Essay Comparing Beowulf And Achilles

The first comparison is how they are both fighting for a good cause, and they are trying to help and protect people. In the epic poem, Beowulf is fighting to destroy the monster that is eating all of Hrothgar’s men in the mead hall. Beowulf defeats the monster and all the other monsters that were being evil and doing

Beowulf is the perfect hero, both tragic and epic. He is larger than life with his impressive strength and drive that helps him defeat an assortment of monsters, such as Grendel and Grendel's mother. His overconfidence and pride makes him a tragic hero. In lines 678-684, Beowulf boldly states, "When it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous as Grendel. No weapons... unarmed he shall

From the battles and fame to their leadership and loyalty both epic heroes gilgamesh and beowulf display the common characteristics of an epic hero. All throughout their journeys both heros come across situations that make them show who they really are and what they believe in. Although certain aspects of their leadership, journeys and personal beliefs are similar the way they display themselves in their personal and public lives make many of their characteristics differ from one another. The leadership styles and qualities of each character helps to define who they are as a person and what they believe in.

Both the characters of Beowulf and the Seafarer have demonstrated courage in their tales. As depicted in the story, Beowulf is willing to face every situation fearlessly and without hesitation. He knows one day he will be defeated but until then he fights until he does. Beowulf know 's when he dies, he will be remembered for what a great warrior he was. Another character who displayed courage this unit would be the character from the Seafarer.

They both go through the “Hero’s Journey,” and display many characteristics of a hero. Beowulf, however, better fits the qualities of an epic hero due to his unselfish personality, his fearlessness, and his nobility. One reason Beowulf is the better epic hero is because his intentions and motives were selfless. He always fought to save the people, not for glory or treasures.

Alexander Hamilton once said, “There is a certain Enthusiasm in liberty that makes Human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.” Beowulf is an epic poem in which the main character Beowulf did acts of service, but he fought for those who couldn’t fight. The overall theme of good versus evil in Beowulf had Beowulf dealing with challenges that no ordinary man would be able to handle unless they were a true epic hero. Throughout the poem Beowulf proves to be an epic hero by his strength, bravery, and sacrifice.

You won’t get a medal of honor, or a movie deal, or a political career out of¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ it but you still might save innocent lives===. Hero’s start off in most cases slightly selfish. They then begin to blossom into a selfless person. Beowulf was a prince who sailed across an ocean to help a king. Achilles is a soldier who was thought to be invulnerable and the greatest warrior in the world.

In conclusion, Gilgamesh and Achilles are considered some of the greatest of warriors. There are many similarities and differences between Achilles and Gilgamesh. As discussed before both Gilgamesh and Achilles had a quest that they desired.   The only difference between the two is the certain desire they wanted to obtain.

Ironically in his efforts to gain fame and riches, Beowulf 's traits overlap with those of an epic hero. More important than Beowulf 's lack of morality though, is the warrior 's lack of growth throughout the story. Usually, in epic poems, the protagonists change

Beowulf definitely displays multiple examples of courage, such as fighting Grendel barehanded and going to fight a dragon alone, but the most pronounced example is when Beowulf goes to fight Grendel’s mother, his second trial. Her home is a disgusting, murky lake that’s “infested with… sea-dragons / and monsters” (1425) and so deep that “the mere bottom has never been sounded by the sons of men” (1367-1368). Even the creatures that live around it would rather die than dive under the water’s surface. Beowulf makes a big deal out of how terrifying her home is, expressing how the warriors who arrived at her home were “not man enough / to face the turmoil of a fight under water / and the risk to [their] life” (1468-1470). But Beowulf is willing to.

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.

Yes, Beowulf is brave, but not because he wants to do the right thing, he wants gold and glory. Beowulf is known as a great hero and on the surface he is. He seems to be brave and just but underneath that, Beowulf is extremely arrogant and egotistical. Beowulf does not just do things for they are the right thing to do, he does them seeing that great deeds will bring him honor and boost his reputation. He fights Grendel for bragging rights like the swimming contest Unferth brought up and he refuses to use a sword when fighting Grendel because it will just add to his bravery.

Bravery, defined as, courageous acts of one’s character. The main person in this epic poem to demonstrate the act of bravery would be, Beowulf himself. Beowulf’s battle with Grendel shows true courage. Beowulf then “took off the helmet and handed the patterned sword”. (672-673)He was completely unarmed as described in the lines previous.

Throughout the course of the epic, deadly consequences stem from unchecked rage such as the slaughter of an entire people and even the doomed fate of Achilles himself. Along the timeline of modern American history, i.e The Civil War, or The American Revolution, the relevance of The Iliad and its thematic concept of rage and honor parallels the cause of many other if not all of these wars throughout the years of contemporary history. Rage and differences among men spark the irreversible and tragic acts of violence perpetuated throughout these wars, giving credence to the idea that rage is the great motivator behind all major historic events- arguably even into modern

A hero comes with characteristics you must follow, but upon different cultures, that view can vary. In the Iliad and the Aeneid, different perspectives are shown which drive the sense of who is more qualified to be a hero in their culture. In reality, most heros will have most of the same ideals in them, however there can be some differences that set them apart from each other. Although it is clear that Achilles and Aeneas could be the heroes of their story, they are still set apart from each other. The heroes are alike, but contrast each other in Greek and Roman literature.