Beowulf vs Achilles A soldier goes into battle and gets blown into a million pieces by a grenade. How will that soldier be remembered by his comrades and family? Will he be remember by how he died, his accomplishments throughout his life, or the courage that soldier had to charge into a battle knowing any breath might be his last one. Courage is a necessary trait for any man to become a soldier, risking his life for others or his country. Soldiers are thought to only fight for their country and their people, but that isn’t the case. Some soldiers fight for other reasons though, led by their ambitions brought on from their own traits. Stories have presented this scenario through time, showing what happens when a soldier loses sight of the …show more content…
Achilles, son of a goddess, has superior strength and fighting skills to any regular human, and as a baby he was dipped into the river Styx by his mother, leaving no part of his body vulnerable to attack but where she held him by his ankles. Beowulf on the other hand is the strongest man in the world of his time, having the strength to rip of the arm of a large monster named Grendel, and he is extremely tough, being able to survive the surge of a dragons fire breath that would have killed a normal man. Despite their physical traits, they both displayed acts of brutality and ruthlessness in their poems. Beowulf did so when he ripped off the arm of Grendel and hung it in the mead hall as a sign of victory, as well as when he defeated Grendel’s mother and took her head as a trophy. Achilles acts were almost just as vicious. When Hector died by Achilles hands, Achilles stripped him down to his naked body, let his followers come and stab his dead body repeatedly, then he pierced ropes through his tendons, and drug Hector around the city of Troy. In both instances, Beowulf and Achilles both took pride and joy in their murderous
Beowulf and Achilles are both heroes with similar traits, such as both cunning in battle and they are both looking to seek revenge on a certain nemesis. Beowulf shows his dominance in battle by killing the dreadful monster, Grendel by ripping its arm off. He also then eliminates Grendel’s mother; while Achilles kills his arch nemesis, Hector, by stabbing him directly in the neck. Beowulf wants revenge on Grendel for killing the innocent Danes of his kingdom, while Achilles shows his trait for revenge by killing Hector, the man who killed Achilles’s cousin. An example of this trait is stated by Achilles “Now my soul would have he stand and fight, whether I kill you or am killed.
This short story allows readers to think about how fear and shame can motivate not only soldiers in war but everyday
The author expresses mild courage in the American soldiers who ought to be stronger and
Through his journey, the author examines the complexities of courage and the human psyche in the face of war and death. The work is characterized by its vivid, imaginative prose style, which brings to life the intense and often chaotic experiences of battle. This work also includes many examples of bravery and courage throughout the tale. This can especially be seen after his return to fight and while he successfully tries to earn his own red badge of courage.
Achilles shows unforgivingness when the death of Patroclus, his good friend, causes Achilles to only become more enraged except this time points his anger toward Hector, his enemy. Despite the differences in the two heroes of the epic poems, they do have some similarities in the traits they display. For example both characters show the trait bravery and cunning in battle. When Beowulf proceeds to fight Grendel he portrays bravery by sacrificing his own men before fighting Beowulf himself.
Achilles fights with pride and anger, whereas Beowulf fights because he has
The hero Beowulf fought with honor to save a kingdom, whereas Achilles fought for fame and revenge. The hero Beowulf fought to save the kingdom of Herot, ruled by the king Hrothgar. A monster, named Grendel, has terrorized this kingdom; so Beowulf comes to defeat Grendel. He defeats the monster, but angers Grendel’s mother in the process.
Not only have we seen brute strength, honorable courage, and admirable loyalty shine through beowulf, Beowulf also possess a great trait not many others have; his will to fight to the death, or self sacrifice. Not once throughout the story did Beowulf ever turn down a battle. Not once did he fear or flee his enemy. Not once did he ever give up even if death had him by the throat causing his mind to flood nothing but fearful thoughts and feelings throughout his body. Every battle Beowulf fought, he fought as if it was his last and that is what truly makes him the great warrior he is.
Achilles was very upfront about wanting glory from his people, he always didn’t want to help his people. Both stories tell the great deeds done by Achilles and Beowulf, proof of how they both were epic heroes. However, their cultural differences does set them apart from each other. Beowulf fulfills his role as an epic hero by protecting his people and going above that and crossing the sea and protecting the Danes
Beowulf is an epic hero because of his strength. His strength isn’t the same as an ordinary man, “He twisted in pain and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped muscle and on split and broke” (lines 337-340). No ordinary man would be
The first quality they share is courage. The two heroes demonstrate their courage in a different way. Beowulf is a hero with a lot of courage because he fights without weapons. He does not believe in using weapons to kill people. Beowulf is described as: “Dripped with his enemies blood”.
Furthermore, Beowulf and Gilgamesh are not prone to agony as much as other people, such as dealing with battles, because they are both strong characters. Beowulf was described as “the strongest of the Geats—greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world . . .” because he could encounter dangerous monsters without being murdered (Beowulf l. 91-92). Beowulf slayed the monster Grendel as an offer to King Hrothgar at Herot
Homer underlines that this behavior is foul, for Achilles allows his soldiers to wound the body and then bounds Hector’s feet to his chariot in order to harm the body. Although Hector asked him to give his body to his family, Achilles ignores the last will of the dying Trojan hero because he is still obsessed with his revenge. One should remember that the Greeks believed it was the issue of primary importance to bury a person’s body in a decent way so that their spirit would find the sanctuary. In other words, Achilles takes revenge in the most horrible way
Aeneas seems to be similar to that of Homer’s Achilles in the latter books of the Aeneid. Achilles and Aeneas share similar qualities within their characterization. Although both characters also display many differences throughout each of the epic poems, in book twelve of the Aeneid clearer similarities between the two characters become evident. The main similarity between these characters in latter books of the Aeneid is displayed when Aeneas kills Turnus. Aeneas’ rage at Pallas’ death by Turnus becomes evident and Aeneas seeks to kill Turnus as revenge.