Throughout the text, there are many examples of times when a character must rely on himself and cannot enlist the help of others. This theme is illustrated in the constant failure of the swords in the poem. Often when Beowulf uses a sword he fails, in other situations he chooses not to use the sword at all. Before his fight with Grendel Beowulf announces "I do not consider myself less active in battle... I will not send [Grendel] to sleep with my sword... this night, [we] / will renounce the use of weapons" (90- 91). Beowulf chooses not to use weapons as a show of pride, he wants to fight Grendel without a perceived advantage, the most important aspect of this battle for Beowulf is pride. Having the selfish nature of a hero, Beowulf is confident in his abilities and believes that he will easily emerge victorious. As a result, he would like to gain as much fame as possible by defeating Grendel and chooses to face him in hand-to-hand combat. Even when Beowulf entrusts a weapon, it fails him, in the fight with Grendel's mother Beowulf "turned his blade, / he swung his arm with all his strength... his glittering blade could not bite her flesh" ( 112). Beowulf was fighting with Hrunting, a sword that is said to have never failed in battle up to that point. After the hero realizes that his blade is useless, he decides to "[trust] in his own strength" (112). The emphasis on self-confidence becomes evident in the word “confidence”, one should not rely on external forces to deal with one's challenges. It is important to have the strength to overcome obstacles on your own, even when Beowulf finds a new sword among the creature's horde of treasures and beheads Grendel's mother, the sword melts at the touch of his blood. If Beowulf had not had the strength to kill her with a single blow, the second sword would have been rendered useless and Beowulf could have easily met his death. Beowulf is victorious due to his strength and