Beowulf Essay

Beowulf of the heroic epic of a Scandinavian hero who journeys to the Danes to defeat the terrifying monster Grendel. Beowulf's story has been passed along time for centuries, glorifying his heroism and bravery to all who read his story. During the time Beowulf was created, he was considered to be a great hero of that time. Over the years, legendary hero's have evolved into superhuman beings with the intentions to fight evil without killing their enemies. In the twenty-first century, superheros are all about the greater good, giving help where it is needed but always remaining cautious about preserving everyone's life, even if that life is a bad one. One of my favorite superheros is Batman, he's one of the few superheros without any superhuman powers and defeats villains with his wit, intelligence, special made technology and his bare fists. He is brave, courageous, fearless and maybe even a little foolish when it comes to conquering evil. Though his methods are brutal he is a very lenient hero and fights as clean as possible. In a sense Batman's personality is very similar to Beowulf's, their bravery and courageousness has resulted in the safety of many people. Though their actions may have similarities, their intentions are very much different.

Though Batman is the man with the mask, Bruce Wayne is the man who makes it all happen. Bruce became a hero when his parents were shot and killed by a jewelry thief when he was only eight, he then made it his sole purpose to protect his city and make sure no child loses their parents to some "punk with a gun". Regardless of the fact he is only human, Batman continues to fight various villains who sometimes greatly outnumber him. Though he may be beaten before the battle even begins, he never stops fighting and won't give up until his mission is succeeded. He is fearless and his bravery excels in ways most people could only fantasize to have. Beowulf is also but a man, he took on monsters and dragons that overpowered him in both size and strength. In his last battle, Beowulf fought a dragon until he drew his last breathe. The dragon was clearly more powerful from the start and Beowulf was greatly unequipped to fight it on his own, regardless of these facts he took the dragon on in order to save his people. Even at defeat, Beowulf fought on until he dragon was slain, risking it all to save those surrounding him only to lose his life in the end. His sacrifice was his greatest heroic act that Beowulf had ever preformed.

Beowulf and Batman are both considered to be characters of irony in this generation. Due to the fact that many hero's aren't considered real hero's unless they have superpowers that help them defy the odds, their success in battle speaks great volume. They are both only human beings, just like those who surround them, but they differ in the sense that they do things many people might see as impossible. During Beowulf's battle against Grendel, he strips of his armor and fights him as an equal, no weapons or protection. Many might say he was crazy and that there was no way he could survive, but in the end he walked out victorious and barely harmed. This same concept applies to the caped crusader, Batman. He's in a league of super powered hero's who assume that he is the vulnerable link in the team, yet there have been many cases when they thought Batman was close to death or even dead and he ended up saving the rest of them. They defy the odds and never let others doubts stop them from doing what they believe they can do.

Though Batman and Beowulf have similarities (besides the fact their names both start with a B), they also differ in what they fight for. Batman fights for the greater good and expects nothing in return, that's the whole point of wearing the mask. He doesn't want glory or praise for what he does, he does it out of the goodness of his heart allowing his mask to symbolize that anyone can be a hero, regardless of who you are and what you're capable of. Unlike Batman, Beowulf fights for glory. He fights so that his story will be told for centuries to come and that all will know his name. Beowulf also seems to fight out of anger sometimes, the violence in his fights are so intense that it seems impossible for him to be having pleasant thoughts of peace and safety. Both hero's tones differ when they fight as well, Batman's tone is very calm and collected, though his character is known to be a bit of a negative Nancy, he never fights out of anger. When reading Beowulf's fights, the tone is often filled with rage and results in violence, the author of the story uses a great amount of imagery to express this rage and violence in Beowulf's fights. With different outlooks come different outcomes, both Beowulf and Batman have different ideas about going about things as well. Beowulf believes killing a monster is the way to go about things, while Batman refuses to take a life. This speaks a lot about both characters and their values. It makes one wonder whether a hero should have the right to take away a life or if they should find a way to preserve that life and possible coexist with one another. It's easy to eliminate your problems, the real challenge is facing them day to day.

In the end, it's fair to say that modern hero's today have taken some traits from Beowulf the Great, his courage and bravery still lives on and will continue to be passed on for generations to come. Hero's have evolved in many ways since Beowulf's legend has come to existence, their numbers have grown and their values have changed greatly. As long as villains roam the earth, there will be a Beowulf to bring them to justice, though death might not be their choice in resolving this evil, Beowulf's bravery and courage will live on in each hero as they make the world a safer place.