Similarities Between Beowulf And Harry Potter

Perspective plays one of the most important roles in literature due to the drastic shifts between the meaning of who is the real antagonist, profoundly portrayed in the epic Beowulf and the novel Grendel. The first major piece of English literature, Beowulf, was narrated through the perspective of the poet, experiencing his surroundings by following Beowulf’s adventures in the third person. Beowulf signifies the heroic code as the reader is provided with little background and history on Grendel, as well as a small scale of information for Grendel’s motivation. The modern novel Grendel shifts the point of view to a new rendition of Grendel, which also shifts the focus of the story from the battles to the relationships of characters and their philosophy. The third-person perspective of the epic Beowulf and the first-person perspective of the novel Grendel both serve as a lens through which the reader sees two drastically different interpretations of the same story. In Beowulf, the titular Beowulf is the hero and protagonist while in Grendel, the traditional antagonist, Grendel, is the protagonist and Beowulf is the antagonist.

Another similarity they have is that each tale is full of culture. In each tale the magical aspects are culturally based. In Tam and Cam it is shown in reincarnation. It is a Buddhist based tale, it brings Buddha as the magic helping tool. As well as in The Algonquin Cinderella culture plays a major role. In the Native American culture they viewed innocence as goodness. They looked upon it as a life decision that was to be used. These also created the

The story of Beowulf is a heroic epic, chronicling the distinguished deeds of the great Geatish warrior, Beowulf, who travels across the seas to rid the Danes of the evil monster Grendel, who has been inflicting destruction and terrorizing the kingdom. Beowulf is glorified for his heroic deeds of ridding the land fiendish monsters and stopping the scourge of evil, while the monster, Grendel, is portrayed as a repugnant creature who deserves death for its evil actions. However, many have disagreed with such a simplistic and biased representation of Grendel and his role in the epic poem. John Gardner in his book, Grendel, sets out to change the reader’s perception of Grendel and his role in Beowulf by narrating the story through Grendel’s point of view. John Gardner transforms Grendel, once perceived as an evil fiend in Beowulf, into a lonely but intelligent outcast who is actually quite similar to humans, due to his intelligence capacity for rational thought and his real, and at times irrational emotions. Gardner portrays Grendel as a hurt individual and as a victim of oppression, ostracized from civilization. Although the two works revolve around the same basic plot,, the themes and characters in Beowulf and Grendel are often different and sometimes contradictory.

The mythologies and folktales of cultures within Ancient Europe are all very different, yet peculiarly similar in the depiction of heroes. Although what makes a hero heroic is very subjective, the prominent choice of character is usually the same. The Celtic and the Vikings both had similar characteristics and traits for their mythological heroes. In the Celtic and the Viking mythologies the heroes are similar in the sense that honor, justice, courage, intelligence, and beauty are all desired and, of course, important traits. Heroes are subjective due to individuals emotional and influenced taste in appearance and action of the “hero.” In this case, Finn and Thor show similar traits and characteristics, which satisfy the desires of the readers and/or believers of the religion.

The upbringing of children by the environments (parents, relatives, the neighbor next door) in each generation and country differ, and thus produces a unique child for each. The societal environment molds the child and the child becomes a character as he/she grows older. Beowulf and Sir Gawain are extremely different despite the almost similar societies in which each grew up in. The few similarities they share are a small derivative from the religious aspect of their childhood to adulthood. Beowulf and Sir Gawain are both warriors in the sense of fighting for the protection and honor of their kings, but Beowulf struggles to maintain humility in his personality unlike Sir Gawain. Also with religion being prominent in mostly Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it provides a contrast of each protagonist’s life. In full examination of the two characters, it can be said that Sir Gawain and Beowulf’s motives and actions throughout the story are for the morally right, however, the differences of personality reveal great detail of each’s persona.

Another similarity between these two stories is that both of the characters have husbands who take

You probably never thought about it, but epic and contemporary heroes can contain similar qualities and characteristics, for example Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games and Beowulf from Beowulf. Authors may be trying to bring back old tales of heroism into up and coming generations. After carefully contemplating the abundance of courage, bravery, and leadership portrayed by both Katniss Everdeen from the book the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Carolyn McCormick and Beowulf from the epic poem Beowulf by Unknown. It is shown that both characters identify with the same core values of what it truly means to be a hero.

Beowulf, known as the oldest poem in the written English language, written with no known author, tells a fascinating story involving an epic hero of his time and a not so understood “monster.” The hero’s name is Beowulf, purposefully being the same title as the poem itself, he sets out on a journey from his home to the Danes from a terrible creature that’s harming innocent people. As any “hero” would. Beowulf wants to prove to himself and the people that he is, in fact, the strongest man on earth. Although Beowulf is a fine piece of writing on its own, it fails to tell all of the story, just like any other one-sided story does. But, thanks to the novel, Grendel, written by John Gardner, we get to peek inside the villain’s life for a change, which ultimately very well may change the reader’s view of the story completely.

In the Scandinavian story Beowulf, the main character, Beowulf, faces numerous monsters on his journey. While Beowulf battles his foes, some of his true colors show through, displaying attributes that he may not have publicly shown otherwise. Another fictional character, Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, is a much more modern character, but still shares a few characteristics with Beowulf. Katniss also fights monsters, in both a literal and metaphorical sense.

King Arthur and Beowulf are both heroes in their stories which causes them to have many similarities in their traits but, they have differences in their traits as well. Arthur and Beowulf are both courageous leaders. They fight fearlessly for themselves and their people in battle. A difference between Arthur and Beowulf is their ability to depend on others. Arthur depends on others many times in The Once and Future King while Beowulf depends only on himself in Beowulf. Despite the differences, Beowulf and Arthur still have many things in common such as their wisdom. Both men are wise and make incisive decisions in battle and in leading. Their wisdom on the battlefield is a heroic trait that both men possess. Another heroic trait that they share is their courageousness.

Both pieces share many similarities that are obvious from the beginning. In both stories the protagonist is a girl around the age of twelve who faces many hardships that she must learn to cope with. While on the surface the tragedies these characters must face may seem entirely different, they actually are quite comparable, and both eventually lead the character to escape from them into fantasy.

The first example of similarities, is that both stories used wishes coming true in coincidental way as

Beowulf and Sir Gawain and The Green Knight are British mythological stories whose authors are unknown. The stories paint the picture of brave and selfless heroes who put the lives of their fellow men before their own. Though the stories differ in their narration, they are built on the same ideas and principles. This essay compares and contrasts the various themes in these two stories and their development. The issues discussed are the role of women, strength and courage and afterlife.

Another similarity would be the characters in both stories. They are faced with the hard reality as they come to find out they weren't living in

Magic played a huge part in both literature pieces when it came down the supernatural. One thing that both had in common was that as authors, they knew how to create immortal symbols that displayed their magic in the mystical world.