Batman Compared To Beowulf

Stories contain many characters with some that stand out more than the others. A person is considered the protagonist depending on who is telling the story and what story is being told. The protagonist is the main character in a literary work. Whether good or evil, the audience sympathize with the protagonist and understands the motif of the character. Beowulf is a protagonist whose encounters with evil proves him to be a strong heroic warrior. The knight from the Canterbury Tales is considered the protagonist as he serves as an honorable servant to the king. Beowulf and The Knight both compare through their loyalty and humbleness.

In the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, there is plenty of controversy over whether or not the poem was considered Christian or Pagan. It is understandable that there may be both themes seen throughout this particular work. Beowulf is referred to as a very outstanding piece of British literature during the eighteenth century. Although re-written in the eleventh century, Anglo-Saxon themes represented the ideals of Christianity in a more virtuous, and outright manner. Whereas, in Beowulf, the author makes use of many purposeful situations that lead readers to consider the intentions and major themes that they considered rare at the time.

The tale of Beowulf is one of the most established cases of what society sees as a hero. In spite of the fact that the story was composed in Anglo-Saxon circumstances, the accreditations one would require so to be considered by society a legend continue as before. The Anglo-Saxons believed that a hero was brave and bold, however modest and kind also. They likewise trusted that a legend was astute and noble, in which he would battle until death with a specific end goal to guard his people. Beowulf is portrayed as minding, humane, honorable, and understanding, which makes him appear as though he had each attribute of a genuine

Two very important ideas in Pagan belief are Loyalty and Faith. Beowulf is very loyal to his comitatus and is also very loyal to Hrothgar. He would give his life for the safety of his brothers and would never stab them in the back. He also always had faith in himself and God. He trusted that he would be victorious over his enemies with God having his back.

In Beowulf he is not interested in being Christian or following the Christian morals, Beowulf is stuck in between his Christian backbone to help the people and his selfish prize of paganism. Even though he wants respect from Christians he has a passion and drive for fighting. Beowulf is known as being a hero and the one to defeat Grendel. Beowulf looks away at weapons when fighting but relies heavily on his strength... as he refused to use a weapon he portrays a confident attitude towards his battles when he refuses to use a weapon. Signs of christianity are giving selfishness and being loyal.

Christopher Cain, professor and expert in Old English and Medieval Scandinavian literature and culture, published an essay analyzing the relationship between Beowulf and the Old Testament, as well as the presence of paganism in this poem. In the essay, it is noted that “the general tone of the poem and its ethical viewpoint are decidedly Christian;” the poet relied heavily upon the Bible, as can be evidenced by “allusions to Cain, the Creation, and the Deluge,” which are all Old Testament allusions (Cain). The characters themselves also serve to represent Christian ideologies, though references to Germanic culture appear frequently. For instance, this is embodied in the scene where Beowulf is fighting to rid Heorot of Grendel, and “Beowulf recognizes it to be God's will that determines the outcome of the fight—” not his own strength (Cain).

Because of his choice to not trust in God, Beowulf ends up dying, but he is still not aware of his mistake, (Death ln 160-161). God could not let him continue life with His blessing upon him if Beowulf could not keep his faith in God. This ends up being his fatal mistake that results in his death. Through the epic Beowulf, the reader realizes the author’s use of paganism and christianity is to reflect the idea that putting faith in worldly things and not putting faith in God leads to a person’s ultimate demise.

A superhero can sometimes be a symbol of hope that can destroy all evil.Some examples of super heroes are Beowulf and Superman. Beowulf in the poem “Beowulf” is a hero who fights against a monster named Grendel to defend his people; he is considered the strongest warrior around. Superman on the other hand is considered the most powerful fictional superhero on planet earth, who fights against supervillains to defend human beings. Although Beowulf and Superman are both similar when it comes to heroic traits and that they both go on long dangerous journeys they differ in that they have different heroic deeds and show different timeless values, but somewhat similar universal

Beowulf is an old story that originated from the Anglo-Saxon time period. It was often told by a Scop, a man that memorized stories and told them to the entire tribe, and each story often had a message that was supposed to be given to the warriors or the king. These stories were often told to younger generations for it to be remembered, and every time it was passed down, it had some changes made to it. It was finally recorded by two monks. Since then, there have been many movies of Beowulf, with the most recent being made in 2007 as an animated movie with somewhat related plot, but it had many revisions to make the movie mostly different from the poem itself, and with those changes it shows how our society is different from the Anglo-Saxons. In the Beowulf movie and poem, there are similarities and differences in Beowulf himself, religion, and themes, which reveals themes that reflect both Anglo Saxon and modern societies.

Beowulf vs Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon all represent a creature from hell and Beowulf is a god-like warrior who ends up slaying evil. “Like a man outlawed/for wickedness, he must await/the mighty judgement of God in majesty” (Beowulf 976 - 978). This quote talks about Grendel and his demonic soul. Beowulf points out that he is an evil creature and no creature ever to exist is powerful enough to smite God. Once Grendel dies, Grendel will be in God’s hands and Grendel will regret ever being evil or committing any evil action to anyone or anything on Earth.

Throughout the years, Beowulf has been compared to many modern day super heroes. However, the super hero that Beowulf is most easily compared to is Superman. Although there are multiple differences amongst these two characters, there are a few similarities as well. Such similarities exist in appearances, as well as supernatural qualities. Moreover, Beowulf and Superman are both portrayed as heroes for their time. Both Beowulf and Superman travel far and wide to defeat villains, save people, and encourage others. Their appearances are similar as well. Superman and Beowulf are dry, muscular, and strong. In fact, most people during their time would have considered them handsome.

When Beowulf was going to fight grendel he felt as if it was his obligation, the people were relying on him to fight. Edwin Markham quotes “Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.” and what this means is that Beowulf had a duty to prove something to his people. It was part of the Anglo-Saxon code. He had morals and

Being an epic hero, Beowulf was very brave and battled many immortal creatures. One monster he came across was Grendel. “Conceived by a pair of the monster born of Cain, murderous creatures banned by God..,”(44), Hrothgar’s men would say. This is a reference from the Bible, showing the evil portrayed in the monster Grendel. This monster went to Herot and killed thirty men just because he was hungry.

Unquestionably, Beowulf is a hero, so in this case, his pride is more acceptable and respectable. Although haughty at first glance, this tremendous conqueror reflects certain keenness for integrity, distinction, and exaltation without necessarily gloating. He performs a selfless act when he says, “This fight is not yours, nor is it up to any man except me to measure his strength against the monster or to prove his worth. I shall win the gold by my courage, or else mortal combat, doom of battle, will bear your lord away” (Beowulf 2532-2537). Not only does the noble hero express self-sacrifice for his people at this instant, but he also contradicts this act by having prideful means in his decision to fight the dragon.

Even when he saves countless lives, the hero never intends his quests to benefit anyone else than himself. This is constant throughout the book, and not even at his deathbed does Beowulf acknowledge something that is not about him or gold. He is often preoccupied by money and fame, but the wellbeing of other people is not in his vocabulary. For example, when a dragon begins to terrorize his kingdom, Beowulf 's first thought is not to protect his people. Instead, he says, "I 've never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles.