Similarities Between Superman And Beowulf

Heroes, Hopes and Dreams made human

Heroes often represent a culture’s hopes and dreams in a personified form, and this is true in the case of Beowulf for the Anglo-Saxons, and Superman for great depression era America. The theme of heroism is one that is important to both medieval and modern cultures. Because Beowulf and Superman both represent a hero with superhuman abilities who is able to fight off even the toughest of opponents, they often provide hope to the down and out people of their respective cultures. Although they are similar in that aspect, they also have distinct differences such as Superman wearing a costume to hide his heroism and Beowulf showcasing his heroism to all. Even though the heroes are of different eras they still

represent the same type of hero, a hero of hope.
The hero Beowulf comes from the Anglo-Saxon Culture.

The Anglo-Saxon people held their heroes in high regard and had a strict code one had to follow in order to be a hero. The code had many rules which consisted always being fair in battle, fighting an enemy together with your clan, being honorable, and having bravery in battle. Heroes were important to the Anglo-Saxons because they often had a grim outlook on life due to their violent lifestyle. Heroes provided them the hope to improve how they viewed life. An article on csis.pace.edu describes Beowulf as,“the Anglo-Saxon hero is well defined by the actions of Beowulf. It is obvious that Beowulf is the quintessential hero. His strength and courage are unparalleled, and he is much more humble (and honorable) than many of the corrupt warriors around him.” This shows that Beowulf is a direct reflection of the Anglo-Saxon culture in the way he acts, the opponents he battles, and how he battles. Beowulf was also written in the epic style of writing which uses the literary elements of elevated language, kennings, and caesuras to enhance the story. The first battle of Beowulf is against a monster named Grendel, who lives in an underground layer removed from the rest of society. This detail is important because exile was often seen as worse than death this culture. Another important detail in the battle is that Beowulf follows the heroic code by not using a weapon because Grendel doesn't have one. This allows beowulf to

demonstrate his superhuman strength when fighting against Grendel. Beowulf defeats Grendel in the battle, which shows that he is truly a great hero.
The Hero Superman is an American fictional character created in 1933 that originated as a comic book hero. Superman was written in comic book style writing which includes a brief introduction of the scene and is dominated by back and forth character dialogue. This allows the reader to make their own opinion of Superman because they are reading his direct actions and speech. Superman began during the great depression, which was a time when many people were left poor and had a poor outlook on life. People of the time were constantly in search of something to give them the hope to continue on, and Superman was the perfect representation of someone who could do this. This is evidenced by an article on supermanhomepage.com that says, “During the Great Depression, people searched for a hero and unexpectedly found one dressed in red and blue tights, on the cover of Action Comics #1 - Superman”. With his superhuman capabilities like flying, super strength, and laser vision, he was able to fight off even the greatest of enemies and challenges that came his way. He was also able to relate to the regular person at the time because when he was not saving the world, he was a regular man named Clark Kent who worked for a newspaper. Another article on supermanmanhomepage.com states,”The Superman phenomenon reflected the challenges facing Americans in the 1930s while celebrating the nobility of the common man.” This is significant because it showed all the down and out people of the time that even a regular person is capable of greatness. This is supported by another The only aspects of Superman’s heroic code are defeating evil and helping those in need. He always follows this code closely by making sure to defeat any enemies who try to impose their evil will upon the world.
Superman and Beowulf are very similar in the aspects that they have superhuman capabilities, are against evil, fight difficult opponents and provide hope for their cultures.

Both Beowulf and Superman have the capability of superhuman strength, which allows them to beat their opponents even without a weapon. They also both represent as someone who provided hope for their respective cultures. Because the Anglo-Saxons were a violent society their outlook on life was decidedly pessimistic. The same applies for great depression era america as many people people lost their jobs and therefore lost hope for their future. Beowulf and Superman each showed their cultures that there is hope for a better future and helped them to continue on. Superman and Beowulf both have difficult opponents they fought in order to protect the common people from their evil wrath. Although Superman and Beowulf have many similarities there are also some distinct differences that distinguish them. The first example is that Beowulf was written hundreds of years before Superman and comes a very different society with no technology or modern amenities. Because of this Beowulf has many supernatural elements that were just natural events which had no explanation then. The second difference is that the writing styles of either story are very different. Beowulf was also written as an epic in the style of writing, while superman was written in comic book form that mostly consisted of dialogue and lots of

imagery. This means that the text in beowulf is much more vivid to provide a picture of what's going on, while Superman already has pictures so the language is less descriptive. The third and final difference between the two is how they showcase their heroism. Beowulf wants to his heroism to be known to all, while Superman hides his true identity and doesn't want anyone to know who he really is. If the characters were to switch cultures they would both still remain heroes. This is because both Cultures heroic codes considered someone who fought evil and protected those who needed help a hero. The only difference in their codes was that America wanted superman to fight alone while the Anglo-Saxon culture said that heroes should fight all together with their clan. Although Beowulf breaks away from this when he fights grendel's mother and fights her alone. This would imply that this part of the code was not as strictly followed as the other parts of the code.
In conclusion, both Beowulf and Superman were excellent heroes that reflected the hopes and dreams of their cultures. They both battled opponents that represented enemies of the culture of the time, such as beowulf’s battle with Grendel, A character who paralleled the devil, and superman battling Lex Luthor, a very wealthy and evil businessman who represented wealthy people who hoarded their money during the great depression. The two heroes provided hope for these people by combating the cultures enemies and left a lasting impression on their respective cultures. They truly are great examples of a culture's hopes, dreams, and ambitions in a personified form.