Compare And Contrast Oedipus And Beowulf

Idolized for their courage and noble qualities, a hero achieves superlative success by utilizing their strength and intellect to battle against their greatest challenge. Typically, heroes bask in the glory of their fame and triumph, admired by those throughout society, but realistically, not all heroes live happily ever after. As demonstrated through the epic poem, Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, and Sophocles’ tragic play, Oedipus, abridged by Nick Bartel, there comes a time for one’s downfall, usually provoked by an illogical decision or characteristic flaw. Their misfortunes arrived as a result of a free choice gone awry, not because it their fate that doomed their lives, proving that heroes are just like any commoner who experiences

As with his past monstrous encounters, not a shred of fear taunts him as he single-handedly faces a dragon. Abandoning his soldiers from the start, Beowulf decides his own future, ending with his own demise and yet a defeat of the dragon. Though Beowulf has previously vanquished demons by himself, it was not until his encounter with the dragon that he realized he needed help from other warriors, and coming to his king’s aid, Wiglaf shared Beowulf’s glory of killing the dragon. Therefore, his downfall is brought upon by his arrogance and hubris, believing that an elderly man such as himself still maintains enough of the strength and skill of his youth to battle a dragon, especially when he enters the battle one-on-one. Similarly, Victor Frankenstein faced his own monster that eventually lead to his death as a result of his poor decisions and compromising skills. A scientific genius with the discovery of bringing life to the dead, Frankenstein determines his own fate as he created a monster that haunts his life. Living in solitude and with anger towards society, the monster tries to reason with Frankenstein, but he ends up threatening to torture him until death welcomes either of them. The only thing the monster desired was a companion to share his agony with, and if Frankenstein fulfilled his request, then he would promise to end Frankenstein’s torment. Frankenstein

Eventually coming to terms with his societal offense and accepting the love he shares for Hester and the product of his sin, Pearl, Dimmesdale decides to end his torment by revealing himself to society. However, as he relieves himself from the curse cast upon him, his body succumbs to his mental distress and physically weakness, leaving him a freed man as he takes his last breath. Dimmesdale inflicts himself with agony and distress as he chose to have an affair with Hester, but his ultimate downfall resulted because of his fear of social judgement and the consequences for committing such a crime. His choice to hide his dishonorable actions from society worsened his physical and mental health as he lived in constant angst of someone uncovering his scandalous secret and consequently leading to his passing away. As demonstrated by Oedipus and Dimmesdale, it is not one’s crime that leads them into misery; it is the emotional distress and guilt that tortures them and brings upon their greatest