Comparison Essay Comparing Beowulf And Superman

Christopher Reeve once said “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endures in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” In other words, a hero is a normal person who is able to be strong and persevere despite difficult obstacles preventing them. In the book, Beowulf, the the nephew of the king of the land of the geats, helps Hrothgar, another king, kill a series of monsters that threaten his kingdom. He helps Hrothgar kill Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and The Firedrake. Beowulf is a hero because he is just an ordinary person who finds the strength to persevere and endure despite the overwhelming obstacles preventing him from doing so. Beowulf embodies Christopher Reeve’s definition of a hero because he defeated the flesh-eating Grendel, who could not be stopped even by groups of elite soldiers. Beowulf also killed Grendel’s mother, a much eviler being who lived in a cave in an endless pool of blood that led to hell. Finally, he defeated The Firedrake, who swelled up and breathed fire when angry.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself living in the time of 700 A.D. There is a guest speaker at and evening entertainment and he begins to tells the story of Beowulf. Now fast forward to the 21st century, modern times, the evening entertainment is now a Batman movie. The screening shows Batman resembling much like Beowulf, who is an all around hero just like Batman. Heroes are often seen as mythological legends, who are endowed with great courage and strength. Some may also say heroes are noted for their rise of courage or nobility of purpose. Although, Beowulf and Batman come from completely different time periods, they each share similarities of strength, both endure courage, but they both are quite different.

Next, the many similarities between the epic hero Beowulf and the crime-fighting Batman are also quite apparent. The “classic hero” possesses strength, follows an ethical code, and most obviously- fights evil for the common good of others. This model applies to Beowulf and to the modern hero, Batman. First, it is quite obvious that both heroes have strong ethical codes. Batman only kills when it is absolutely necessary. In the comics and movies, he would frequently release his criminals after fighting them rather than just killing them because he felt they would no longer be a threat. Beowulf also shares a similar code of ethics. This was shown while he was fighting Unferth; condemning him he said, “You murdered your own kin… You’ll suffer hell’s fires, Unferth forever tormented.” It is plain to see that both heroes are true to their ethics.

     A hero is defined in classical mythology as a man, especially the son of a god and a mortal, who is famous for possessing some extraordinary gift. Beowulf, the title character of an epic poem and Superman, a more modern day hero are both prime examples. Beowulf and Superman exhibit several differences, but they also share some similar qualities.

Superman and Beowulf have some obvious similarities. For instance, Superman is just about the coolest superhero around, just like Beowulf was in the Middle Ages. First, a little background. In the story, Grendel had been stomping around the land, ripping people to shreds and eating them. Beowulf, 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.

Lastly, Beowulf is brave like Superman. Beowulf and Superman are both trying to help save their areas. Beowulf is trying everything he can do to save his country including doing things

Beowulf was a hero not only because of his physical strength, but also for his concern for other people. “The hero must move beyond human limits in order to have the capacity to combat the monstrous forces that threaten the social order;” (Sharma 264) Beowulf has been deemed by most to have superhuman strength, but his superhuman strength alone does not make Beowulf any more a hero than Grendel’s strength makes him a hero. Beowulf rises above the limits of a regular human being

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.

One major similarity between Beowulf and Superman is their battles with supernatural foes. For example, Beowulf defeated the monstrous Grendel, a dragon, and Grendel’s mother. Similarly, superman had several fights with the invaders from Krypton. The battles are related in many ways such as their fighting style. The heroes in both battles only use their fist in battle, that is if the opponent only uses fists. Although Beowulf and Superman fought fairly, both heroes used weapons at some point. Beowulf used a sword in his fight with Grendel’s mother and Superman threw various objects at the soldiers. The heroes also fought the battles for others rather than for themselves.

Beowulf and Superman have many similar traits that almost every epic hero has. Both of these heroes are courageous, brave, strong and loyal to their people. Beowulf can be considered brave because he defeated Grendel with his bare hands which shows his courage. Similarly to superman who fought against Zod who wanted to take over planet earth and transform it into his own planet, Krypton. This also shows Superman’s bravery, confidence and courage because he fought against his most prominent enemy and saved a whole world, which shows all the traits a hero needs.

This essay is the comparison between Beowulf and the modern day hero. All soldiers that are fighting for my country certainly comes to mind first, when I think about a modern day hero. Both hero’s are fighting for a good cause, get rewarded for what they do, and get treated with much respect. Although a soldier might not withhold unworldly strength as one such as Beowulf, they both are putting their life at stake, which gives them both the title as being a hero.

Heroes. From the timeless tale of Beowulf to the well-known chronicles of Superman, cultures all throughout the world have taken it upon themselves to weave a fabrication of a fantastic being, said being a hero of a sorts, that always makes it to defeat the bad guy and save the day. Even whence we as human beings always tend to have our political, social, economic and religious differences, at the end of the day we all have one thing in common that fills our dreams with hopes of the future, of safety, of a peaceful life; heroes. Helping to define who we are and what we want to be, giving us hope and inspire us to head in the right direction, showing us that good will always triumph over evil and that anything is possible if you set your

Heroes, from Beowulf to Superman our cultures have always created heroes. We may always have political, social, economic and religious differences, but at the end of the day we all have one thing in common, heroes. They help define who we are and what we want to be. They give us hope and inspire us to head in the right direction. They show us that good will always triumph over evil and that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. Heroes give us the inspiration we need to overcome problems in our own lives and that is why we create them. Beowulf perfectly embodies the idea of a hero. He defeats the evil Grendel and his mother, slays the dragon and saves his people. He is

Although similarities between Hamlet and Beowulf exist, there are a greater number of differences that greatly sets the two characters apart. One of the biggest differences that need to be noted between the two was their motives. Starting with Beowulf, the first thing to note about him is his everlasting desire for glory in battle. Beowulf is characterized as a duty-oriented warrior, driven by nothing but being a dominant and revered hero for everyone to look up to. There is not a perceived sense of love and religion in Beowulf’s character, which leaves him to be a very straight-forward character. Overall, Beowulf’s motive for being a hero was just that: to be considered as a hero among the people.