Is Beowulf A Hero Essay

Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to preserve and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Hero’s are around us in our everyday lives such as firefighters who put their lives on the line to protect people and their property. Other hero’s can be found in literature. These hero’s, also know as an epic hero, exhibit superhuman qualities to help fight and protect others while on their quest. Being a hero means taking on enormous responsibilities. With these responsibilities comes great praise from others which both Beowulf and everyday firefighter receive for their extraordinary work.

When Beowulf fights alone and refuses the assistance and protection of the Danish army, simply so that the victory is achieved entirely by a Christian and for the Christian God, he epitomizes the heroic quality of giving his life to a higher end. Similarly, when Beowulf takes the risk of facing Grendel weaponless, so that the victory is attributed to God rather than the weapons, he performs a spiritually courageous act, another criteria for a hero according to Joseph Campbell. After defeating Grendel alone, in these two ways, Beowulf is able to convert all of Denmark to Christianity and “achieve something”, another quality of a hero. While society focuses on individuality and heroism, due to Beowulf’s strong faith in God and belief in Christianity, he defies societal expectations and attributes all the glory to God, instead of himself. Beowulf’s insistence on fighting Grendel alone is what allows him to achieve his holy mission of spreading the name of God and his glory, and ultimately is what allows Beowulf to be illustrated as a humble and faithful

He ripped off the monster’s arm as Grendel escaped wounded beyond repair. Beowulf kept the arm, hanging it from the rafters as a trophy to remember the brave warrior by. He basked in the praise the Danes heaped on him, finally bearing the rewards he seeked; glory and gold.

Upon entering the Danes' hall, Herot, Grendel is confronted by Beowulf, who immediately seizes Grendel's arms and drives fear into the monster's heart, "... [Grendel] knew at once that nowhere on earth/ Had he met a man whose hands were harder..." (lines 751-752). Through his slaughter of Grendel, Grendel's mom, the dragon, and other monsters, Beowulf proves his amazing strength to the other characters and to the readers.

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.

In the movie Spider-Man, the hero has a rivalry with the Green Goblin. The Green Goblin taunted Spiderman for a very long time until the alter ego of Peter Parker had enough of the Goblin. Every encounter between Spiderman and Green Goblin always turn into a retreat of the Goblin but at the very end of the movie, Spiderman turns out to be victorious. Spiderman is considered to be a modern day hero. An Anglo-Saxon hero is a hero from the Medieval years and fights with swords, not spider webs. Just like Beowulf, he wins a lot of his battles. Each hero has his own special characteristics that make him unique. In the poem Beowulf, the hero clearly demonstrates bravery, boastfulness and super strength within his fights.

Beowulf also ripped off Grendel’s arm and hung it from the ceiling in the Herot so his legend would beremembered.One of the most persuasive parts of Beowulf that makes him seem heroic is after many years another monster would arise terrorizing the Geats. It was a great fire breathing dragon, Beowulf aftermany years of not fighting and at a much older age would return to battle against a much greater opponent than Grendel, the beast was so massive and powerful that Beowulf would break his sword on the dragons massive scales. In this battle Beowulf would kill the great beast and he would be forever remembered as a hero. In the quote “ The brave geats build me a tomb when the funeral flames have burned me , and build it here, at the waters edge, high on this split of land so sailors can see this tower and remember my name, and call it Beowulf’s tower and boats in the darkness and mist crossing the sea will know it.” This is a good example of his legend being carried on and him being remembered furthering his reputation as a hero and insuring him being remembered.In conclusion Beowulf was a great hero and a great protector of his people. Beowulf always looked to further his reputation as a hero and insure that he would be remembered. So to finalize my thoughts I feel like that Beowulf was a true

The poem, Beowulf, by Seamus Heaney, depicts Beowulf as a perfect hero. Beowulf is the mythical son of Edgetho and later becomes the king of the Geats. In the poem, Beowulf's shows heroism in two different phases of his life, youth and old age. Throughout the poem, Beowulf faces three difficult conflicts with Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. Throughout the novel Beowulf is a noted and respected warrior from Geatland.

