What Makes a Hero? Essay

Beowulf proclaims “In the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and the fate they had earned. Now Grendel and I are called together” (liens 156-160). Beowulf claims that he must go to defeat Grendel, as it was his errand, or his duty, and his fate. This speech he makes to King Hrothgar reinforces his true reason to come to the King, not for any pride. Another vow Beowulf makes is when he says “That this is one favor you should not refuse me—That I, alone and with the help of my men, many purge all evil form this hall” (lines 163-166). In this line, Beowulf is pleading for the King to do one thing, which is to give him the permission for him and his men to go and fight Grendel, what Beowulf had arrived for. The fact that Beowulf asks the king for only one thing, which is to fight Grendel, shows Beowulf’s selflessness and concern for the safety of others. At no part does he ask for a reward, but even says that if fate is in favor of Grendel to give his armor back to his family. These words help paint the image of Beowulf being concerned for others, not for his

Another motivation for Beowulf is that he needed to save his people, even if it meant sacrificing his own life. With his last fight

By becoming the King of the Geats later on in life, he is now responsible for guiding the kingdom. While being the King for fifty years, his kingdom was attacked by a dragon. Beowulf and his servants try to attack the dragon but they did not accomplish. By showing his traits of a hero, Wiglaf and Beowulf,does not retreat to the kingdom for safety. Instead, they face the dragon once again on their own. Beowulf manages to kill the dragon, but he is wounded when the dragon bites him on the neck and kills him. This is showing his characteristic of bravery.

Beowulf performs the act of being generous when he offers to come fight the Danes battle against Grendel and his horrifying crimes. Soon after that, Grendel’s mother uses her wrath to try to harm the Danes. Beowulf again shows his generosity when he steps up to the plate and slays her. Beowulf returns to the land of the Danes, Hereot, for the third time to defeat yet another potential threat, the dragon. This battle is his final battle occurring near the end of the poem. By this event, he had been ruling the Gaits for at least fifty years. In this occurrence, he shows his generosity once again, by protecting his men and leaving them behind. He takes off and completes his final battle.

As Beowulf lies at rest, the question must be asked. Was he a true hero? Wanting only to help the towns people and keep them safe? Or just a mighty man wanting to be king, loathed in fame and riches? That is something that may always stay

Beowulf is a fierce warrior who fights for good and helps his people, even if it means to sacrifice himself for the greater good.”His grace has given me allowed me to bring to my people while breath still moves to my lips...Take what I leave, Wiglaf, lead my people, help them; my time is gone.”(805-812). “Fought with fate against him, with glory denied him, he knew it, but he raised his sword struck at the dragon’s scaly hide.”(668-670). As Beowulf dies, he asks Wiglaf to lead his people with the jewels he won from his battle with the dragon. He discovers fear, yet battles it even if fate is against him. Beowulf fights until death beats him, he never gave up to any battle that came upon him. Though at times of his journeys, Beowulf receives praise and glory from all the victories which came upon him.

When one thinks of heroes, names such as Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa often come to mind. These people had done a lot of favors, courage, helps, and more of things for the people who needed them. The true definition of hero is a man of distinguished valor. Bravery, courage, intrepidity, boldness, daring, and prowess in war are a hero’s characteristics. However a hero is understood to be different to everyone. Upon closer examination, many different qualities than these become apparent. The definition of heroism changes with the context and time. Heroes of the past are not necessarily heroes of present time and vise versa. A person can be a hero for saving the life of one or of millions.

     Beowulf’s high self-regard acts as a promise to his people. It is a promise saying that he will provide for them and he can keep his country in order and away from harm. Because

Beowulf is a man who desires to help the kingdoms around him with monsters they face. He has fought with sea monsters, ending their reign in the seas with ease, and he has taken on the task of ending Grendel’s rule over Herot, the mead-hall that belongs to an ally kingdom. He has taken on these challenges for the sake of helping the kingdom, however, at the end of chapter twenty-one it is said that, “Only Beowulf would risk his life in that lake; Unferth was afraid, gave up that chance to work wonders and win glory and a hero’s fame,” (Burton 64), hinting that he has also done it for the glory and treasure he will get in payment for his deeds. In chapter

“I want to be Batman.” That is a typical response from a preschooler if they are asked what they want to be when they grow up. However, heroes are not always wearing capes. They can simply be an Indian man that changed his mindset into something more inspirational. There is one thing that Superman and a policeman have in common. They are both heroes. No matter how different the fields are, they are brave, helpful, and hardworking. A hero can be someone known for courageous achievements. They are normally men, but can be women too. Heroes come in many different ways. Some characteristics of a hero are someone who has enormous courage, strength, and knowledge. They usually have a big effect on people’s life and are pretty well known. A hero is also known for helping people and not doing it out of revenge. They must have a good heart because they are putting themselves at risk for others. The people need to have trust in him because he is putting their life on the line, so they cannot be evil. A true hero isn’t perfect. They have disagreements and bad days, but the motivation to get back up and help day after day is definitely a true hero. Being a hero is tiring, because being a hero is not a one-time thing, so one cannot just do something good for a day and call themself heroes. Being a hero means loving what you do. It means getting up in the morning, ready to help people in any way possible, everyday. Mohandas Gandhi is a hero because he was helpful, had leadership and

Beowulf showed his honor as he traveled from his homeland to battle the vicious monster Grendel, who was terrorizing the Danes. Grendel “Raided and ravaged” the mead hall, showing no honor by killing intoxicated men in their sleep. Beowulf knows that there is a chance that he may die in his great battle against Grendel when he says, “If death does take me, send the hammered mail of my armor to Higlac…”, yet he is still willing to attempt to defeat Grendel. A hero in the Anglo-Saxon time is always very confident, as well he should be. It would serve no purpose to face battle with doubt of ones ability to do so, and with fear of all that awaits him. Beowulf’s morality came also in the form of loyalty to people and his word. Promises by Beowulf were kept . Acceptance of death, and care for the welfare of his people were Beowulf’s greatest virtues. His

The big-headed prince knew he was one of the best warriors in all the land, and he let everyone else know it, too. He was boastful. Anytime he fought a monster, he could not wait to tell his followers of his courageous acts. Last of all, Beowulf was too concerned about treasure. He was not happy if he did not get anything in return for his heroism. He should be happy just knowing that he was saving countless lives from the fiends of the night. I think it is common belief that Beowulf was not perfect, but he was a fine king and a refined fighting

Which is seeking fame and protecting is people. Beowulf has always had a sense of duty in all his battles, and it is no different in his last battle. A man had stolen a golden cup from a dragon and the dragon is underway to threaten Beowulf’s people and he would and could not stand for that. He had the duty as his people’s king to protect them and that is his main motive in his final battle. However, there was also the motive to seek fame in his last battle. Beowulf says to his men “I am old now, buy I will fight again, seek fame still, if the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face me.” (Lines 625-628) In his final battle he wishes to have fame, or in other words he is looking to be remembered, and is. He fights his final battle for his people and for

There are many types of heroes (such as the ones in comic books, myths, movies, or even just everyday life heroes) but all of them have perseverance when they’re going through a conflict. Heroes are role models and they’re people that we look up too. They all have unique and special qualities that make one another different from each other. For example policemen battle crime everyday and when they’re overcoming a conflict they have determination, courage and other traits that people admire them for and that make them as a hero. Typically a hero is admired for their achievement/actions and qualities.

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself” (Campbell 1). When we think of heroes most of us think of movie stars or professional athletes, but it’s not always about your popularity or talent it can also be about how you help society. What I think make a great hero is someone who is able to overcome his or her obstacles in life, is highly motivated, and has plenty of bravery.