Essay On Beowulf's The Rise Of The Anti-Hero

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles” (Reeve). In the book Beowulf and the article “The Rise of the Anti-Hero” heros are looked at being unflawed and flawed people. The character Beowulf engages on a journey to Denmark. His journey of sailing across the seas, fighting Grendel and his mother and fighting a dragon recognizes Beowulf as being this great hero. As our culture changes so does the way we look at heros. Heros are being looked at differently, some people believe that heroes have to be upright in addition to steady fast. However the “anti-hero” is not the traditional hero that you think. Although cultural heroes ultimately serve the purpose of solidifying the values of a particular culture, the ever-changing, dynamic nature of heroism identifies itself as heros being looked at as being different from others and standing out to make a difference in the culture. Revenge can act as harming a person for their

“The “anti-hero” (also known as the flawed hero) is a common character archetype for the antagonist that has been around since the comedies and tragedies of Greek theater” (Michael). The author believes that “anti-heros” exist and within our culture today we have heroes that are know as “anti-heros”. The author said “At different points in history, the culture-at-large has preferred stories featuring anti-heroes over those with traditional heroes, and vice versa” (Michael). Over time the way we view heros has changed between the two types of heroes. Michaels thoughts might be summed up as: “Characters who shine as morally pure and upright don’t ring true to us anymore, because it’s not who we see around us in the world” (Michael). When you think of someone as a hero do not just thing of the good qualities a hero might have, think about a way the “anti-hero” can be categorized as a hero in your