Every epic hero possesses certain heroic characteristics. The epic poem Beowulf describes the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. Beowulf is the hero. He shows that he is a great man by always putting other things before his own needs. He is important and needed by his people and is known by many as a strong, courageous and a helpful person. He shows all of the qualities and traits that a true hero possesses.

To most of society, a hero is one who is courageous, honest and acquires worthy qualities. There have always been heroes whether they are not here today, a modern day hero or a hero in literature. Those who advocate for the cause they believe in are heroes, they are able to use their own platform for people who are not able to. To most, people who are courageous and inspiring are seen as heroes especially when describing an epic hero. An epic hero are usually people in an epic poem awarded for their achievements and have strong and noble qualities. A hero shows great courage and strength like Beowulf, Michael Brock, from The Street Lawyer, and Michelle Obama who are great inspiring advocates that have gained trust from the people they advocate for.

The poet says,”He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s answer; the heaving water covered him over. For hours he sank through the waves; at last he saw the mud of the bottom. And all at once the greedy she-wolf who’d ruled those waters for half a hundred years discovered him…” Beowulf was never afraid in this text. There was nothing but the will to kill, the will to protect and the desire to earn fame in Beowulf’s heart throughout this poem. This is also pictured in the text when Beowulf walked up to the tower to fight the dragon, because no one had ever been brave enough to confront the dragon.

Every epic hero possesses certain heroic characteristics. Beowulf, like other epic heroes, possesses the following heroic qualities: epic heroes are superhuman types of beings. They have a noble birth and show great bravery. They display great intelligence and resourcefulness. They have a reverence for G-d and for the values of their society. They are dominant male figures and suffer severe pain, but in the end, they conquer evil (Vivone 9/27/99). In addition to Beowulf’s heroic qualities, he is very strong. Beowulf was said to have “the strength of thirty [men] in his mighty handgrip” (Bloom 11). Early proof of Beowulf’s extraordinary strength is evidenced by his dismemberment of Grendel’s limb, the fight in the cave under water, and the

Beowulf In epic literature, the tragic hero is the protagonist of the poem who proves to be prevalent in a dangerous quest or adventure (literarydevices.net). The definition of a tragic hero was defined by Greek philosopher, Aristotle. The tragic hero evokes sympathy from the reader throughout his epic journey, yet experiences a downfall due to his own vices or flaws. The tragic hero displays strength and bravery, which lead to many victories but also suffers at the hands of his own price and ultimate defeat. In the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf is the tragic hero whose valiance leads to his demise.

Not only is Beowulf honorable and well respected, he is brave as well. His courage is shown by not hesitating to risk his own life to pursue the Dane’s enemies. By being self-assured, Beowulf is able to successfully defeat the fiends, Grendel and his infamous mother. At the time Beowulf is planning to pursue the vindictive dragon, the epic poem states, “I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old now, but I will fight again, seek fame still, If the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face me.”(ll. 2511-2515). He feels no fear, is confident in fighting the dragon alone, and has no qualms in risking his life to save others. He declares his bravery by saying, “When he comes to me I mean to stand, not run from his shooting flames, stand till fate decides which of us wins... No one else could do what I mean to, here, no man but me could hope to defeat this monster.”(ll. 2525-2534). In his actions, Beowulf’s bravery is clearly shown throughout the poem.

The Danes consider Beowulf, as the greatest hero in Danish history. So where can I start? War Heroes? Dirk J. Vlug. Served as a Private First Class in the 126th infantry base in Philippines. Fritz Christen. Served for Warren-SS which spearheaded the German invasion of the USSR. Fazal Din. Served in the 7th Battalion of the British Indian Army. But what do these people, decorated, war “heroes” have in common with this fictional character Beowulf. They all manned-up when trouble was around. And fought back even when they where alone, with no back ups, or someone to aid them. They didn't surrender and gave their lives for their people. The thing is this made up characters in Beowulf are based on real historical people from 6th-century Scandinavia. So probably,long time ago in the Scandinavian region, people had this type of brawls in towns. But, why is it that the Danes people consider him the greatest, bravest, toughest, of all? First, there’s this monster Grendel.A troll-like monster said to be descended from the biblical Cain. Doesn’t like the sound of joy that's not his. Kills Hrothgar’s warriors while asleep,and the people