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Harry Potter And Beowulf Comparison Essay

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Throughout the history of literature, authors have portrayed many heroic figures who have performed fantastic and remarkable deeds in all genres of fiction and nonfiction literature. However, in historic literature, a typical hero was a male warrior who put his life in danger for the sake of glory, such as Beowulf from the epic poem Beowulf. However, as society and literature have evolved, the stereotypical definition of a hero has also changed to describe the modern hero more accurately. J. K. Rowling, a modern English author, noticed this change in the definition of a hero and decided that Harry Potter, a young, teenage boy who possesses magical powers, would be the main protagonist throughout the Harry Potter series of books. When looking at the characteristics of Beowulf and Harry Potter, one can clearly see that there are a few similarities and some striking differences between the two characters, but both heroes have a value or a group of people that they have the desire to defend. Therefore, in today’s society, a hero may be best defined as one who bravely seeks to accomplish …show more content…

Despite these differences, both heroes fight in order to defend the values that they believe are important or the people that they cherish. Due to the differences between the two heroes and the common goals that they share, it is reasonable to say that the definition of a hero has changed slightly over time and encompasses a greater variety of people. In today’s society, a hero can be a man, a woman, a first responder, or a person who is simply admired by others, and therefore, a hero is no longer an incredibly strong man who fights only for glory; on the contrary, a hero is anyone who fights valiantly and nobly to defend a

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