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Superman And Beowulf Comparison

Decent Essays

The story of Beowulf is a story not everyone has gotten the chance to enjoy, however Beowulf has been represented in different works of literature that most of us have been exposed to throughout our lives. Beowulf was a noble Anglo-Saxon hero who was never afraid of any challenge. Many may compare him to a god due to his power and bravery, but some may compare him to a superhero that are shown in movies today. The old english poem Beowulf is about a young Geatish warrior who goes to help the King of the Danes, Hrothgar, who was wounded while being terrorized by a monster named Grendel. Traits like bravery and strength are brought to the surface when Beowulf slays both Grendel and Grendel’s antagonistic mother. One of the many superhero films …show more content…

Secondly, the amount of bravery and strength that both characters must maintain throughout their journey is almost unthinkable, however both show that they will not back down to a big challenge. Now lastly, both main characters are made out to be unhuman like, whether it be the super strength or any other powers they possess, they are supposed to be superhuman. Both characters are looked to as heroes, Beowulf and Superman are looked to at heroes due to the fact that they were put on earth to help and save their people from the troubles that are shown in their stories. The amount of bravery that is shown by both characters is almost unthinkable by a normal human, the characters are made to be brave and show a crazy amount of courage. Superman and Beowulf are presented with tough challenges, yet neither of them back down from the threat on their people. These characters are made out to be unhuman like, both characters are portrayed with the powers and traits that the people of their time looked for in their heroes. Beowulf is given the traits and powers of being a muscular guy, with amazing strength and the obvious cunning and handsome look to his looks. While superman is given pretty much the same characteristics, traits and powers as Beowulf there are also a handful of differences between the two …show more content…

You could be basic and look at the time periods and theme, but that’s just too easy. The differences that might not be thought about could be the personality features that people in that century wanted in their heroes. The Anglo-Saxon people didn’t look for the same features that people nowadays look for in a hero like figure. Beowulf was a hero around the fifth century, the personality features he was given in his story were more focused on being a non human like creature with super strength and fighting abilities. Superman was made out to be quite a bit different than how Beowulf was portrayed. “The Man of Steel” is what Superman goes by and he lives that name down due to the fact that he is pretty much indestructible, however that is just one of the many features he is given to help save his people. The features that were given to Superman are what people in present day look for in their heroes; humility, courage, kindness and compassion for other people. A second difference between both characters are their weaknesses, Beowulf’s weakness was his ego and his pride while Superman’s was a physical item that is ultimately hard to get a hold of. Beowulf has his own biggest weakness, his giant ego and enormous amount of pride lead him on reckless adventures alone. For example, Beowulf dives into a pool after Grendel’s mother also when he is old and weak he even took

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