How Beowulf Is A Hero

Slaying demons, fighting dragons. Just an ordinary life for a hero—a hero named Beowulf. Beowulf is known for battling massive and terrifying beasts with unwavering confidence. Many attribute his success to his courage and determination, but it also leads him to his untimely demise. Maybe his confidence is not an asset, but a tragic flaw, a vulnerability.

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.

The character of Beowulf demonstrates several characteristics that make a great epic hero. Throughout his lifetime he displayed several characteristics such as honor, bravery, physical superiority, leadership, and glory. These characteristics all formed how the Anglo-Saxons believed one should live their life. Along with the valorous deeds that Beowulf accomplished he is considered to be a prime example of an epic hero. Beowulf would have even been considered a model human to the Anglo-Saxons due to how he consistently demonstrated these qualities.

A hero is not born; he is self-made with heroic qualities. What qualifies for making someone a hero? According to Merriam Webster, a hero is defined as: “ a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability”. Beowulf perfectly fits that definition of a hero. In Seamus Heaney Beowulf, Beowulf has everything it takes to be known as a hero. Some of Beowulf’s vital traits as warrior includes bravery, courage, honor, incredible physical strength, and the will to serve the people for the greater good. This poem is centered around him and that is all he needs to be portrayed as the hero he is.

“He would sleep in the fire, soon. His soul, left his flesh, flew to glory.” This very quote from the epic Beowulf, sets the tone and very intense qualities of older epics. This specific epic, focuses on the hero and Beowulf, who is the only warrior capable of defeating the vicious villainous creature Grendel, and his mother. Beowulf shares the qualities of many other epic heroes such as showing the nature of being almost superhuman, being the deciding factor in the wellbeing of his people, and showing uncontested bravery no matter the obstacle they must face. In more modern times, the United States Delta Force can be considered an epic heroes based on the sheer values and courage held by its members.

It is vital when approaching the question of whether or not Beowulf can be viewed as a hero to attempt to understand the concept of a ‘hero'. Joseph Campbell, the American theorist, studied mythological characters and texts in great detail and developed the concept of the monomyth (or Hero's Journey) which he suggested all heroes undertook:

An epic hero is someone who is of great importance, they have supernatural abilities, have some form of connection with the Gods, and accomplish great deeds. In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is the epic hero in his tale and he is considered great by those who know of his life. There are two versions of his story which portrays him in a certain way. The video version does not do its best to portray him as an epic hero but instead show that he is a liar, a womanizer, and a coward. The written version does not portray him as such, it portrays him as someone who is strong, brave, and fearless. The written version best portrays Beowulf as an epic hero by showing his actions involving superhuman deeds in battle.

A hero must do many things to be allowed the title of hero. However, there are some aspects a hero should not show. If these characteristics are shown, they should not be considered a hero. One attribute a hero should not display is selfishness. In the Knight’s Tale, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, Arcite and Palamon acted selfishly. They perceived a beautiful lady. They fought for the beautiful lady. They died for the beautiful lady. Nevertheless, they acted selfishly during this gripping story. For example, they fought for Emily, the beautiful lady, because neither could live without her. Nonetheless, neither ambitious young man could bother themselves to question her on whether she wished to marry either of these headstrong knights. She may not have desired to marry either of them. Therefore, they acted selfish and do not live up to one requirement of a hero. On the contrary, Beowulf, the main protagonist in the epic poem Beowulf written by an unknown source, did not act selfishly. Throughout the poem, he risked his life to fight horrendous monsters to save the good people living in the area. These actions define Beowulf as a hero. Contrarily, Sir Gawain, who starred in the book Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, embarked on a dangerous journey. The Green Knight had tasked him to find the Green Chapel. Before finding the chapel, the tired knight came across a castle tucked away in the peaceful forest. When he asked to stay for a night, his host proposed a trade. The host would

