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Differences and the difference between beowulf and a modern day hero
Differences and the difference between beowulf and a modern day hero
Comparing beowulf to modern day
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Between the years of the Old English and the Middle English the meaning of and having a Heroic character has not changed. Today, there might not be a Heroic character that fights against monsters, but there are Heroes that protect us like; soldiers, doctors, and father's. Heroic characters indicates that a person demonstrates heroic qualities or does a heroic act and becomes an ideal or a model to others. In the story “Beowulf” and “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight,” there are two Heroic characters, Beowulf and Sir Gawain. Although Beowulf and Gawain show similar heroic characteristics, they are different because they present themselves distinctively, battle monsters/mythical creatures, and battle for different reasons.
In the story “Beowulf,”
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Beowulf and Gawain showed off differently, Beowulf fought monsters and Gawain fought a mythical creature, they battle for different reasons, and they are religiously distinctive. Beowulf is a great Hero for the Danes and Geats but he is also a very arrogant person. Beowulf’s arrogance put him in challenges while he prepared for battle and during battles. Throughout the story Beowulf loves to brag a lot about himself and everything he has accomplished with his strength. Before he fought with the Dragon he indicated that, “this fight [was] not… up to any man except [him] (2532-2534). During the whole story Beowulf battles against monsters, Grendel and his mother, and a Dragon. From “Beowulf,” before Beowulf battles against Grendel’s mother, it mentions that Beowulf prepared too “soon meet with the menace underwater” (1444), which is a monster and refers to Grendel’s mother. Also at the beginning of the story when referring to Grendel, he is being called names like, “powerful demon” (86), “banished monster” (105), and “shadow-stalker” (703). Even though Beowulf brags a lot of him he always fought to defend the people of the Danes and Geats. When Beowulf arrived at Heorot to battle against Grendel, Hrothgar greeted him and said, “Beowulf, my friend, you have traveled here to favor us with help and to fight for us” (457-458). Also from the story it is noticed that Beowulf is part of a pagan history of Britain and descends from that sort of religion. In “Beowulf,” pagan shrines are described and the religion is detailed as well, for example; “at pagan shrines they vowed offerings to souls” (175-176). Heathen people, like Beowulf and his people, were not
...e the quarrels, the hatreds, the feuds,/ That will bring us battles, force us into war/ With the Swedes, as soon as they’ve learned how our lord/ Is dead” (Beowulf 2999-3002). That quote shows that Beowulf lived in a war-torn country and therefore his strength and ability to protect his people made him a revered hero. Sir Gawain, on the other hand, lived in a time when inner qualities were valued. The valuing of inner qualities along with Sir Gawain’s exceptional traits made him a hero. That being said, although Beowulf and Sir Gawain differ in some aspects, they both fit the hero archetype of being better than the ordinary man, proving oneself many times, and having a tragic flaw.
What is hero? A hero, under the Merriam-Webster definition, is a person who is admired for brave/great acts or fine qualities. This is a very broad definition that combines both ancient and modern belief of what --or who-- a hero should be. Beowulf is an epic poem that focuses on an Anglo-Saxon hero. As such he embodies the traits that his culture valued most. Deadpool, on the other hand, portrays the most recent ideas of what traits a hero should embody. With these examples from contrasting periods, we are still able to see similarities and differences that shows how modern and Anglo-Saxon idea of heroism reflects its culture.
Then the Danes decide to go back to Herot and while they are sleeping, Grendel’s mother
Heroes come in many forms. The construction of "the heroic" has taken many forms, yet traits such as: courage, honor, and loyalty, reappear as themes throughout the "hero" personality. The characters of Beowulf and Sir Gawain each represent a version of a hero, yet each comes across quite differently in their story. A hero can be said to truly win if he remains constant to his noble values when put in any situation that crosses his way. When measured by that criterion, Sir Gawain stands out above Beowulf as a true hero, due to his command of both personal and spiritual power through the use of thought, as well as valiant deeds.
Do people ever talk about superheroes, and monsters? Especially people into comic books and children. Every child, even adults, have a superhero they look up to, or a role model they want to grow up to be like. Superheroes are everywhere from movies to books. Children even sit in their room playing with toy superheroes, hoping one day they can be just like them. Even hundreds of thousands of years ago there were superheroes! A long time ago in the Anglo-Saxon Period there was a brave and loyal hero! His name was Beowulf, and everyone looked up to him. This hero definitely brought peace to many people, and if it wasn’t for the mighty hero Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxons would have been terrorized forever. Therefore, the times were hard before Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon warriors always stood for three values, and the time was changed without monsters.
