple match, and said that the same failure will occur against Grendel. Because everyone that has gone up against Grendel has been killed. Unferth does this because he is jealous of Beowulf and he wants to make him look bad and make himself look better. Beowulf responds calmly that Unferth is talking like a crazy drunk, and tells everyone about the real story. His story was that they both swam for five days, carrying swords just in case. Beowulf encountered sea monsters, and stopped to slay several of them to protect the sailors and other people. He talked about how Breca nor Unferth would be heroic enough to stop and kill the beasts. The story he tells makes him even more heroic. He had to protect everyone and he still finished. So, he is the better man. He makes fun of Unferth for not being heroic or man enough, because he has never tried to kill Grendel and allow him to wreak havoc on the mead-hall.