Heroes are the people in the society that we admire for or venerated for the courage they portray, noble qualities, and the outstanding achievements associated with them. In every community, anyone who attains the hero status, he/she creates ideals and ideas that the community creates and strives for. Heroes are individuals who assist in shaping the culture of the community they are associated with in the literature, the community also shapes the heroes too. The motivation and zeal of the heroes to attain more are always shaped by their culture ("Heroes and The Homeric Iliad"). Social conditions and culture create the essence of the hero in which the people need at the time.
In my case, I will be making a comparison of the Achilles,
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Achilles is portrayed as the selfish character because he wanted the community to honor him and compensate him while Beowulf on the other side, he wanted the opposite. He didn’t want the honors but instead fought to assist his community. Beowulf had a fight with Grendel and Grendel’s mother to save Hrothgar and his community. He also went into a fight with the dragon to save his people. Achilles for honor and rewards. Aeneas went into battle for the sake of rebuilding what had been snatched from his community.
Aeneas and Beowulf portrayed almost the same characters even though one dies while the other one is picked by the gods and lives. They both represented great piety. Something else they portrayed is they was presented with quests. In this quest, it is written they were both controlled by the gods. Aeneas did accept the god’s choice even though there were passionate impulses which were feared might get into his way. Throughout Aeneid, Aeneas quest shows devotion, fortitude and the acceptance of his fate to become the hero of his people and the Roman culture. He accepts the quest to find a home for the Trojans. Beowulf quest was to fight off three giant monsters. “The monsters were, Grendel, Grendel’s nanny, and the dragon -and the superhuman hero who fights against them appear beside other examples of nonhuman nature (Puchner, 1230).
“Beowulf emerges as a written work of literature only at the end of generations of transmission as song,
Beowulf's warriors praise him after his death as being a hero and a gracious and kind king who always defended his people with honor and minimal pride. This is an especially difficult thing to accomplish. "The hero follows a code that exalts indomitable will and valor in the individual, but society requires a king who acts for the common good, not for his own glory" (Leyerle 56). These two characters, the epic hero and the mighty king, often conflict with each other. Each one has different characteristics. The hero acts solely out of pride for his accomplishments, while the king does everything for the betterment of his
Heroes can be defined in many forms. The classical heroes are strong and care about the other feelings. Their strength help them to fight with monsters and other mythological creatures. Because they have compassion for the others, they usually risk their own life to save people, just like Perseus did to save Andromeda. On the other hand, the modern-day heroes face
Achilles on the other hand was a talented fighter who used his strengths to conquer and kill Hector, the man who killed his friend Patroclus. Achilles was powered by his emotions while Beowulf was powered by the thought of being famous and helping others to be a hero. Beowulf was full of himself, yet he was a good man. Achilles was not so high on himself, but more his
When most people do something heroic it’s usually for a certain reason. Everyone has motivations by just about every single thing they do. Some people choose to do heroic things like become a firefighter for example these men and women choose to do this is by volunteering they could get killed it’s very dangerous and they still choose to be in the line of fire literally for some reason or another. When they choose to do something heroic like this they usually have some sort of one or even various different reasons for it. Beowulf is an epic hero himself he goes to the land of the Danes and basically kills a monster named Grendel for them without any reason behind why he actually went. Some people may say well Beowulf is just a hero and that’s what he’s supposed to do without and real reasoning behind it. Although if you read the epic for each monster Beowulf fights there is a motivation behind it. For each different monster there is a different motivation behind Beowulf fighting first is Grendel, next is Grendel’s mother and finally the dragon.
Just the way they take care of their business is completely different but very interesting. They are also strong but in different areas. Bravery is something that most heroes in our society have to have. Beowulf has so much bravery it’s crazy you could tell he was meant to be a warrior from the day he was born. I think Beowulf has so much bravery because just the way he carries himself.
These two characters made incredible actions that influenced that their names were remember for a long time; Beowulf looks like any other warrior, he followed the code of a great warrior and also the code of the heroes, things that just a few people used to do but Beowulf had and special kind to be he was arrogant because he know the strong that he had and he did crazy things that always at the final those actions looks very intelligent for example when he fought with grandal, he decided to fight without armor because he wanted a right fight without to have advantage everybody thought that he was crazy but at the final they saw that it was very intelligent because grendel was immune to weapons so he only could be affected by normal hits like punch or kicks that was what Beowulf did. Achilles had a unique kind to be it was similar to the kind to be of Beowulf but it was not equal; Achilles was arrogant too but the difference between Beowulf and Achilles was that Achilles was more arrogant and he never did things that will not benefit to him in something.
