Hero As A Hero In Beowulf And The Hobbit

In our world it is hard to find somebody who can truly be called a “hero”. This is probably because society portrays heroes as being like Superman and Batman. These comical heroes blur the perception that some people have of heroes. They think a hero is someone who can do anything and everything and have an otherworldly power. In reality, a hero can be anybody. To be considered a hero by Greek Mythology a hero needs to be favored by the Greek gods and usually fight in and win a war like Odysseus did against the Trojans. In both the epic tale Beowulf and in The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, the protagonist’s and in the case of the Hobbit, the members of Thorin’s company have the ability and desire to save friends and others propels them to the status of hero.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an Old English author and Anglo-Saxon professor at the University of Oxford. Tolkien was actually born in Bloemfontein South Africa on January 3, 1892. Tolkien did not have a lot of memories of Africa due to him being so you other than the fact that his father Arthur died there. After that Tolkien his brother Hilary and mother Mabel all moved back to the West Midlands of England. Mabel Tolkien would soon die from diabetes because at the time insulin was not known to be a remedy of diabetes. John Tolkien and his brother Hilary were taken in by a Mrs. Faulkner. John Tolkien at this time was already showing signs of becoming and author of greatness due to his mastery of Latin and Greek. Greek having a lot to do with the epic stories of heroes like the Iliad and the Odyssey could be why when you read a book by Tolkien you notice things about the characters that make them seem heroic. While at the boarding home of Mrs. Faulkner Tolkien grew a strong rela...

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...t of the cave couldn’t see him and figured that he was either lost or dead in the cave. Bilbo eventually removes the ring and everyone sees him again and they all continue on with the journey.

After leaving the Misty Mountains the dwarves reach the Great Forest of Mirkwood where Gandalf tells them not to stray from the path or they will surely be lost. Gandalf leaves on an errand but will reunite with the dwarves later. In the forest the dwarves begin hearing sounds and they can faintly see what looks like a fire from a wood elf camp. They again leave their path and get lost and are captured by giant spiders. Except for Bilbo, he slipped on the ring and became invisible. He found where the spiders took the dwarves and began stealthily killing them one by one. Bilbo saved the dwarves from certain death using his new found confidence and magical power in the ring.