Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Analyze the character in the epic beowulf
Beowulf superman comparison
Beowulf character analysis essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Heroes: Fighting for the Small Guy What are heroes, exactly? To I a hero is a man or woman shaped by the values around them, to reflect the people's way of thinking and safeguard what they believe. None other than, the classic hero of old, Beowulf and the Green Arrow, Oliver Queen, the modern hero who safeguards the rights of the people against their oppressors. Both Beowulf and Queen embody and embrace the timeless values of bravery, selflessness, humility, and caring.
A hero is a person, typically a man, who is loved for courage, outstanding qualities and great achievements. Beowulf displays many characteristics, but he mainly displays strength, bravery, and selflessness. Beowulf ‘s fanatic future's got him through horrifying battles and never got him to give up. Batman has never given up on Gotham city, even when he felt weak or even when other superheroes did not believe in him. Beowulf and Batman are heroes that are very flexible with things and they share the same characteristics.
ilience Richard Wagamese's "Indian Horse," is a story about Saul Indian Horse, a residential school student. Throughout most of the novel, he goes by the name Saul. The book revolves around Saul's life journey and the profound impact that his Indigenous heritage and experiences, thereof have had on him. “I was sore inside” (Wagamese 48) After being forcibly taken from his family, “ The tearing away of the bush and my people was like ripped flesh in my belly.” (Wagamese48), Saul endures the harsh and abusive environment of St. Jerome's Indian Residential School.
Grendel in the novel is different from the Grendel shown in the epic poem Beowulf because Grendel shows a different side of himself. Grendel in the novel is much more complex, whereas in the epic poem, he is much more epic and destructive. However, in both the novel and the epic poem, the reader is able to see how short tempered he is in both. This helps the reader get a better insight of how Grendel actually feels throughout the novel rather than the way he is perceived in the poem, because it takes into perspective on how he lives his life and feels throughout the entire war. Grendel is much more epic and destructive in the poem, than the novel.
“He awoke in the basement of Gacy’s home his body naked and pressed into a pillory like rack which held his arms and head. John Wayne Gacy a powerful, heavyset man was also naked, his fat, hairy belly sticking out obscenely. Gacy showed his victims various whips and instruments of torture along with number of strange looking sexual devices explaining lasciviously how he intended to use these implements on him. The assaults and torture went on for hours” (Nash 1247). A candidate that measures up to this disturbance would be the monster from Beowulf, Grendel.
Beowulf and Superman are considered epic heroes because of the feats and battles both have conquered, along with the villains and countless evil creatures that have been defeated. Despite being closely similar in the journey each takes and the enemies they vanquish; each is vastly different in certain points of their existence and attitudes. Beowulf and Superman’s differences and similarities start at the beginning of each one’s lives and end at the last moments of their journeys. Superman and Beowulf have both struggled to conquer all foes and enemies and have fought hard for the lives each has lived, or is living, and both have acquired the titles of being an epic hero. There are scenes in both Superman and Beowulf’s quests where they show different attitudes and personalities.
Both Beowulf and Superman travel far and wide to defeat villains, save people, and encourage others. Their appearances are similar as well. Superman and Beowulf are dry, muscular, and strong. In fact, most people during their time would have considered them handsome. Both Beowulf and Superman have supernatural qualities.
In the epic poem “Beowulf” the character Beowulf is the foundation for all of our modern heroes, but was he really a great hero? A hero is classified as a person who is admired for their bravery, achievements, or nobility. Although Beowulf displays all these qualities, there are several reasons he is not a hero, mainly him being egotistical and arrogant. This is why Beowulf is not a heroic person. Beowulf is often caught bragging about himself and his great accomplishments.
The Perfect Hero In every heroic tale, there lies a theme of balance in values. Every hero is said to possess a fatal flaw; whether they overcome this flaw or let it define who they are is up to them. In the epic poem Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, it is not particularly hard for the reader to point out their perceived flaws of our hero: arrogance, pride, egotism. Yet, Beowulf stands tall in the poem as the perfect hero, adored and praised by all.
Throughout the story of Beowulf and the movie Thor, there are many similarities; from the enemies they meet, the characteristics of the two warriors, and the things they have conquered. Both Thor and Beowulf have lots of pride. Thor is known as someone powerful and brave in Asgard, he has many enemies. Beowulf is known as a courageous warrior who can conquer any enemy, and he also has different enemies that he must defeat throughout the story. Both of the brave warriors come to figure out what their destiny must be, they are destined for greatness but they must go through great storms to achieve it.
Beowulf and King Arthur are both portrayed as heroes and someone to look up to. Some similarities are both of them are very brave. They are also both very compelling leaders in their own respective ways. Even with their similarities they have differences in their heroic qualities such as Beowulf not really being a human in the sense that he can do superhuman things and King Arthur being a normal human being. It's also interesting to note that King Arthur was more of a hero for his character whereas Beowulf was more of a hero in the sense that he slays monsters and dragons.
Everybody likes rooting for a hero. And throughout the evolution of storytelling, from stories written in stone to those in tablets, heroes have always played a huge role in the stories we tell. As literature evolved, and more legends and tales began to appear in different cultures, the idea of a traditional epic hero was established. Stories like "The Epic of Gilgamesh," and "The Odyssey," set the mold for this type of heroes, an influence that can clearly be seen when analyzing literature. In fact, most of these characters, regardless of the time and place they were created in, shared similar characteristics to the two kings.
Stories contain many characters with some that stand out more than the others. A person is considered the protagonist depending on who is telling the story and what story is being told. The protagonist is the main character in a literary work. Whether good or evil, the audience sympathize with the protagonist and understands the motif of the character. Beowulf is a protagonist whose encounters with evil proves him to be a strong heroic warrior.
Beowulf is one of the oldest and most well-known epic stories throughout the world. The main character in this story is Beowulf himself. Beowulf is a true and epic hero, who ultimately loses his life while trying to protect the he cared for. Beowulf was a man of great strength, which allowed him to defeat monster and make him the hero that he was. He did not have this strength on his own accord, but was assisted with some divine intervention.
Christopher Reeve (AKA the 1978 superman) said that, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles”. Both Beowulf and Modern day heroes are similar in that way in that they fight for the common good of people. That quote from Christopher Reeves on what a modern day hero is, also applies to the epic hero qualities that Beowulf has. Similarly Beowulf and a modern day hero defeat an evil so that good can prevail. Some examples are, Beowulf Slaying Grendel and Grendel's mother to save the land of the Danes, and soldiers fighting enemies that threaten the lives of a country, and police officers putting criminals behind bars.