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The Hero’s Perspective Of Good And Evil In Beowulf
In this essay the theme of Beowulf and the characteristics of heroism are going to determine if Beowulf was a hero or a villain. This paper is going to list the stereotypical traits of a hero and then compare Beowulf to some of today ‘s heroes. Also, how the Saxon who wrote Beowulf paved the way for other of heroes.
Throughout history, stories of outstanding bravery and courage have been passed down form each generation. Regardless if their story was told form true events or simply fantasy. A hero can be defined as being noble like, or someone who takes valiant actions. Everyone has their own idea of a Hero. Most people define a hero to be a knight who kills dragons, in order to protect someone, he loves or cares about. Anyone can do a righteous deed, but not everyone is able to make a sacrifice for what’s right. Over the year’s superheroes were made out of a terrible story but the mold of being a hero had to come from somewhere. What better place than an old Saxon story to strike courage in a warrior’s heart before battle. This is one of the many reason’s heroism was so important in Beowulf.
Beowulf is one of the greatest of a hero from the time period. Beowulf can easily be dubbed as superhero of literature. Having ¨the strength of thirty men, ¨ this characteristic sets one of the most common trait of being a warrior of justice. Courage and power are what you would normally found in heroes, they both were coined in the story of Beowulf. However, having this incredible strength and power, comes with a price. Showing an aggressive event for everyone is good for this is one of the main trials a superhero must go through. Beowulf kills the horrifying monster Grendel and his mother, saving Hrothgar and all of his people. This later became the general expectations for heroes. His legend and his character will later stand as an example for modern day superheroes such as Superman, Captain Marvel, however; Beowulf resembles one the most famous heroes form that time the Viking God Thor he was “The God of Thunder”.
Earlier in the paper the dilemma of good vs evil was mentioned. Warrior Beowulf saves the day and many lives by defeating an evil beast. There could be no Knowledge of good without the acknowledgment of evil. In the poem Beowulf, always must be an evil thing that only exists to cause harm. If Beowulf’ set the role for superheroes, then did the beast Grendel set the views for a super villain? Grendel became aggravated with the noise that was being made social gatherers, the monster Grendel sets off kidnapping, and killing all those who were in the gathering. Killing thirty men Grendel ‘s had brought him to a battle with Beowulf’s and his men. Grendel had his reasons for attacking the people however, his reasoning might seem justifiable to him. Grendel must be held accountable for his actions.
It´s difficult to compare your tragedy to those who ‘ve lost their entire home planet. Superman, one of the mostly known superheroes resembles, a lot like the champion Beowulf. Both heroes come from an elite family, and both superlative men prove to be unrivaled in righteousness and courage. An antagonist possessing great power is presented in both tales. Superman, however, is not considered man as he is an alien who possess many superpowers to help him establish justice. Although Beowulf possess the strength of multiple men, he was still a mortal man and faced the high probability of death. Beowulf ‘s tale ends with him defeating a great dragon at the cost of his own life. Other heroes face more than just one person. Vigilantes like the punisher face enemies such as a corrupted government or society as a whole. Beowulf never had to face a kingdom or a corrupt king, but how he interacts with people shows his higher hero qualities.
In Beowulf ‘s encounter with Unferth, Beowulf sets the jealous Dane straight by reminding him of his failure to stop the evil that´s been happening. Beowulf seek reputation and in search this reputation what better way than to slay the monster that has been killing all these people. Beowulf´s want bragging rights and fame. Although Beowulf is not the type to simple kill those who think lowly of him. Beowulf´s social levels are pretty good, even though some modern-day superheroes do not possess such skills, they still hold at least one trait or ideal that Beowulf possessed.
Whoever wrote the epic poem ¨Beowulf¨ accentually set the standards and inspired many of our heroes today. Stan lee has created a bunch hero that resemble Beowulf. The story of Beowulf is what helped create the story for heroes today. Beowulf himself breathes the traits of a hero, saving a kingdom by defeating multiple beasts is not the only thing that makes a hero. Honor and establishing pride are important, the traits of a hero began with Beowulf. The traits of villains originated from Grendel. The man who wrote Beowulf led many great authors to know what makes a great hero. In the future new authors with new ideas are unintentionally use Beowulf as a template for their own heroes.
