When compared against modern heroes, Beowulf comes off as a more of a rugged dirty character. When looking at heroes such as Captain America or Luke Skywalker, both of these characters are never pictured as dirty. Captain America, also known as Steve Rogers, is always pictured as clean and his suit never dirty, same thing with Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker grew up a farm boy on the desert planet of Tatooine and later became a Jedi Knight, he was never explained as dirty or foul such as Beowulf was.
Throughout the history of mankind there have been many books and stories written which preview a hero doing dangerous, epic deeds for the good of others. The same is true in the story of Beowulf, titled Beowulf. Beowulf was written by the Anglo Saxons by an unknown author. In the book Beowulf, Beowulf follows the role of the archetypal hero and fulfills it by going on epic quests to help, and save kingdoms. This is shown whenever Beowulf sets out to fight Grendel, an awful beast who is terrorizing Hrothgar’s kingdom. This is also shown whenever Beowulf ventures out to slay Grendel’s mother. And ultimately whenever Beowulf goes to fight the dragon in his final showdown. All of these pertain to Beowulf fulfilling the role of the hero in Beowulf.
In today’s society, anybody can be considered a hero. A hero is a selfless person who is admired for their courageous achievements. A mother, celebrity, or even a mailman can be a hero to someone. In Beowulf, the epic poem translated by Burton Raffel, Beowulf is recognized as a hero who craves too much glory. In today’s world, Beowulf is viewed as an irrelevant hero since he displays poor qualities of arrogance and selfishness.
In the epic Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is depicted as a heroic figure who fights monsters and defends the weak. During its time, Beowulf would be considered a great hero, however in today 's standards Beowulf would only be considered a great warrior. That’s because a hero should value the lives of the people and not seek to be rewarded. Instead, Beowulf committed heroic acts for his own selfish reasons and never shows to values the lives of the people. From fighting Grendel to slaying the dragon, Beowulf only fought because he value the fame and fortune that comes along with those accomplishments.
“A Hero is an ordinary person who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles”, quoted by Christopher Reeve. Beowulf however, tends to be an epic hero based on the definition of one. Beowulf was definitely a hero, not because of his super strength, smartness, or even his sword. But because when everyone backed down he was the one to step up & sacrifice his life to save others. “
In conclusion, Beowulf was a hero, even though he died, he was willing to sacrifice his life for his comrades. He showed his strength with every decision he made. He detached Grendel’s arm from his body, slayed Grendel’s mother with a sword and died fighting the dragon. He is brave because he didn’t back out of any of these battles, and he had the courage even though he was a little unsteady of the demons he helped the people of Denmark. He died saving everyone in Denmark from the horrific demons who lurked about. Three evil monsters
A hero does not fight for fame and glory but for the greater good. A hero is someone who goes through adversity to help others in desperate times. A hero fights evil, and defends people. Beowulf should be considered a hero because he is a strong, brave warrior who defended his people and slayed evil monsters.
Being a hero to our society isn’t as easy as it looks in the movies. Good heroes are more than throwing on a cape and having the ability to fly. Good heroes come in many shapes and sizes. In today’s society we label people heroes for many reasons. Beowulf is beyond a doubt a beneficial hero. He was loyal, brave, and basically superhuman. He could save his people and protect his society.
The way something appears at first is not necessarily what is actually true. Just ask Barney Stinson of the TV show How I Met Your Mother, for example. If you asked anyone who has seen the movie The Karate Kid, they would most likely say the main character of the film, Daniel, is the hero. However, according to Barney, Johnny, the leader of the Cobra Kai dojo, is the real hero of The Karate Kid. In The Karate Kid, Johnny is portrayed as a villain, but Barney sees him as the true hero in the film as opposed to the common interpretation that Daniel is the hero and Johnny is the antagonist. Similarly, in the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf is portrayed as a strong and powerful hero who saves the Danes from the monster Grendel.
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. His pride causes his downfall when everyone he loves dies because of it. Unlike Beowulf, Creon is only interested in what is beneficial for him, he does not like to listen to what anyone else has to say. Beowulf is a team player and wants to do what is good for everyone. Both Creon and Beowulf are leaders, Creon of Thebes and Beowulf of the Geats, although they have contrasting ways of leadership. These two men experience different journeys, but the outcome is the same with them being tragic heroes.
In the story Beowulf, there are numerous moments of heroic actions. Although there are manycharacters that are looked upon as evil, Beowulf is not one of those. Beowulf demonstrates many heroic traits throughout the story such as strong-willingness and self-determination, strength and admiration, and honest, and for these reasons, I believe he should be classified as a hero.The majority of the time, heroes are very strong-willed and can push their selves to do what is best. Oftentimes they do not need someone to tell them they need to do something and they do notusually need someone to follow behind them to make sure they are making the good decision. Regardless of the circumstance, “his spirit did not break and the ancestral blade would keep its edge”(Beowulf
A basic definition, of a hero is a person that puts others’ lives and safety first. Therefore, he’s defined by his acts and traits not by his looks or social status. He is well respected not only by the ones that he saves, but also by his community as a whole. Heroes come from everywhere around the world, with different capabilities, backgrounds and beliefs. Yet, they have a lot in common, most importantly standing up for the ones that cannot stand for themselves.
When most people think of a hero, they picture a typically strong man with courageous actions and noble qualities. As people read Beowulf, they will begin to realize that Beowulf is the exact figure of what a hero should be. From defeating Grendel to helping the kingdom, Beowulf continues to show his heroic acts. If it weren’t for him, Grendel would have destroyed the kingdom. Beowulf’s strength, courage, and nobility proves that he is a hero.
Beowulf was portrayed as a hero archetype because of his egotistical mindset, especially when he was younger. He bragged about his accomplishments and never thought of other possible consequences other than being victorious which makes him believe he was unstoppable. He always prevailed even though his enemies became stronger. This is why he carelessly fought any monster he encountered, he only saw one
Christopher Reeves once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Although Beowulf was human, he was not an ordinary individual, hero, or king, for he was a man who displayed superhuman qualities in his efforts to protect the Danish and Geatish people. Beowulf, who was established Geatish warrior that spent his life in battle, showed these extraordinary characteristics that made him an epic hero, one who possesses superhuman, almost god-like qualities. Being constantly on a quest, risking his life for glory and the greater good of society, and being superiorly intelligent, courageous and strong are the three most important reasons why Beowulf deserves such a notable