Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Green Lantern

Who would have ever known that two heros could be so similar. So different but ever so close. The character Beowulf in writing “Beowulf” and Howell in the movie “Green Lantern” take very similar paths on their hero’s journey. Two very strong and very confident hero’s battle the odds and come out on top. Beowulf and Green Lantern are just all around very similar.

Some people might say that you just can’t compare two heros like this. But I think otherwise. Yea maybe they were set at two different time periods and maybe they do totally different things, but, their overall goal is the same with both of the hero’s journeys. Who would have ever know that do totally different people could be compared as one? Our guideline to help us prove that these two characters can be so similar will be “A Hero’s Journey”, by Harrison and Thompson.

Beowulf and Green Lantern both had a call to come and enjoy the adventure.

What I have learned about the call from “A Hero’s Journey” is that this is what all in all calls the hero to action. Beowulf’s father had a friend name Hrohgar who was being attacked by an awful monster named Grendel. Since Beowulf’s father owed Hrothgar Beowulf rushed to the scene and helped. Green Lanterns call was when the Green Orab from the crashed ship chose Howell (Green Lanterns real name) to come and be apart of the Green Lanterns hero squad.

When there is a call you can always expect a threshold following it. Harrison and Thompson tells us that this is when the character gets his first bit of action. Beowulf crossed the threshold the first night he stayed in Herot. As always grendel came and tore the place up. This was Beowulf’s real first taste of Grendel. Howell crossed the threshold when he put the ring on that was given to him from the Green Lantern in the crashed space ship. This gave him power and gave him his real first taste of being a Green

Lantern.
The first real challenge for Beowulf was to defeat Grendel at all costs. “These challenges start of easy and progressively get harder.” (Harrison and Thompson). He was told before he came over what the task was. He was given this right off the bat. Howell’s first real challenge was to learn how to use the skills he was given. He didn’t know he had as much strength as what he did. The ring was very powerful and it took him a while to get use to it.
When the hero reaches the Abyss part of his journey this is the moment when you will sit on the edge of the seat and cringe your teeth a little bit. Harrison and Thompson says this is their greatest challenge so far. Beowulf is into the Abyss when he is faced against Grendel’s mother. This is when Beowulf is caught when he thinks he is going to die. His is pushed to his max. Howell is caught into the Abyss when he battles the space monster that is trying to take over earth. He is pushed to his max and has to outsmart his opponent.
Both characters transform into a character who they once weren’t. From Harrison and Thompson packet we can tell that this is when the characters change the most. Beowulf became a more humble character when he realizes he isn’t as great as what he thought he was. Still great but not unbeatable. How transforms from being a very afraid character to being a very confident character. All Green Lantern’s are confident and Howell had to learn how to be confident to.
Both characters reach atonement and are very happy with their new selves. This is when the hero receives his reward (Harrison and Thompson). Beowulf reaches atonement when he becomes king and receives all the gold and riches he earned. he has more faith in his humble self now and is happy where he is at. Howell reaches atonement after he is the hero of the whole world. He saves the world and everyone loves him for it. He is also very happy at his new more confident self. He is no longer scared and he feels like he can do anything.
The return is when both characters should feel very proud of themselves. “This is when they return back to everyday life.” (Harrison and Thompson). Beowulf reaches this when he goes back home and he is king. He is very welcomed back home and he will forever be known as a great hero. Howell’s return is when he takes his ring off at the very end and goes back to being just a normal citizen. Secretly being a very proud and very strong hero for the rest of his life.
Beowulf and Howell takes two very similar paths on their Hero’s Journey. Both characters battle the odds and take on whatever is thrown at them. Both of them have courage and willpower to win and achieve the main tasks regardless the obstacles put in front of them. Regardless what kind of journey you will take in life, battle it and accomplish it just like Beowulf and Green Lantern did.