Heroes In Beowulf

Every culture from the beginning of recorded history to the present has told tales of heroes accomplishing great deeds to the amazement of all. Heroes exist in a variety of mediums from literature to modern cinematic features. Beowulf possessed incredible strength, Luke Skywalker demonstrated mastery of “the force”, and Harry Potter used magic to defeat his adversaries. Heroic tales permeate throughout modern society in every form of entertainment. Modern man can relate to the figure of the hero as they symbolize how life lessons may be learned. The morals held by these heroes and their actions to uphold those same morals serve as entertainment and also a demonstrative tool. The archetypical hero has remained mostly unchanged throughout

They also represent the journey all human beings must take during life and provide guidelines for living that life. In Introduction to Mythology, authors Eva Thury and Margaret Devinney explain these heroic tales, “There are many theories about the meaning of the hero’s deeds. They show us how to conquer the wilderness (Gilgamesh), how to perform our duties in society (Rama), how to become great leaders (Mwindo and the Mayan twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque), or how to honor the gods (Oedipus)” (Devinney and Thury 183). The reader often seeks to emulate the actions of the heroic figure because these individuals add courage to a situation where a normal person would cower in

The legend of King Arthur shares many of the same concepts as the movie Star Wars. The only true differences between the two stories is the setting and language used. Both King Arthur and Luke Skywalker never knew their fathers and were placed under the protection of guardians. Arthur was trained by Merlin just as Luke by Obi wan Kenobi. In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, author Joseph Campbell gives purpose to the modern hero, “The modern hero, the modern individual who dares the call and seek the mansion of that presence with whom it is our whole destiny to be atoned, cannot, indeed must not, wait for his community to cast off its slough of pride, fear, rationalized avarice, and sanctified misunderstanding” (Campbell