Beowulf: A Hero's Journey

A hero's place in society has remained relatively consistent since the very beginning of time. Throughout the years, people have seen many different versions of larger-than-life heroes, who have completed seemingly impossible tasks and persevered through immense adversity. The common denominator between all of these heroes has always been that each and every one of these beings has put his/her own life in danger and fought great battles in the pursuit of a better life for mankind as a whole.

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.

Joseph Campbell’s term monomyth can be described as a hero’s journey. Many heroic characters follow the monomyth, no matter the time period or culture the literature was created in. The poem Beowulf is known to follow the adventure of the hero described in Campbell’s monomyth . The hero’s journey consists of three rites of passages: separation, initiation, and return. Beowulf endures each of these stages throughout the epic poem, so his journey does follow Campbell’s monomyth.

The Anglo-Saxons’ cultures and traditions are rooted in their beliefs of the perfect hero. Their ideal hero has many key characteristics influenced by their culture including courage, strength, bravery, thick skin, loyalty, humbleness, and the ability to create strong trustworthy friendships. Beowulf is an epic poem that exhibits the ideal Anglo-Saxon hero. The Anglo-Saxon traditions illustrated in Beowulf accurately represent the Anglo-Saxon traditions of the time period. This is accomplished through the distinct correlation of heroic characteristics between Beowulf and the culture’s traditional depiction of an Anglo-Saxon hero.

Beowulf is a hero during the Middle Ages because of his generosity, strength, power, and courage. A hero is one who places himself or herself at great risk while performing acts of courage. Beowulf is a hero that put his life on the line for an entire kingdom. He has heroic and superhuman qualities. He must prove his worthiness of a superior warrior. He is recognized for his strengths and power of protecting his people. Beowulf is faced with three forces to fight, Grendel (a monster), Grendel?s mother, and the dragon. Beowulf becomes the king of the Geats for fifty years and eventually dies in a battle against a dragon.

What action made your favorite hero become the hero he now is? Joseph Campbell, the author of The Hero With A Thousand Faces believes every hero is called to adventure by some act that opens his eyes to become a hero. In the story “Beowulf” translated by Barton Raffel, Beowulf is “woken up” by the news of Grendel’s destruction. The story of Beowulf follows along with campbell’s “call to adventure” claim. The epic poem “Beowulf” exemplifies the claims made by campbell regarding the hero’s call to adventure.

In great literature, many heroes accept a challenge and set off on the hero’s journey. In the novel Beowulf, the hero Beowulf faces a tough road of trials. Throughout his journey he accepts each challenge head on and displays many characteristics that defend his title as a hero. He is a great leader, he is brave, and he is selfless and sacrifices himself in an attempt to protect his people.

Throughout his journeys, Beowulf is portrayed in different ways based on which monster he is battling. What starts off as the conquest of a young, prideful hero when fighting Grendel, switches to more of a reliable hero with the battle with Grendel’s mother, and finally concludes with the epic battle between Beowulf and the dragon. The latter shows Beowulf as an old and wise king. Beowulf is motivated to succeed and prove to his king he is a courageous protector of people.

The second main stage in a hero's journey is Initiation. The hero is initiated into a real hero by several trials. Through severe battles, the true hero surfaces. The road of trials is a sequence of assignments, tests and difficulties that the hero must bear to start the shift in his or her character. Every trial may be more challenging than the last but the hero becomes more confident and experienced. Beowulf has to defeat Grendel, Grendel's mother and a dragon. Initially his first test is to slay Grendel, he completes the task. "Clear proof of this could be seen in the hand of the hero displayed high up near the roof: the whole of Grendel's shoulder and arm, his awesome grasp." (831-35) Taking Grendel's limb as a souvenir to show that he

eowulf: He is the hero in the poem's story. Beowulf is noted for his incredible strength. He helped out Hrothgar, king of the Danes, in getting rid of Grendel the monster. Beowulf also got rid of Grendel's mother, when she wanted revenge over Grendel's death. Years later, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats after his uncle passes away. Beowulf's last battle involved defeating the dragon that guarded jewels in a tower. He sacrifice his life to save the Geats. eowulf: He is the hero in the poem's story. Beowulf is noted for his incredible strength. He helped out Hrothgar, king of the Danes, in getting rid of Grendel the monster. Beowulf also got rid of Grendel's mother, when she wanted revenge over Grendel's death. Years later, Beowulf becomes

Beowulf: The Hero we Deserve The epic Beowulf tests the values of a hero, specifically Beowulf, in Anglo-Saxon society. His clout and audacity gets tested throughout the epic fighting various monsters from Grendel, a satanic monster, to fierce dragons. The characteristics that Beowulf possesses as a hero include his robust courage, his pure loyalty, his impeccable strength, and his devout faith in God.

This part of the text marks the end of an important journey for Beowulf and his Geat troops as well as for Hrothgar and his Danes. Beowulf begins this part with a speech addressing Hrothgar and the Danes about how wonderful they treated him and his men and how he and the other Geats wanted to return home to Hygelac. Beowulf offers arms of assistance in the future if Hrothgar and his troops ever need it. Hrothgar responds by complementing Beowulf. He compares Beowulf to the Lord, making comments on his strong body, maturity of his mind, and the impressiveness of his speech. Hrothgar goes one step further by saying that if the Geat king, Hrethel, somehow passes, that Beowulf would be very well suited to undertake the lordship. He concludes that

One’s outcome and outlook on life are determined by the many decisions that one must make throughout their lifetime. In the epic of Beowulf, the reader is introduced to a man, named Beowulf, who is later crowned as King of the Geats, reigning for fifty years. Throughout the poem, Beowulf seems to exhibit characteristics, long before he is King, that lead the reader to believe Beowulf will be a successful and impressionable king. Beowulf displays four key characteristics, courage, strength, knowledge, and respect/trust, which are extremely important to the plot, as well as for the life of the Geats, the Danes, and Beowulf’s true identity. From the beginning, Beowulf is viewed as the epitome of a true hero. He may have been somewhat selfish at times and boast about his achievements, but when it really mattered he is there for his people. These traits truly expose the heroic king he becomes.

In today’s culture a hero can be anybody who endangers their own protection to help someone else or to help the group as a whole. Today's necessities to be a hero can be anybody as long as they put other people’s lives before them, in which they will be seen as unselfish and kind. Many features that are represented of heroes were once used to decide a hero back in the Anglo-Saxon times. In the poem Beowulf, the fighter Beowulf is the model of an Anglo-Saxon hero.

A hero is someone who travels through the cycle of the 12 stages of the Hero’s Journey, according to Joseph Campbell The Hero’s Journey is an expedition a hero takes in a myth, Call to Adventure, Assistance, Departure, Trials, Approach, Crisis, Treasure, Result, Return, New Life, Resolution, this is the cycle a person must take to become a real hero. In this folktale, Beowulf: A New Telling, by Robert Nye, Beowulf becomes a young warrior and an older king as he goes through the Hero’s Journey. Beowulf is a dynamic hero who is confident and courageous as a young warrior, but is more fragile as an old king.