The Beowulf in Us All Essay

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The Beowulf in Us All A hero is commonly defined by his or her accomplishments or feats. The difference in heroes of the past and present is the type of monsters that are challenged. Most of the traits still stand even despite not possessing some sort of super human ability. The monsters today are mainly the small things in our daily lives. Heroes are made today by people exhibiting random acts of kindness. They embody loyalty, selflessness, and generosity. Loyalty is commonly known as a sense of allegiance or support of a cause, but loyalty is much more than its’ chivalrous past qualities. Loyalty is what holds all societies together. If a man is expected to bring water to another in desperate need and is not loyal to the effort then the one in need may die. Every choice we make is like the man with the water. We can choose to not care and let it fall, or we can choose to be the hero by being loyal to our daily acquaintances. We have a job on this earth, to serve. Today’s hero is loyal in this aspect. Selflessness describes a hero in many different ways. The unselfish will give of themselves and not expect anything in return. Even though Beowulf demanded praise from his people after his death, he did not ask for the treasures of king Hrothgar for defeating Grendel and its mother, even though he did receive it. He believed in laying himself down before his people, like a general who does not yell “charge” but “follow me”. A selfless hero does not see himself as a hero but modest through their trials. The act of selflessness surely is a large attribute of a great hero. Generosity is one of the greatest traits of heroes that match today. It is the act of giving and showing compassion towards a people or persons. Showing small acts of kindness is what keeps

beowulf essay

Beowulf essay We are all humans, and we are all responsible to ourselves, but I agree it is our choice to be responsible for other humans. Most humans don’t have a choice, like parents. In the eleventh century epic poem, Beowulf, written by an unknown author, the protagonist Beowulf is a caring soldier. He felts responsible to all his soldiers that were with him. Question is, are we responsible for other humans? And how are the Beowulf characters named Beowulf and Wiglaf reflects the belief about…

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Beowulf: Beowulf and Anglo-saxon Poetry Essay

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determine the life we lead. In the epic poem Beowulf, one can notice that the three major battles that Beowulf engages in, can represent more than just a fight itself. These drawn out battles go through the different phases of life and relate to almost anyone’s struggles and growth of aging. As Beowulf begins his life and his journey into battle, it can reflect on challenges and accomplishments in a person's journey. These three battles show how Beowulf evolves, which can be interpreted to our lives…

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Men's Loyalty In Beowulf

very few actual tough manly men. Like Beowulf, men in those times were very strong and even had super-human strength. Obviously, no man today could have super-human strength, but many men today do not even have strength. The Danish coast guard even notices how tough Beowulf is. “Nor have I seen a mightier man-at-arms on this earth than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken, he is truly noble. This is no mere hanger-on in a hero’s armour.” (Beowulf 244-251)…

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A Hero's Motivations In Beowulf

But where did such ideas originate? The idea of a superhero originated from the Anglo-SAxons epic poem Beowulf. Not only is the main character, Beowulf, the first hero to have extraordinary abilities in such a story, but he set the standard for the values of what became known as superheros. Beowulf had impactful motivations for why he did what he did throughout the story. In the epic poem Beowulf, by…

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Who Is To Blame Grendel's Mother

The epic poem Beowulf is an Anglo Saxon literary that portrays important aspects of life. Some of these aspects found within the poem are familiar and alien to us, causing the reading of the poet, to be a challenge. Despite the spanning a thousand years, the poem indicates readers because we can relate to the idea of a mother’s revengeful anger. No one can blame Grendel’s mother for avenging her son’s death; in fact, we can almost sympathize for her loss. However, we certainly cannot relate to the…

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in any way? A story with a completely perfect character is no story at all. There is no personality to an utterly unflawed person. “Beowulf” the film portrays a more flawed hero than the poem does, which is much preferable. A person people can relate to is one more will follow. Beowulf lusts after the king’s wife Hrothgar’s wife. We as people have all had an experience of wanting someone else’s girlfriend or boyfriend. Beowulf stares at her a lot during the film with lust in his eyes. He dreams of…

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Beowulf is not only a follower of Higlac and Hrothgar; he is a leader of the warriors of Geatland, and as a leader it was Beowulf’s duty to generously reward and care for his people. An Anglo Saxon leader took responsibility for his men and would justly reward them for their services. Before challenging Grendel’s merciless mother, Beowulf must insure the care of his men in the event that he does not return from the battle. Guaranteeing the safety of his men signifies that Beowulf is a committed leader…

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By some means the past always repeats itself and the stories give us illustrations of obstacles in the future. Beowulf gives us a perfect illustration of this. The story relates to times then and times now in our society. When Beowulf was written is unknown to the date but it’s believed to written before AD 521. But it’s said that it’s used as an Anglo Saxon poem. Beowulf tells the story of the jealous monster Grendel. He (Grendel) lives near the area of the Great Hall of Heorot. Grendel was against…

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There are many ways in which Beowulf and the epic hero have affected our society since its conception. The poem’s tone and underlying themes show that even though a vast amount of time has passed, most of the values that we hold dear are still the same. One of these themes would be that actions speak more than words. As seen in Beowulf, when Unferth mocks Beowulf for losing the race against Breca. (Heaney 35-37) Another example could be that life is a continuous struggle and whenever you conquer…

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