“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” (Kennedy). In his speech at Rice University, President John F. Kennedy called out to all of the American people to step forward and become the heroes of the 20th century. A hero is most often defined as someone who is idolized for possessing certain phenomenal abilities which may include courage, bravery, strength, or intelligence which allow them to win battles considered impossible to the average person. Although thousands of years span between the lives of Beowulf and Neil Armstrong, they possess many of the same heroic traits including bravery and leadership; however, these two heroes also differ extensively when …show more content…
Beowulf, son of the mighty Edgetho, was a Prince of the Geats. According to Anglo-Saxon culture, a good leader was wise, strong, and generous. Beowulf possessed all of these qualities and was renowned for defending not only his people, but also his neighbors and and allies as well. His battlefield success and and glory “obtains him respect and allows him to become a good leader” (PACE University). Similarly, Armstrong began his career as a pilot at a young age, he earned his student pilot’s license “when he was 16” (Biography.com). He quickly became a leader in in the US Navy, completing “78 combat missions during [The Korean War]” (Biography.com). Later in 1966, Armstrong would lead the Gemini VIII mission and perform the first ever dock between two space vehicles. Armstrong would go on to lead the most famous space mission of all — Apollo 11. During this mission, he would become the first human to ever set foot on the moon. From the moment he took his first lunar step, Armstrong became the world’s leader in exploration. From then on, became a leader from behind the curtains. He assumed the responsibility for the “coordination and management of overall NASA research and technology work related to Aeronautics”
A hero is defined as a person who is admired for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities. A hero is strong in mind and body, courageous in spirit, and selfless where others are involved. Superman and Beowulf both exhibit these characteristics. The differences between Beowulf and Superman are as obvious as their similarities.
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.
Many people have read the tale of “Beowulf” and consider him a hero to the town of Herot. For 13 years Herot was cursed with a demon named Grendel which hunted down innocent citizens. Grendel was only mad because of the large parties held at the Hall. Just as Herot seemed helpless a “hero” named Beowulf showed up. Beowulf isn’t a hero because he used the issue to promote himself, not bring order to Herot.
The definition of “hero” could possibly be the broadest characteristic or title to grant a human being. Many cultures throughout the history of the Earth have created their own ideas about how a hero should behave and live his life. Although past cultures have been different, the traits of a hero in each civilization are coincidentally analogous with each other. Possessing a warlike and barbaric essence, Beowulf, the protagonist of the only Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, was praised as a leader and hero by the citizens of surrounding lands in northern Europe. Although not seen as a barbarian, Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, was praised for his brilliant plans and resourceful thinking during times of hardship. Despite being from contrasting societies, Abraham Lincoln and Beowulf were both glorified for their heroic actions, but for different reasons.
Beowulf's Physical Journeys The physical journeys that Beowulf goes through in this poem are more than a mere change in location. They represent a change that Beowulf is going to go through. After each journey, since they were followed with a fight, or battle, Beowulf changes. He changed in more ways than just young to old; he changed into a heroic warrior and eventually a king.
In the lecture Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics by J. R. R. Tolkien, he discusses Beowulf through a different aspect. Tolkien argues that the epic poem is infact, overlooked and not seen by the true aspect of the poem. He argues that Beowulf is a piece of literature that should be viewed as a piece of art, an epic poem, rather than just a composition of history. Tolkien supports his argument by carefully analyzing the text, including literary elements and themes the creator includes in Beowulf.
A hero is someone who is admired for their courage and bravery, as well as their noble accomplishments. They are respected by almost everyone, due to their kindness and charitable mindset, that drives them to fight for the good of others. Beowulf is the perfect representation of a hero, based on multiple characteristics that he displays throughout the novel. Along with his characteristics, Beowulf also takes on many “hero like” challenges and tasks. In the novel, Beowulf is praised and admired throughout the kingdom for his bravery, humility, and selflessness.
There are many similarities between both stories. The main three I will focus on will be, bravery, partnership, and that they both had to fight unrelenting foes. There were also a few differences between the two stories as well, the one I will focus on is the fact that Beowulf got praised/treasures, while Batman did not.
George Washington. Aragorn. Beowulf. Captain America. Martin Luther. Han Solo. Wright Brothers. History, books, and movies are full of these types of characters. Whether they led our country to victory or saved a galaxy far far away, these people can be defined as heroes. A hero could be defined as someone who is cunning, shows justice and mercy, and has the courage to take on many challenges. In J. R. R. Tolkien’s renowned book The Hobbit, he fills the pages with many heroes. There is Thorin, King under the mountain, who has come to reclaim his home. There is Bard, a bowman, who kills the chiefest and greatest dragon Smaug. There are the mighty eagles, who rescue the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf moments before their death. And there is also
When deciphering between what it considered to be heroic or monstrous, it is important to keep in mind the angle in which a story is being told. While reading Beowulf, the protagonist of the epic poem could be considered either heroic or monstrous through the eyes of different characters. Beowulf can be classified as a hero according to The Hero’s Journey through the eyes of Hrothgar and Hygelac. On the other hand, Beowulf could be viewed as being monstrous according to Monster Theory through the eyes of Unferth and Grendel’s Mother.
Heroes are found everywhere in the world. They are seen in movies, on television, in books, and in reality. A hero can be anyone, from a friend to a fictional character. To be considered a hero, one must make selfless sacrifices, develop and learn, overcome challenges and temptations, and ultimately present their known world with a gift of any kind. Homer’s
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.
Beowulf is a very brave hero, he has fought and killed many creatures before, but this battle was different. He knew this battle was of great importance to everyone, and that made him that much more nervous. This creature was fierce and had been tormenting their village for as long as they could remember, so her death would be a huge victory for Beowulf and it would be an even bigger relief for the villagers. All of the people in the village were cheering for Beowulf as he walked away headed off to the greatest battle of his life.
There once was a village, where the villagers enjoyed partying and they often grew loud in their partying. They had a neighbor who was quite lonely and was jealous of the villagers fun and loud noises.This neighbor was a troll named Grendel and he began to terrorized the villagers for their partying. The villagers were so frightened of Grendel that they boarded up their Town hall and hid in their homes for fear that Grendel would return. After twelve winters word of the villagers problems spread across the land and sea to the far away kingdom of the Geats, who had a great warrior whose name was Beowulf. The brave Beowulf met with the leader of the villagers, a man named Hrothgar, and promised him that he would stop the troll, Grendel. So that night Beowulf and his fellow warriors partied to draw out the troll and wait for his arrival.
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.