Hero. The first thing that one thinks of when they hear the word is most likely a person with the superhuman abilities of being able to fly, read minds, or easily crush anything in their path. While, most heroes do not possess all of these traits, they do exhibit some. In Beowulf by unknown, the main character, Beowulf is a great hero to the Danes when he defeats a strong monster named Grendel with just his bare hands and saves the Danes from more pain and heartache. Another example of a hero is Batman; he defeats Bane who was a strong villain killed and harmed many people throughout Gotham City. Beowulf and Batman have many similarities and differences, like their characteristics mentally and physically, the type of evil that they try to …show more content…
Beowulf is a man that has what can described as super strength based on the fact that he had a “handgrip harder than anything [Grendel] had ever encountered in any man on the face of the Earth” (Beowulf, 51). He was also able to literally rip Grendel’s arm out of its socket, which is something only someone with super strength could possibly do. Batman is pretty different from Beowulf in this sense, because Batman does not have super strength, nor does he have an actual superpower. Batman is pretty much a superhero that was rich and was able to get all different types of gadgets to fight his enemies with. He is also an extremely smart man and uses that to defeat his enemies too. Beowulf too, is very smart when he goes up against his enemies, like when he “lay on the bed” and pretended to be asleep, but was actually “alert” and able to make a “comeback and armlock” Grendel (Beowulf, 51). He realized that he could trick Grendel into thinking he was an easy target, when in fact, he was not. Beowulf was okay with killing his enemies in order to save others from them. In fact, Beowulf killed all three of his enemies in Beowulf. Batman, unlike Beowulf, did not like to kill his enemies, which is why the Joker lived despite being defeated by Batman so many times. Despite their outlooks on killing their enemies, both wanted to protect a city from the destruction caused by …show more content…
Beowulf deals with both vengeful evil and psychotic evil. Grendel was psychotically evil because he killed people just for the sake of killing them. Grendel literally had “glee” when “picturing the mayhem: before morning he would rip life from limb and devour them.” (Beowulf, 49). This means that Grendel got happy when he just had thoughts of killing people or was about to do it. Grendel’s mom was vengeful because she only attacked the Danes because they were celebrating the death of her son. The narrator states that there was “an avenger” (Grendel’s mom) and she “brooded on her wrongs” (Beowulf, 89). This shows that Grendel’s mom only attacked the Danes because she wanted to get revenge against the people that harmed her. Similarly, Batman, deals with both vengeful evil and psychotic evil. The Joker was psychotic because he enjoyed killing people just to kill people: very much like Grendel did. Bane was vengeful because he killed a man that tried to use him and would often harm people who harmed him first (for example, bullies at school when he was a kid). Bane can also be seen as psychotic because he was extremely fixated on destroying Batman based only upon rumors that he had heard while he was in
A hero not only needs to be physically outstanding, but he also needs to have integrity, moral values and needs to act without thinking in his own benefit. Beowulf has many characteristics of a hero but he also has some defects that make me think that he wouldn’t be considered a hero in today´s world. A hero concept evolves with a culture, Beowulf has many things that the Anglo-Saxons viewed as heroism but he misses many things that are important for a modern hero.
society in which he lives. He apartment is purposely set on the opposite side of town
What is hero? A hero, under the Merriam-Webster definition, is a person who is admired for brave/great acts or fine qualities. This is a very broad definition that combines both ancient and modern belief of what --or who-- a hero should be. Beowulf is an epic poem that focuses on an Anglo-Saxon hero. As such he embodies the traits that his culture valued most. Deadpool, on the other hand, portrays the most recent ideas of what traits a hero should embody. With these examples from contrasting periods, we are still able to see similarities and differences that shows how modern and Anglo-Saxon idea of heroism reflects its culture.
Although there are many similarities, the few differences between Beowulf and Batman are quite evident. The epic hero Beowulf received rewards for his intrepidness and heroism. For example he received wealth and was later made king. He was primarily interested in glory, which eventually led to his death at the claws of the dragon. On the contrary, Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne, already has wealth and power, even though this is not of great importance to him...
His bravery and physical strength needed to kill this evil being makes him a great warrior and an even better literary hero. When the Hrothgar’s men attempted to kill Grendel, they were unsuccessful. Although he saw other men die to this monster he did not let that scare him off. This is when Beowulf felt it was necessary for him to intervene and take charge. When Grendel came to attack Heorot Hall Beowulf was there waiting for him. Beowulf stood up for the Hrothgar’s men and accomplished what they couldn’t in order to make everyone safer. Although he faced a plethora of obstacles he did not give up he stood strong and saved many people by doing so. During the battle Beowulf wrestled Grendel to the ground. Beowulf proceeded to rip Grendel’s arm from his shoulder and hang it from the ceiling. Grendel then fled away from Beowulf into the wilderness where he then died. This proved to Beowulf that Grendel may be strong but he will never be as brave. Grendel was an evil monster who wanted nothing good to happen to the people and Beowulf prevented any more murders by Grendel from happening. He saved the lives of many people by accomplishing this heroic and honorable
Do people ever talk about superheroes, and monsters? Especially people into comic books and children. Every child, even adults, have a superhero they look up to, or a role model they want to grow up to be like. Superheroes are everywhere from movies to books. Children even sit in their room playing with toy superheroes, hoping one day they can be just like them. Even hundreds of thousands of years ago there were superheroes! A long time ago in the Anglo-Saxon Period there was a brave and loyal hero! His name was Beowulf, and everyone looked up to him. This hero definitely brought peace to many people, and if it wasn’t for the mighty hero Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxons would have been terrorized forever. Therefore, the times were hard before Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon warriors always stood for three values, and the time was changed without monsters.
