Hero Vs Beowulf

After reading and analyzing both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I received multiple perspectives of a “hero” and what that word meant during these time periods. Therefore, in both stories, it was evident that in order to be considered a hero during this time one had to be selfless and loyal to the king/crown by sacrificing oneself to maintain the tranquility within their kingdom. Nonetheless, in terms of Beowulf, I considered both the protagonist, Beowulf, and one of his warriors, Wiglaf, to be heroic individuals who portrayed all the necessary characteristics one must acquire to be considered a hero during this century. This was because Beowulf numerously sacrificed himself to protect King Hrothgar’s kingdom, when he battled

During these time periods, a hero was usually a great a warrior who sacrificed oneself to protect their king and kingdom. In addition, culture, religion, chivalry, and traditions played a vital role in the work of these early heroes. This was seen numerous times in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where both characters frequently prayed and followed the Code of Chivalry. In contrast, a hero today would portray few— or none— cultural or religious elements. Usually, present-day heroes would acquire the label by depicting some sort of supernatural, phenomenal, or superhuman trait that a normal person would not obtain. Some examples of these traits include: invisibility, elasticity, mind-reading, flying, extreme strength, spider-like attributes, etc. These modern-day characteristics have been formulated through comics and other contemporary stories, where heroic characters have been more commonly labeled as “superheroes” because of their superhuman features. Therefore, we have been introduced to these heroes through popular stories, television shows, and movies such as: Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc. All in all, heroes like Beowulf and Sir Gawain were labeled as such because of their mental, emotional, and physical strength. However, heroes today are considered one more so because of their physical strength and unique

During the time period of Beowulf and Sir Gawain, a variety of wars and conquests were raging which considerably discouraged the individuals surrounding them. Therefore, authors took it upon themselves to uplift their readers, giving them a reason to think that there may be people in the world who still have purity, integrity, nobility, chivalry, and honesty. Furthermore, I believe that authors create heroes today for similar reasons. This is because in the present-day world, we are constantly overcome by internal and external conflicts— whether that be within oneself, one’s country, or in the world as a whole. So, in some ways, we “need” heroes to keep our mind off the wicked in world, as well as to encourage us to believe that one day these conflicts and issues will end because of a force stronger and more powerful than