Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Katniss Everdeen

Hero and Heroine: Mirrored Protagonists with Diverging Sentiments

Varying from time, location and person, what it takes to be considered a hero has remained for the most part unanimous and throughout time has been represented in multiple ways. Most present in dated writing, a hero 's image and pride make up a big portion of most heroes. Their heroes aren’t so humble and they aspire to keep their title of "hero". On the contrary, most heroes in literature today are quite modest and don 't expect to be viewed as or considered heroes (more often than not they themselves do not classify with being heroes). As is the case for Beowulf and Katniss Everdeen, both different and yet also similar in terms of action, motives and thought (their personality being what really separates the two). Perhaps the biggest part of how a hero is treated and acts depends on what their society is like. Throughout time, the overall qualities of a hero have remained very similar. What has changed, is

Beowulf, coming from an Anglo-Saxon period, is looked up to as a hero because of his strength as a warrior -which allows him to offer the people of Denmark protection- his bravery and his loyalty. While Katniss who comes from a dystopian society is viewed as a hero because she goes against the upper ranks (such as president Snow and the game keepers) and fights against a long standing system (the Hunger Games), she is seen as an advocate of change because of her bravery and selflessness. Both Beowulf and Katniss offer the people of their society hope; Beowulf with the protection from outside forces that he offers the people of Denmark which also gives them a bigger sense of courage and Katniss with her willingness to defy the capital allowing for the people to think that change is