How do people perceive a hero? A person who saves millions of lives or someone who saves a cat from a tree. From little to big anyone can be considered a hero, especially a character from a story or a book. One specific character, is Beowulf from the epic poem, “Beowulf”. Beowulf is a Geat who is summoned by the king of Danes, Hrothgar, whose great mead hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel. The battle with Grendel resulted in Grendel’s defeat. As the poem goes on, Beowulf gets involved in a battle with Grendel’s mother which he also defeats. Later in his life, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and fights his last battle with a dragon who terrorized Beowulf’s realm. This battle resulted in the dragon’s defeat, but Beowulf was utterly wounded and later cremated. Beowulf goes through great lengths to battle these creatures, and his heroic acts lead him to becoming an epic hero. Beowulf is a hero because he posses courage/ bravery, faith, and strength.

Beowulf is considered a hero in many ways because he goes through many problems and overcomes many of them. Beowulf puts his life on the line countless times to protect the lives of others and doesn’t really get a reward for it. He is what many believe any kind of warrior or great leader should strive to be. Beowulf should be considered a hero because he stood and faced all his odds head on, puts his life on the line to protect his people, and he displays selfless service for his people. Even though he boasts often he can back it up.

Beowulf is an epic poem whose earliest surviving copy was written in 1000 A.D. The story consists of three thousand one hundred and eighty two lines that follow the life of the title character. The original author of the epic poem is unknown mainly because it started as a verbal tale passed down orally through the ages. Finally someone wrote it down in a document now called the Nowell Codex. The epic tale is centered on Beowulf and his actions in an adventure to repay a debt owed by his father to Hrothgar, a Danish king. A gargantuan monster that is terrorizing Hrothgar’s mead hall is Beowulf’s target and Beowulf sails across the sea to aid his father’s

Heroes, from Beowulf to Superman our cultures have always created heroes. We may always have political, social, economic and religious differences, but at the end of the day we all have one thing in common, heroes. They help define who we are and what we want to be. They give us hope and inspire us to head in the right direction. They show us that good will always triumph over evil and that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. Heroes give us the inspiration we need to overcome problems in our own lives and that is why we create them. Beowulf perfectly embodies the idea of a hero. He defeats the evil Grendel and his mother, slays the dragon and saves his people. He is

Everyone knows how feared the Winter Soldier is but the Black Panther would stop at nothing to catch him, which leads me to my first virtue, loyalty. The Winter Soldier has killed thousands of people before and is nothing but bad to this world. The only problem is, nobody has ever tried to stop him, until now. The Black Panther is loyal to his father. Like I said the Winter Soldier is very dangerous, the Black Panther faced him without second guessing it, which leads me to my second virtue, confidence. The Black Panther explodes with confidence because he is highly trained (Complex). Even then, that does not give everyone else to want to face the Winter Soldier. Third is cooperation he cooperates with the Avengers because they want to find Captain America and the Falcon who is with the Winter Soldier so they work together to find the Winter Soldier, Captain America and the Falcon. The Black Panther teamed up with the avengers, as it was the best way to catch the Winter Soldier (compound). The fourth and final virtue is leadership. Immediately after his father was killed, He took over over the top

Black Panther was an opportunity for those who have the advantage of thinking that black identity doesn’t matter to recognize why and how it does. Black Panther was a time of liberation for African American because of negative representation of black males in cinema, or lack thereof. Black Panther shows a man full of understanding, strength, and most of all – power. Black Panther is in many ways a love letter to black culture. Africa has played unsophisticated role in American media, often portrayed as chaotic, impoverished, and powerless in media.

His portrayal as a successful leader and well-rounded member to The Avengers also makes him a great role model for younger readers. Since his first appearance in 1966, the number of black superheroes has drastically increased. While he is not a completely flawless character, he encapsulates what it means to be Black in America in this age: surpassing society’s expectations and overcoming hardships with confidence and spirit in order succeed. The Black Panther is a character that has inspired many African-Americans to achieve and progress where they are expected to