Heroes In Beowulf

Heroes have been around since the beginning. They are introduced to humans at an early age, it doesn’t matter if they are fighting monsters and bad guys, or just rescuing a “damsel in distress.” A hero is pictured as a person with incredible determination and the desire to save people, some are more relatable to the average human such as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, while others are more farfetched with superhuman powers like Superman. However, if you study and compare all of the heroes since the beginning, it can be seen that the traits and depictions of heroes have greatly evolved over time. When heroes were around in ancient times they were glorified and different from everyone else. In today’s society that has greatly changed.

One example of this is shown in the epic poem Beowulf which was written by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet. In this time period, heroes were often well known and their only motivation for their actions was to just save the greater good and acquire a “trophy.” In this poem, Beowulf, a well known hero, travels to Denmark to save the Danes from a monster, Grendel, who was terrorizing Herot. Beowulf ends up defeating Grendel as well as his mother who comes to avenge her son later in the poem. When he defeats these monsters he ends up bringing back a body part to display to everyone. “Found him lying dead in his corner, Armless, exactly as that fierce fighter Had sent him out from Herot, then struck off His head with a single swift blow. The body jerked for the last time, then lay still….” (pg 38) This illustrates how Beowulf takes pride in his victories and has to show everyone his conquest so he can be glorified even more. It ties into the society of the Anglo-Saxon culture because they were focused on loyalty and bravery. This is shown through Beowulf who always stands by his people and is not afraid of any challenge that comes his way. This just proves that early heroes were interested in saving the general welfare, but that they also enjoyed and reveled in their victories so they could be loved by

In many cases this is correct, there are countless examples of heroes that have something to make them different from the rest. Beowulf had his strength, Hamlet had his manipulation, Katniss had her skills with a bow and arrows, other examples include Thor who has his hammer, and Spider Man who has his ability to create webs and crawl on walls. This does make heroes stand out, however there are also many examples of heroes who had no talent or skill to help them out. One example is the Grinch in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas which was directed by Ron Howard. The Grinch is a hero because he shows selflessness. He tries to ruin Christmas, realizes the error in his ways and then tries to reconcile with everyone he had wronged. He made a sacrifice by giving up everything he had taken and bringing back the joy in the Christmas to all the people in Whoville. He possessed no special skills or talents but still ended up saving the day in the end making him a great hero and role model for any who watches his