Beowulf Essay

Note: I apologize for the fact that this is late, but unfortunately I was pretty sick the whole weekend through yesterday and slept pretty much the whole time with little energy to do anything, thankfully I'm starting to feel so much better and was able to finish this essay. Thanks for hopefully understanding. :)

The idea of the typical "superhero" or hero is different for everyone, in my mind I don't have a "typical" outline of what a super hero or hero in general, is. As it is not the features a character must have, it is the good actions they portray. Both Spider-man and Beowulf are strong examples of heroes. This has nothing to do with the fact that Spider-man has "super spidey senses" or that Beowulf has so much pride, it is the fact that both of these characters commit strong heroic actions. Both characters are dedicated to help others in need before themselves, and that is why I call them heroes.

Spider-man does come from modern era whereas Beowulf is quite the opposite and is a very old character in our modern day, but both regardless, display heroism and solve conflicts in each of their different situations. Both are considered heroes of their time because of the life risking actions they take to save the people of their community when they are in danger. Both characters feel the need to really step up to the plate and take action to save their community's lives when clearly nobody else was going to. As spider-man displayed his heroic actions when he protects and saves his community from the Green Goblin who is out to kill everybody. Beowulf takes charge and saves the Danes from Grendel the demon, and then goes to defeat the beast.


The symbolism of each of them being heroes lies not with only the actions the portrayed but upon how they became a hero. Beowulf had no powers to begin with nor did he ever develop any, it was the want and desire to be this great person who could live up to his own expectations that drove him to be a hero, he was a normal guy who knew he needed to be the one and save his people from danger. Spider-man is a very different type of hero in the sense of how he became one, he was bitten by a spider with no previous intentions of ever being this great well known hero, but after the spider bite resulted in spider super powers all of that changed. Spider-man realized he had to be the one to step up to the plate when it came to defeating the Green Goblin because he felt that he had been given these powers for a reason and they needed to be used to save peoples lives when nobody else could.

So it is not the cape, the super strength, or the cockiness and pride that makes a hero, but the courage and bravery and dedication to save and help others in need. Spider-man and Beowulf may be two completely different characters from two completely different eras but they definitely have one thing in common, they are two examples of what a real hero is.