A Comparative Analysis Of Beowulf And Anglo-Saxon Values

Roy E. Disney once said, “When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.” This depends, however, on what your values are, and not everyone’s are the same. Today’s society has values such as courage, justice, perseverance, respect, and selflessness. Yet, over time there has been a lot of difference in the values that have been valued. The Anglo-Saxons, for instance, valued things like loyalty, democracy, generosity, courage, and courtesy. The people who embody these values are heroes and because the values change so do the heroes. Both Beowulf from Anglo-Saxon times and Pushpa Basnet from current times exhibit the cultural values of their time and society, thus earning the title of ‘hero’.

Beowulf is a hero because he exemplifies

She is the founder of the Early Childhood Development Center or the ECDC. This organization is a daycare and learning center for children who, because of their parent’s incarceration, are forced to live in jail. She is a hero because she embodies the values of courage, perseverance, and selflessness. She was courageous in starting her business because it was something new and a lot of people doubted her and said she was going to fail and thought she was insane for trying. However, she didn’t let that turn her around and she still fought for what she believed in. She embodies perseverance because she didn’t give up when things didn’t go her way and she kept trying and trying until she achieved her goals. Even more so, she kept expanding her goals and her efforts as her operation grew bigger and she’s still expanding it today. Every aspect of Pushpa Basnet’s operation embodies selflessness. She works tirelessly to help children even though she gets very little out of it. She helps children have a better life purely out of the goodness in her heart. She represents the values of this culture and time and without a doubt should be considered a

However many values have also changed and the general ‘feeling’ of a hero has changed. Heroes today are selfless and humble and are expected to not need or even accept anything in return for their work. This was not seen during Anglo-Saxon times. Beowulf is always more than happy to receive gifts and praise for his good deeds. This is seen on Line 1019: “Then Halfdane’s son presented Beowulf with a gold standard as a victory gift, an embroidered banner; also breast-mail and a helmet; and a sword carried high, that was both precious object and token of honour.” This shift in culture is reflected in today’s heroes. Heroes today tend to be less egotistical by today’s standards and are expected to need less recognition. However, the recognition that today’s heroes and the heroes of Anglo-Saxon times get is actually very similar. The gold that Beowulf receives from the king can be compared to getting a Presidential Medal of Honour and both today’s heroes. Being told about in an Anglo-Saxon story is a lot like being in the newspaper or having a book written about you.

A ‘hero’ is someone who embodies the values of their time and because both Pushpa Basnet and Beowulf do this, they are both heroes of their time. Even though Beowulf might not be considered a hero in today’s world and vice versa, they still deserve the title of ‘hero’ because of the values they