Is Beowulf A Hero Or A Fool

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.

Countless people have tried to say that Beowulf represents the qualities required of an epic hero, but many people also suggest that Beowulf does not show any of these qualities. While Beowulf shows heroic characteristics in all of his acts, both pride and greed motivate his actions. The story of Beowulf contains all of the information needed to show this, but people do not notice that which they do not want to see.

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.

As stated by Emerson, another quality of a hero is that the hero cannot be common. The average man cannot be a hero. According to him, the hero "cannot be common, nor the common the heroic" (Emerson). Luckily, Beowulf is far from the common man. He has superhuman strength, and as he states himself, "many a wonder/ I dared as a stripling" (Beowulf). He's undergone lots more battles and challenges than average, setting him apart from the common man, and further proving that Emerson would consider him a hero.

Beowulf is a hero, and we all know a hero when we see one. There are many traits and characteristics that make someone a hero. These traits and characteristics are more expressed in ancient epics and poems. Beowulf is one of the most famous ancient Anglo-Saxon poems still taught to this day in schools and colleges all over the world. The story starts off of how a man by the name of Beowulf receives news that a neighboring land is being terrorized by a monster named Grendel. Beowulf shows several characteristics of here such as, bravery, loyalty, generosity, friendship, and showing a high level of intellect. Beowulf first shows his heroic character through his bravery while journeying on his epic quest. There are several cases where he is not afraid, and instead of being frightened, he shows great bravery. An example of from the poem is, “Instead, they inspected omens and spurred his ambitions to go, whilst he moved about like the leader he was, enlisting men, the best he could find; with fourteen others the warrior boarded the boast as captain” (Beowulf 205-210). This quote gives proof of his bravery because he was the head of the group leading his men. Beowulf proves that even he himself must be brave in order to lead the bravest of men into battle.

Nobody likes a liar and the Hollywood version of Beowulf makes him dishonest. In the poem, Beowulf is challenged by Unferth because the thinks Beowulf is over exaggerating himself about his accomplishment. Beowulf does tell them about how he defeated the monsters going detail to detail. But while he was bragging about it, he remembers a

There have been many criticisms of the character of Beowulf that highlight certain traits which could point away from the notion of him being a hero. One such idea is that he fought the monsters chiefly for personal reasons:

In the book Beowulf, Beowulf, the main character, is a man of great strength and ability. He is depicted as a man of wisdom, and that he is a prince that comes from a kingdom that is well respected. He fights many battles, and is seen as a hero with glory to his name, but this does not mean that he is as flawless as he seems to be. Beowulf is a man who desires to help those in need, however, he is greedy for the glory and treasure that he will receive in thanks of his success. He is truly confident, but because of this he is impulsive, never questioning his ability to take on a task. He is also brave, he has almost no fear, but this tends to make him reckless. He is a hero to many, but he believes in himself in such a way that he acts foolishly, and it will eventually be the death of him.

A true hero does not fear death or, but instead risks all that he is for what he believes to be right, moral, and just. Beowulf is an epic and tells the story of a legendary hero, conquering all obstacles as if he was immortal. Up until the end of Beowulf’s life he was constantly looking to be the hero. However, his humanity is exposed by his death. Heroes all share the characteristic of their willingness to die in their effort to accomplish their heroic act, thus making the act in itself heroic. Throughout the epic, Beowulf in many ways exhibited all the qualities and characteristics needed to be a true hero.

Throughout Beowulf’s quest to help other people you get to see some of his hero characteristics like his bravery, loyalty, and strength. One characteristic that a true hero has to have is bravery. A hero cannot fear anything it is up againsts. Beowulf’s bravery is shown when he says ‘’I swim in the blackness of night hunting monsters out of the ocean and killing them one by one’’ (Beowulf 38).

Beowulf had all the qualities that a hero has in every aspect. In the beginning of the story Beowulf arrived to Denmark where he met his new enemy. The people of Denmark were being attacked by a monster named Grendel. Their only hope was that Beowulf the fearless and honorable warrior in the universe would come to their rescue. Beowulf was the only man that was fearless of anything that came his way, and that included Grendel as well.

A hero can be defined as a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character. Beowulf possess more than a few traits of heroism. He shows his strength, courage, bravery and honor. Beowulf showed characteristics of a hero by sailing his men to Herot to defeat Grendal from terrorizing the mead hall of Shielding. He choose to fight for the good of the mankind and showed a pure heart to protect the people without expecting anything in return.

Unferth claims that he is a foolish man, who does unnecessarily dangerous things in the name of greatness when really he is only seeking glory selfishly. However, pride during the time this story was told in mead halls, was a good character trait. As, if to only prove Unferth’s point, however, Beowulf answers in way that exposes another major flaw that causes him to become nothing more than a thick heading warrior by today’s standards. As he speaks, he upholds what a hero is his time should be, but by modern concerns he acts childishly.

Although boasting and bravery are strong qualities, you also need to have a little bit of a warm heart to be a hero. Beowulf is selfless, a important word to signify that he would do anything to protect others. The first quote to show of Beowulf’s selflessness is, “I mean to stand, not run from his shooting Flames, stand till fate decides Which of us wins.” (638-639). This means that Beowulf is standing his ground until fate takes its course, which is selfless because he is giving his life up if that is what fate decides in order to rid of the dragon. Another notable text from the book is, “A prince of the Geats, had killed Grendel. Ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering forced on Hrothgar's helpless people by a bloodthirsty fiend. No Dance doubted the Victory.” (404-408). It can clearly be inferred that the people of the land were in ‘grief’, ‘sorrow’ and were ‘suffering’ because of Grendel. But, because Beowulf defeated him that grief and sorrow has been eased. Beowulf wants fame and fortune, but to also help the people who need it.

The True Makings of a Hero In literature, heroes are painted to be brave, indomitable, and gallant. They are meant to portray someone that is “good” and that will always triumph over evil. In the epic Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, proves to be an epitome of a hero, for he is evidently beneficent to the Danes, he remains true to his cause, his King and God, and he displays a steadfast conviction in God’s plan for him. One of the main ideologies of a hero is the characteristic of being selfless.