Similarities Between Superman And Beowulf

Heroes, Hopes and Dreams made human

Heroes often represent a culture’s hopes and dreams in a personified form, and this is true in the case of Beowulf for the Anglo-Saxons, and Superman for great depression era America. The theme of heroism is one that is important to both medieval and modern cultures. Because Beowulf and Superman both represent a hero with superhuman abilities who is able to fight off even the toughest of opponents, they often provide hope to the down and out people of their respective cultures. Although they are similar in that aspect, they also have distinct differences such as Superman wearing a costume to hide his heroism and Beowulf showcasing his heroism to all. Even though the heroes are of different eras they still

The Anglo-Saxon people held their heroes in high regard and had a strict code one had to follow in order to be a hero. The code had many rules which consisted always being fair in battle, fighting an enemy together with your clan, being honorable, and having bravery in battle. Heroes were important to the Anglo-Saxons because they often had a grim outlook on life due to their violent lifestyle. Heroes provided them the hope to improve how they viewed life. An article on csis.pace.edu describes Beowulf as,“the Anglo-Saxon hero is well defined by the actions of Beowulf. It is obvious that Beowulf is the quintessential hero. His strength and courage are unparalleled, and he is much more humble (and honorable) than many of the corrupt warriors around him.” This shows that Beowulf is a direct reflection of the Anglo-Saxon culture in the way he acts, the opponents he battles, and how he battles. Beowulf was also written in the epic style of writing which uses the literary elements of elevated language, kennings, and caesuras to enhance the story. The first battle of Beowulf is against a monster named Grendel, who lives in an underground layer removed from the rest of society. This detail is important because exile was often seen as worse than death this culture. Another important detail in the battle is that Beowulf follows the heroic code by not using a weapon because Grendel doesn't have one. This allows beowulf to

Both Beowulf and Superman have the capability of superhuman strength, which allows them to beat their opponents even without a weapon. They also both represent as someone who provided hope for their respective cultures. Because the Anglo-Saxons were a violent society their outlook on life was decidedly pessimistic. The same applies for great depression era america as many people people lost their jobs and therefore lost hope for their future. Beowulf and Superman each showed their cultures that there is hope for a better future and helped them to continue on. Superman and Beowulf both have difficult opponents they fought in order to protect the common people from their evil wrath. Although Superman and Beowulf have many similarities there are also some distinct differences that distinguish them. The first example is that Beowulf was written hundreds of years before Superman and comes a very different society with no technology or modern amenities. Because of this Beowulf has many supernatural elements that were just natural events which had no explanation then. The second difference is that the writing styles of either story are very different. Beowulf was also written as an epic in the style of writing, while superman was written in comic book form that mostly consisted of dialogue and lots of