The clear definition of a hero is often open to interpretation and has never been clearly defined. In the translation of the epic poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, it is often debated whether the main character Beowulf is actually a hero or not. Beowulf displays hero-like characteristics through his bravery, loyalty, brute strength, confidence and protective nature. He is a crystal clear example of an Anglo-Saxon hero in his time period. In the present day he should be considered a hero as well. He displays heroism through his fights with Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon while managing to protect his people and eventually sacrifice himself.
Throughout time, society has come in contact with individuals who are praised due to their bravery, loyalty, strength and a tendency to go beyond the limit. One may call this individual a hero, and if asked to give some examples of heroism, one may pick the classical literary hero Beowulf. According to Roger B. Rolling, Beowulf is classified as a Type I hero who, “if superior in degree to other men but not to his natural environment, … is a leader. He has authority, passions, and powers of expression far greater than ours but is subject both to social criticism and to the order of nature” (434). Beowulf’s heroism is exemplified first when he kills Grendel, then when he kills Grendel’s mother, and finally when he kills the Dragon. Also, Beowulf
According to google.com a hero is someone who “is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievments, or noble equalities.” (google.com). For example, superman , superman is an all time american classic modern hero who is admired for his courage and for saving earth multiple times from super villains. Another example of a hero is Beowulf. Beowulf was created around 1000 AD and was known far and wide throughout the lands for his selflessness,bravery, and courage .
Most of us have heard of modern day heroes such as Spiderman, Superman, and the Hulk. Each is a hero to many children. Heroes are introduced to people early on in life usually as fictional characters, but as children grow older their perceptions of heroes alter. The characteristics of a hero are usually based around the ideas of a society or culture. In the epic Beowulf, the main character is thought of as a hero. Beowulf, a pagan warrior and the main character of the epic, shows certain characteristics such as bravery, loyalty, and generosity, which portray him as a hero. It is interesting how modern day heroes show the much of the same qualities as Beowulf.
Superman, Spiderman, and Batman are heroes! They possess the two traits that are needed in western civilization to be considered a hero: wisdom and fortitude. These modern heroes have wisdom and fortitude. Did Beowulf possess these traits? Beowulf shows he is a hero through both his wisdom and fortitude throughout his adventures. Beowulf is a great hero because he possesses both wisdom and fortitude.
A hero in mythology and legend is a man often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for bold exploits, and favored by the gods. Beowulf, the strongest man alive and the greatest Anglo-Saxon warrior, distinguishes himself as this kind of hero. When Herot is in danger of being destroyed by the ferocious beast Grendal, Beowulf raises hell to the menacing beast. Through his brave actions and deeds, Beowulf demonstrates heroic qualities and that is revered by Anglo-Saxon and those which are also universally respected.
This essay is the comparison between Beowulf and a modern day hero. I consider any American soldier to be my modern day hero. In this essay I will explain in three paragraphs of how my modern day hero is like Beowulf. With in these three paragraphs I will go over how they are both fighting for a good cause, how they are both rewarded for what they do, and how they are both treated with much respect.
A hero is someone that helps others no matter what the situation. There are many qualities that a hero must posses such as bravery, courage, strength, intelligence and honor. These qualities alone are not enough to make a hero. They must also be pure at heart, fight for the good of mankind and only fight when it is to protect the people and not out of revenge. Beowulf is everything a hero should be, but contains a few qualities that a hero should not posses. When Beowulf sailed with his men to Herot he had one goal, to rid the hall of Grendal. Beowulf was under no obligation to destroy Grendal and never asked for anything in return for his services. A true hero would never ask for money or anything of value. He put his life at risk to save the people of Herot, who he didn’t even know, out of his own good nature Great strength has been a trait that has been identified with heroes in many stories and legends. Than he saw hanging on the wall, a heavy Sword, hammered by giants, strong And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons But so massive that no ordinary man could lift... (II. 1557-1560) Beowulf possessed great strength that separated him from other men. Being able to use a sword that no ordinary man was able to carry gives the feeling that Beowulf is something more than a human being. It makes him special and causes him to stand out from all other men. Fame is something that makes a hero more noted. Beowulfs popularity had spread all over the world. He never let this go to his head and he never thought that he was better than everyone else because of it. “Your fame is everywhere, my friend,/Reaches to the ends of the earth, and you hold it in your heart wisely...” (II.1704-1706). A hero should not be foolish or full of himself. Unferth said: You’re Beowulf, are you- the same Boastful fool who fought a swimming Match with Brecca, both of you daring and young and proud,exploring the deepest Seas, risking your lives for no reason But the danger? (II. 506-511) A hero should not have to prove to himself or to anyone else that he is brave, fearless or courageous. If he is pure a heart and his intentions are good then he can be considered a true hero.
In the stories of Beowulf and A Knight's Tale, there are many different themes. One of the major themes is the religion that runs through both of them, yet both stories have a very different view of religion. In Beowulf, it seems as if God has chosen where our life will end and where it will begin, everything happens by the will of God in a fair and just way. In The Knight's Tale, we see Greek gods playing with the characters and when they "play" with them, there is no real pattern to how they choose things. Each vies is different and this affects the stories in different ways.