A hero can be viewed differently in many eyes. Author and lecturer Joseph Campbell, has correlated a hero as usually being a male, often of lowly birth, but with special powers or a higher birthright, the hero doesn’t know about. Also, the hero parents are often dead, absent, or uncaring, and the hero is judged by the actions he takes and the way he reacts and relates to people. In the opinions of others, a hero is also a person admired for bravery, great achievements, abilities or good qualities and is regarded as a role model. A hero is also, admired for having done something very courageous or having succeeded in something great. In literature, the hero is the main character of a story, play, or movie. In the textbook, The Norton Anthology
A hero is someone who helps others and strives to make the world a better place. Our world is shrouded in the darkness of others and heroes are often the light to our darkness. While most people get lost in our world, some people help shine a light on others and make the world a better place. An example of this is a mission worker spreading hope and joy throughout the world. Heroes often sacrifice themselves or their power for a greater good.
The character Beowulf embodied the Pagan heroic code (comitatus), but he also exhibited Christian values. Overall, he was a warrior and a hero who sought fame and reputation. Most of his actions were motivated by his desire to be remembered after his death as a courageous and loyal warrior. When Beowulf hears about Hrothgar’s trouble he goes to help him. He wants to help him for a few reasons, all of which relate to the comitatus. He wants to acquire fame and he wants lifelong honor. By beating Grendel he would receive honor and his reputation would be enhanced. Also, Beowulf wants to repay Hrothgar for settling a feud for his father years before. Beowulf is willing to do battle for the old king even though it means that he could die.
A hero is something that society has formed an idea about the characteristic it should posses from history. Through the stories told from the past a hero is developed through their qualities and characteristics they value. When one views a hero from a different culture they can form an opinion on what matters to that culture. One will notice that through all these different heroes that they all share common features. In ancient Hebrew culture Moses represents a hero and for ancient Greek culture Odysseus represents heroic figures.
Beowulf fights, not only because he wants recognition, but because he feels like he morally has to. If someone is in need, he will do everything he can to help them. Achilles on the other hand is rebellious; he will not fight for a cause he doesn’t deem worthy. His fighting is determined based on what he will get out of it. Beowulf and Achilles differ because they both seek different honors for their battles. Yes, they both want recognition, but Achilles wants revenge and Beowulf wants to help.
While these Epic Heroes mainly fought for glory, how they achieved it is what sets them apart. Beowulf vanquished evil such as Grendel and Grendel’s Mother for the Danes to achieve his glory; “he’d [Beowulf] go to that famous king, would sail across the sea to Hrothgar, now when help was needed” (Beowulf 114-116). This was a noble way to achieve glory because this helped everyone, not only the Geats. Beowulf also defended his people, slaying a dragon in his old age even if it would cause his death. Achilles achieved his glory by slaying men such as Hector and many other trojans out of revenge for Patroclus, and it is clear that Achilles fights for revenge: “You'll pay the reckoning in full for all the pain my men have borne”, (Homer 99-100). The war he fought in was over a woman, not fighting against evil like in the
Heroes are those who have gone above what the average person would do to ensure the welfare of others. Natural disasters, terrorism, poverty, and war are some of the many things that destroy and end people’s lives. Throughout history, many people have made a difference. However, as history progresses, what we consider to be socially normal changes along with our definition of a hero. In Ancient Greece, Theseus, Hercules, and Perseus were considered heroes, but today only Theseus and Perseus would be considered heroes because Hercules would be shunned by society.
Heroes is a being that is admired for courage. Most times people think heroes are people who save others and many times it is true but Theseus, Perseus, and Hercules are a bit different. These heroes have have been favored by gods. Also they have traits such as having confidence and some not very intelligent. Every hero is different and these heroes go through very different journeys.
One of the major differences in these two stories is the reason that the heroes are fighting in the first place. In “Beowulf” the hero is fighting to help people and to have a great and grand legacy behind his name opposed to in “The Iliad” the hero is fighting for revenge and is fighting through pure anger. Lines 109 through