In this paper the theme of Beowulf and the aspects of heroism will be established. Why Beowulf is a hero is going to be stated and after establishing the characteristics of a hero, all the factors of a villain will be named. Later the paper is going to acknowledge the stereotypical traits of a hero and then compare Beowulf to some of today 's most popular heroes. Finally it´s going to be expressed how the Anglo saxon who wrote Beowulf inspired other authors and how the majority sees heroes.
During the Middle Ages, both “Beowulf” and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” were epic stories that were chanted aloud to the public. Each story told about epic heroes who went on a long journey to face or conqueror someone or something. “Beowulf” is a poem about a young man, Beowulf, who slays a monster and his mother with his bare hands to protect the people he loves. As the years go by Beowulf becomes king and a dragon begins to stir. In response to this, Beowulf fights the dragon with a sword and one loyal companion. Beowulf’s life comes to end, but so does the dragons. From this epic poem you can see that good does triumph over evil, but sometimes it comes at a cost. Along with “Beowulf”, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” was another popular poem. This poem was about a squire, Sir Gawain, who chooses to take on a game proposed by the Green Knight instead of his uncle, King Arthur. He took on the game because he believed King Arthur’s life was more valuable than his own and that King Arthur should not risk his own life. As a result, Sir Gawain became a knight because of his loyalty and bravery. Both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s and Beowulf’s characters share the same quality of courage, the desire to protect people and the involvement of supernatural beings.
Beowulf represents what a modern hero truly is rather than Dante the pilgrim, because he displays qualities of courage, pride, and humility. In order to be considered a modern hero the individual must demonstrate these particular qualities, and courage, pride, and humility should be reflected in the actions they make.
Although Gawain and Beowulf share many similarities, their characters are almost complete opposites. Both aim for some sort of fame, one more than the other; differing in the way they attempt to achieve this success. Gawain remains true and looks to humility to guide him, whereas Beowulf is very prideful and selfish, loving nothing more than boasting about his virtues. Regardless, both go through tremendous changes throughout their quests, dealing with repercussions, and many challenging obstacles along the way.
Though Sir Gawain is brave, Beowulf seems more naturally heroic. He goes to the land of the Danes of his own volition. His king does not order him to go. He tells his king that he wishes to go help the Danes defeat Grendel, because he believes he can and should. His people support him because they know what a great warrior and leader he is. He also wants to help King Hrothgar because his father was in debt to Hrothgar and he wants to pay that debt. He wants to honor his father and his father’s word. Beowulf holds himself to a code of honor when he does not have to do so. He risks his life for a country he is not a part of.
These two versions of what a hero should be, reflect the beliefs of the two cultures. In the Anglo-Saxon culture, there were heavy influences from Norse paganism. In that religion the focus were various Gods who, like Beowulf, go out and embark on superhuman quests. Then later on in Anglo-Norman culture there were influences from Christianity, especially Christ’s crucifixion, which is seen as a more humanly capable act. This aspect is reflected in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight through Gawain’s human
A quote from the great Robert Louis Stevenson says, “All human beings are commingled out of good and evil.” While many people in the world today would definitely agree with this, it is unclear how people during the Anglo-Saxon era and Middle Ages would think about this. Since we obviously cannot ask a living person from these time periods what they think about this, we can analyze their literature to discover what the common man thought so many years ago. The classic literature I have personally analyzed on this topic are as follows: Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Canterbury Tales.
The story of “Beowulf” begins at a time where a great hero is needed. This is where Beowulf’s character takes the initial place of an epic hero. In the first story of “Beowulf,” Beowulf takes on the responsibility of destroying the great threat, Grendel. This immediately shows the courage, honor and bravery of Beowulf. When Beowulf sailed to the Danes to kill Grendel, he was not searching for money, he was simply putting the Geats lives before his own. Beowulf was not yet
The three heroes discussed here, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and King Arthur, are heroes for different reasons. Beowulf, our earliest hero, is brave but his motivation is different than then other two. To Sir Gawain personal honor and valor is what is important. King Arthur, Sir Gawain's uncle, is naturally the quintessential king of the medieval period. Though all men to a certain extent share the same qualities, some are more pronounced than in the others. It is important to see how these qualities are central to their respective stories and how it helps (or hinders) them in their journeys.
“In my youth I engaged in many wars”, Beowulf boasts to his warriors, which is certainly true. Throughout his life, he faces many deadly foes, all of which he handily defeats, save one. His story focuses on the most challenging, as well as morally significant of foes, Grendel and the dragon. These creatures reveal much about society as well as Christian virtue at the time. Even after Grendel and the dragon are defeated physically, the two monsters pose a new threat to the hero on a higher plane. Beowulf is not only at risk of losing his life, but his humanity, virtue, and even spirituality.