Question

In what ways do you think Beowulf reveals the values of the Anglo-Saxon society?

Accepted Answer

Ways that Beowulf reveals the values of the Anglo-Saxon society are that bravery, honor, and respect are displayed in the protagonist, Beowulf, and that Beowulf is praised for his kindness, wisdom, and gentleness by King Hrothgar.

Answer

Beowulf shows the centrality of the mead hall as the symbol of Anglo-Saxon values. In this world, nature is not a benign manifestation of divine goodness where one's heart leaps at rainbows and butterflies but a savage, dark place of danger, populated with the monsters like Grendel (usually lesser monsters, such as bears and wolves, but monsters all the same) that threaten humankind. Nature is a place where evil lurks, waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting, described as a dangerous place of moors and swamps.
In contrast, the mead hall represents the center of all that is good in Anglo-Saxon civilization: safety, security, community, warmth, food, merriment, and hospitality. In attacking Heorot Hall on a nightly basis, the savage monster Grendel is threatening the destruction of the very fabric holding civilization together and, instead, leaving it bloody and dismembered. He is, therefore, an existential threat to civilized human existence itself.
By emphasizing all the good aspects of Heorot Hall, Beowulf reveals the values of its society. When Beowulf saves it, King Hrothgar praises him, articulating more of the values of his society, all tied to the mead hall:

Wear these bright jewels, beloved Beowulf;/ Enjoy them, ... oh fortunate young/ Warrior; grow richer, let your fame and your strength/ Go hand in hand; and lend these two boys/ Your wise and gentle heart! I'll remember your/ Kindness. Your glory is too great to forget/ ... Spread your blessed protection.

From the gifts and blessing of the king, we learn more about what Anglo-Saxons prized: jewels, youth, wealth, fame, and physical strength. Beowulf is praised for his wisdom, gentleness, kindness, glory, and protection, which is called blessed. In the context of the poem, these personal traits all emerge from his protection of the mead hall culture.

Answer

One of the first aspects of an epic poem one examines to learn about the society the poem derives from is the characterization of the hero:  specifically, what makes the hero a hero.
In the case of Beowulf, scholars assume that the character traits that make Beowulf a hero were valuable to Anglo-Saxon society.  Beowulf is brave, honorable, respectful of his father and ancestors, a great warrior, and believes his good deeds and great victories are his means of immortality (he will be remembered).  And though he appears to us as arrogant, he does give great respect to others and acknowledges the role of fate.  Scholars assume, then, that these traits were important to the Anglo-Saxons.
More important, however, is what the poem reveals about the unstable life of the Anglo-Saxons.  There was no central government, police force, legal system, etc. in Anglo-Saxon England.  Kings weren't kings in the way we think of them today.  There were no knights as we think of them or as they appear in King Arthur myths (not until the Middle Ages), and chivalry was centuries away from being thought of.  Knights and chivalry are medieval ideas, not Anglo-Saxon ideas.  And feudalism came to England via the Normans in 1066.  Anglo-Saxson society was unstable. 
Kings were kings over a bit of land and some people, but over a hill or two was another king who ruled his bit of land, etc.  All it took for a person to be displaced was for one mead hall to attack and take over another mead hall.  In other Anglo-Saxon works like "The Seafarer" and "The Wanderer," this seems to be the central problem in Anglo-Saxon life. 
And, essentially, this is what happens in Beowulf.  What is Grendel?  He is every Anglo-Saxon's nightmare.  He is the mead hall wrecker who displaces mead hall residents, and turns them into exiles and wanderers.  He is the worst thing that could happen, and often did happen, to Anglo-Saxons. 
The Beowulf poet uses a monster to demonstrate the unstable nature of Anglo-Saxon existence.  Grendel may be a monster, but he does only what Anglo-Saxon kings often did to other Anglo-Saxon kings.  This is what is revealed in the epic poem.  The monster may be a literary creation, but the destruction of a mead hall and the displacement of the people who depended on the hall and the king for protection is not.

Answer

There are a couple of features of Beowulf's characterization that reflect what was important in Anglo-Saxon society.  For example, Beowulf comes across as rather brash and egotistical, but Anglo-Saxon society valued the daring and confident young man who was proud of his actions and could use his past endevours to motivate himself towards future success.  Our modern sensibility is towards modesty, but not then!  They told and retold the great stories to remind themselves and others of their greatness.
Anglo-Saxon society believed in a concept revenge that resulted in a revenge cycle.  If someone killed one of your men, you were obligated to avenge his death, but then that group was obligated to avenge that death -- and so on and so on.  this is evidenced in Beowulf's killing of Grendel, but Grendel's mother seeking retribution.  The cycle only ends because there is no one left to carry out the revenge.
Anglo-Saxons also believed in the concept of fate, called wyrd.  There are numerous references to wyrd in the text, so while the characters take actions to defeat their enemies, they are also aware that fate has a hand in the situations and outcomes of man.

Answer

One of the most important ways that Beowulf reveals the values of the Anglo Saxon society is in its chivalry code, and the code of the knighthood.
Back in Anglo Saxon times, it was common of the people to desire a King that was chivalrous, powerful, and daring. This was the early feudal society that built up what later would become the middle ages. From this paradigm, the people would, in turn, vow their loyalty to the king by becoming his knights and defenders. As this progresses, a new hierarchy forms, and the people of a town have a complete system of defense all based on the honor and loyalty that they feel for the King.
As an Anglo Saxon poem based on oral tradition and history, Beowulf would comprise all the Anglo Saxon elements that would make it reveal society as it was.

Beowulf

In what ways do you think Beowulf reveals the values of the Anglo-Saxon society?

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