Heroism is the act of bravery, which is signified in both characters: Antigone and Beowulf. These two texts provide proof that both men and female can show bravery. The heroism in Antigone and Beowulf is similar and different in many ways. Both are willing to go against others for what they believe in. Antigone and her sister Ismene have two brothers that go to battle. During the battle one brother turns on the other, indicating that Polynices was on the wrong side. Since Polynices was on the wrong side he would not have a proper burial. In fact, Polynices would have no burial at all according to Creon when he states: “No one shall bury him, no one mourn for him. But this body must lie in the fields, a sweet treasure. For carrion birds to find as they search for food.”. The previous quote signifies the reason for Antigone’s heroism to take place.
However, in Antigone, they believe in multiple God’s. Antigone would rather break the laws
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The first battle shows Beowulf’s incredible strength, he wins this battle by cutting off Grendel’s arm. Next is the second battle which is against Grendel’s mother. Grendel’s mother is defeated by a sword that is in the hands of Beowulf. Lastly, the third battle is when Beowulf is the King and also very old. During the last battle, Beowulf takes the victory however he is wounded and dies. The following quote: “This monster himself, our mighty king, fight this battle alone and unaided.” shows how other men portray Beowulf.
The result of heroism in both Beowulf and Antigone result in death. Each of these stories shows the reason for a God or multiple God’s. Although the readers primarily focus on the bravery portrayed in each of these texts the readers do not focus on the evil. Creon felt that Polynices had shown treachery, while Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon all were the villains that had to be put to a
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Show MoreBeowulf accepts Hrothgar's favor to fight Grendel, and Beowulf goes off and boasts about his accomplishments. He fights Grendel and wins! Towards the end, Beowulf dies due to a dragon bite. Grendel does not deserve sympathy because he invaded the Mead Hall, killed humans, and was irredeemable. Grendel invades the Mead Hall unwelcome by the humans.
Beowulf is considered a mythic hero because there are three types of passages in “ The Hero with a Thousand Faces”. The first type is the separation, which is where the hero decides to go on an adventure to do good things and save lives. An example of this is when Beowulf hears about grendel and decides himself to go and make a difference and defeat Grendel. The second type is initiation, which is the hero actually doing the things that
Polyneices was known as a traitor to Thebes and that is why Creon made the law that Polyneices could not be buried. Even though Antigone was aware of this she was not ready to just leave her brother’s carcass unburied and completely open to animals like birds and dogs. The law was not thought through by creon at all, Creon’s son Haimon even tells his dad that him killing Antigone is guaranteed to bring upon more deaths. Creon started to believe that Haimon had turned over to a criminal, his fiance Antigone, but Haimon re assures Creon that he listens to his father and has the most respect for him. Even though Haimon tells this to Creon, Haimon still tells the King Creon that he is wrong and that the people are talking in town, Haimon says “But I, at any rate, can listen; and i have heard them muttering and whispering in the dark about this
The idea of a hero is explored differently in the ancient Anglo-Saxon text Beowulf and John Gardner’s Grendel. During the time period of both of the stories being a hero is very important to everyone. Beowulf is not a true hero, even if he tries to make himself out to seem like a true hero, based on modern ideas of the Hero. In the poem Beowulf being a hero is very important to the main character Beowulf.
Sometimes ones greatest trait can also be the leading cause of their undoing. We see exactly that in the epic hero, Beowulf, of the anonymously written, Beowulf. As much as he is an epic hero, he is also a tragic one. His pride and excessive braveness lead him to fall while sacrificing himself to defeat a dragon, saving his kingdom. Creon of Sophocles' tragic play Antigone, deals with the same issue as Beowulf.
Emily Festavan Mrs. Morris English Advanced 12- 6th period 4 December 2017 Beowulf is Not a Hero Beowulf is characterized as a hero but he uses these qualities wrong making him not a hero. An epic hero is supposed to have seven traits such as: noble birth, strength and courage, warrior, adventure, heroism, humility, and faces supernatural. Beowulf possess these traits but his actions do not show him as a hero. What Beowulf says and does speaks louder than him just being characterized as a hero. Beowulf is not a hero because he is conceited, seeks pride and self-glorification, and thinks he is more superior than others.
Antigone: Gender Difference and Power As we are all aware that for generations, gender difference and power have been an issue for centuries. That being said the play Antigone by Sophocles, displays many examples of these struggles. The main topics that will be discussed, are: Antigone’s background history in Oedipus the King, the conflict between Creon the king of Thebes and Antigone, the gender difference and power. In order to know who Antigone is, you must know some of her and her families background, which is from the play of Oedipus the King.
A true hero can be defined by his or her actions just as Beowulf
Throughout the poem, Beowulf fights three different monsters and in each of these situations he chooses to begin the fight without their help. He enters into combat with his men by his side, but when the actual fighting begins he defeats the monsters with very little help from them. Beowulf’s strength and physical prowess was unlike any other man in comparison to his height and incredible grip. Furthermore, Beowulf can be categorized as an outcast based on his personality traits. The main character is set apart from the other warriors because of his courage and humility.
Beowulf makes known that “no man but [himself] could hope to defeat this monster, [and] no one could try.” Beowulf wants to have this fight all to himself, so he can take all of the glory. He is too selfish to conclude that only he could defeat the monster alone. Beowulf cannot be thought of as a hero because “Beowulf only longed for fame.” Beowulf does not perform heroic deeds just to save the citizens, but to receive more admiration from the citizens.
Creon is no longer speaking to multiple people, and is instead talking to only the guard who was supposed to be watching Polyneices’ body. From the start he is very rude, clearly angered by what has happened. “ Stop now - before what you’re about to say enrages me completely and reveals that you’re not only old but stupid, too,” is the first line of the speech. He continues to mock the guard, and accuses him of purposefully letting Polyneices’ body be stolen for money. He accuses him of being paid off because he knows the people don’t like him, and would do anything to disobey him.
Creon says, “but his brother Polyneices, who broke his exile to come back with fire and sword against his native city and the shrines of his father’s gods, whose one idea was to sill the blood and sell his own people into slavery – Polyneices, I say, is to have no burial: no man is to touch him or say the least prayer for him;
The definition of heroism is great bravery. Bravery is what Beowulf displays when he makes the decision to battle the monsters. Beowulf's courage is exposed multiple times during the battles for example, "The dragon burns Beowulf's hall with fiery breath, and the old king sets out to fight him unaided" (Hanning 9). This detail displays that although the dragon is evil and might, Beowulf shows no fear whatsoever when battling them. Beowulf ignores the possibility of there being an adverse outcome during every battle he continues to fight.
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.
In Beowulf, a wide variety of aspects are portrayed but only one of them captivates the reader the most: Beowulf’s battles between Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. They all share similarities and differences and each of the opponents symbolize different things. Firstly, all three of Beowulf’s battles are similar in some way.