Though both Beowulf and Batman hold many similar qualities as paragons of heroism, they have differences as well. It is in these differences that you can see the depth of character that Batman has, and Beowulf lacks. Batman is a man of ordinary physical accomplishments, who overcomes his enemies through access to technology they do not have and physical conditioning they do not do. His success is attributed to his own skill and insight into the criminal mind. He is called to do his good deeds by the needs of others. He is also driven by a desire for revenge on the criminals who took his parents from him. Beowulf, according to the poem; “Geats used to say that he has in his handgrip the strength of thirty men, a man famous in battle" (32), …show more content…
It makes him relatable. Most people don't consider themselves great based on divine blessing alone. To better onesself requires effort, effort that, from what readers see, Beowulf hasn't had to put in. The main dissimilarities however, lie behind their intentions. Humility has become a desired trait in modern times today, whereas in Beowulf’s time self-confidence to the point of haughtiness was a favorable attribute. Beowulf fights for praise and worthiness. On the other hand, Batman never reveals his identity when fighting criminals, therefore showing he is not looking for praise but rather protecting innocents due to his personal sense of justice. Beowulf was rewarded for his heroism, including wealth and being coronated. His primary goal was glory and in the poem it was this pursuit that eventually led to his death at the claws of the dragon. But Batman is the opposite. He was born into wealth and power, but he doesn't care. He is focus is doing good deeds,ind in doing so he adopts an anonymous alterego. He gets no glory or reward from his actions, other than fulfilling a personal vendetta. This clash of selfishness and selflessness is what gives batman’s character more
challenges. “A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall” Aristotle. Beowulf has many adventures and he fights Grendel and other monstrous creatures but he was very sure of himself. He was born being strong and we as an audience do not identify with that. “Of living strong men he was the strongest” . Beowulf had qualities that any other man had, but he
Beowulf embodies several respectable traits that make him an epic hero, but there is another hero that possesses even better traits. Her name is Diana, but is known as Wonder Woman; she comes from an island in the Amazons called Themyscira. Although Beowulf and Wonder Woman has similar qualities, there are several that make them different.
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...
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.
Beowulf exhibits many obvious heroic qualities, such as his strength and confidence in battle. These along with more subtle diplomatic actions serve to define him as both a great warrior and leader.
Beowulf is a great tale but as a person, he isn’t that all that people make him out to be. In his older years his need for attention and glory ended up with the death of him. He fought the dragon alone and in return, ended up killing the dragon, but also sacrificed himself. Even as he died he asked for one thing, his people to build him a memorial near the sea so everyone could see the person that he was. His need for attention, lack of planning, and need for glory caused him to be just a prideful man, not a
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.
While fighting the Dragon Beowulf shows feats of strength and courage that define him as a hero. The classical hero displays a special quality that separates him from the rest of
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.
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.
There are many similarities and differences between the movie "Beowulf and Grendel", to the poem. Major differences between the movie and the poem would be Grendel himself. In the poem, he is described as an evil monster born from two demons. In the movie, Grendel is actually human, but known as a troll to the warriors and Danes. The poem doesn’t give the background of Grendel or show how the Danes killed his father and the possible reason of his revenge, like in the movie. If the witch, Selma, was not included in the storyline of the movie, the audience would not have known key information that she was used to show from more flashbacks. The witch gives more of an idea about Grendel’s past life that could have been the possibility to reasons for his actions. Some major similarities are the battles. Both epics include the battles between Beowulf and Grendel, as well as Beowulf and Grendel’s mother. The end results are the same, leading to their death, but the journey and process to the two tales are different.
Erika Mercado Essay 2 Modern Heroes: Dante vs Beowulf A modern hero is a good-hearted person with these attributes: bravery, strong, and contributes to saving the lives of his homelands. Beowulf demonstrates the characteristics of a modern hero: a leader, fearless, and generous. Beowulf is a young hero whose character exerts powerful strength in battles. Dante the Pilgrim does not display hero attributes in The Inferno.
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.