Character Analysis Essay On Beowulf

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In Anglo-Saxon culture heroes were determined by their bravery, strength, and glory. In the epic Beowulf, Beowulf is the epitome of an Anglo-Saxon hero because he displays all of these traits. Beowulf exhibits his bravery in the way he fearlessly goes into each of his three battles. He then displays his strength as he defeats each of the monsters. Finally, Beowulf is glorified by his comrades because of his heroic actions. Beowulf is an epic hero because he embodies his people’s ideals of bravery, strength, and glory through his battles. Beowulf displays his heroic traits of bravery, strength, and glory as he fights the monster Grendel and earns the respect of the Danes. Before going into battle Beowulf decides that he needs no weapons and his “hands / alone shall fight for [him]” (Raffel 172-3). This shows Beowulf’s trait of bravery, instead of hiding behind a shield Beowulf is willing to fight with only his hands against a monster who in twelve years has not been harmed by any other man. Beowulf shows his strength as he causes “[Grendel’s] shoulder [to] / snap, muscle and bone [to] split” (497-8). The fact that Beowulf is strong enough to rip off Grendel’s arm shows that his strength is extraordinary, no ordinary man can rip off the arm of a monster who can …show more content…

The author makes sure to include Beowulf’s traits of bravery, strength, and glory in every situation so that it is reinforced that he truly has these traits. The author would not do this if these attributes were not important to the culture of the time. Beowulf’s characteristics of bravery and strength are still important today, but his trait of glory may be switched with that of humility so that readers could better relate to him. The goal of the author is to create a character that personifies who the reader wants to be, and Beowulf personifies the hero that a person during that time would want to

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