It is proven that people look up to others as heroes as it is in the human nature, but what is a hero? In the Anglo-Saxon culture, the qualities of a hero consisted of strength physical excellence and also the ability of the hero to earn loyalty from their followers. In the story of Beowulf, Beowulf uses these heroic traits to save the Danes from a beast named Grendel, as it had been bothering the Danes for a long time, and earns the trust of both the Danes and the Geats, which were Beowulfs clan, to be considered a hero. Nowadays, more people are considered heroes as the traits of a hero have changed. The new heroic traits consist mostly of education excellence and the ability to use it for the greater good and also courage. Firstly, Beowulf …show more content…
This situation shows how the heroic traits of Beowulf seem unreal and magical, as Beowulf injured a monster using only his physical strength without any help from either his followers or his armor, and that could never happen in this day. Secondly, for Beowulf to be a hero of his time, he had to earn the loyalty and trust of his companions. Beowulf achieves this by paying them back with something, either armor and being part of the clan, or by promising them to give back the reward he earns at the end of the battle, whether he were to be dead or alive. By giving back to his companions, Beowulf shows that he is loyal to them, and in …show more content…
Nowadays people value education strength rather than physical strength, and courage. An important modern hero is Malala Yousafzai. Malala is a Pakistani girl who got shot by a terrorist group, known as the Taliban, on her way to school to get an education. But before her life changed, the BBC had asked her as an anonymous girl to report the situation in the north side of Pakistan on the Taliban and their attempts of stopping girls from getting an education. Malala had been an activist and had tried to go against the Talibans rules in order to fight for a better place for her family, herself, and all the girls in the area. Since after Malala got lucky to survive as she got treated; she has become an activist for girls' education and the youngest Noble prize winner. After being known by everyone, Malala wrote a book where she states that “I don’t want to be thought of as the ‘girl who was shot by the Taliban’ but the ‘girl who fought for education. This is the cause to which I want to devote my life" (I am Malala, 309). The quote shows how Malala did not need physical strength to become a heroic figure for girls around the world, but she needed to continue working for what she believed in by using her knowledge. In addition, Malala had courage. From when we begin to know her story at the beginning with her helping in her community and