As someone reads a story they get an image or idea of who a character is. This image or idea can sometimes be called stereotyping. Authors can stereotype their own characters through their writing. Beowulf, a character in the epic Beowulf, is stereotyped through his looks and Burton Raffel wanted to portray Beowulf through his book. McDougal wrote Beowulf to show what it was like to be a hero during 1000 A.D. Beowulf is described in the epic novel as a warrior who fought many battles. Since Beowulf is strong and muscular, the audiences, automatic thoughts are that he's a great warrior. The author’s goal is to create a stereotype about Beowulf. “Herot trembled” as Beowulf and Grendel fought and “its benches rattled, fell to the floor” (770-776).