Journal 2910-3182

Lines 3006-3007 "He worked for the people, but as well as that he behaved like a hero."
Beowulf's victories, the fact that he's never lost a battle even against monsters like Grendel and Grendel's mother makes him scary to other countries. This, rather than Beowulf's worth as a king, is probably what kept the Geats peaceful during his reign. This quote does not put 'behaving like a hero' in line with being a great king, they are presented as being separate and the suggestion is that a person cannot be two at once.

Lines 3010-3012 "His royal pyre will melt no small amount of gold: heaped there in a hoard."
This shows perhaps why the Geats suffer, because all these soldiers including the new king (who represents the nation) went into the dragon's lair to get the treasure to burn with Beowulf's body. It has been said that whoever takes the treasure from the spot where it's hidden will suffer the wrath of God, so this is why the Geat nation gets attacked and overthrown.

Lines 3051-3057 "That huge cache, gold inherited... to open the hoard."
The cache of treasure is cursed by God. This implies that Beowulf was not God's chosen, because he got slain by the dragon while he was after both the literal treasure and the metaphorical treasure of glory and fame. He never attained the one treasure, and while his fame did live on for a bit, his nation was soon destroyed, leaving nothing of his legacy behind. This does show, however, that Wiglaf may be God's chosen as it could be argued that he was the one to give the dragon fatal wounds and Beowulf just stabbed it as it was dying, and Wiglaf is the one who first steps foot inside the treasure cave and his name lives on because he becomes king.

Line 3100 "his worth and due as a warrior were the greatest."
Yes, he was a great warrior, but not a great king. There are many references in the last few pages of the poem to suggest that everyone though Beowulf was a great warrior. This is what he wanted, fame and glory for his victories in battle. This is what ultimately ends up killing the Geat nation. If Beowulf, as a king, had spent less time gaining battle glory for himself and instead trained his warriors to be even half as good as he was, they might have been able to defend their country after he died. I think it is Beowulf's own fault that his soldiers ran away scared because he hadn't allowed them to prove themselves yet so they had no idea if they could survive the battle.

Lines 3114-3116 "Now shall flame consume our leader...stood his ground in the steel-hail..."
Because of the way Beowulf died (covered in burns from the dragon's flame) and because of the way he is sort of cremated after dying, I believe that this symbolizes hell. I think it's suggesting that Beowulf went to the underworld rather than Valhalla.

Lines 3180-3182 "They said that of all the kings...keenest to win fame."
I think this line sums up Beowulf perfectly: he was a decent king (not great) who was fair to his people and over-generous to his warriors in the way of gold and treasure, but all he really wanted, his greatest quest in life, was to win fame.