Beowulf
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What is your idea of a true hero? How is your idea of a hero similar to or different from the epic hero Beowulf?
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Temple
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Aug 24, 2010 08:47AM

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A hero is what we call those who save, rescue,or those with great strength or skill, or even someone who preforms above and beyond their duty. Through the years they have been made the central topic of legends and childhood idols,and is in a sense the embodiment of what every human strives to be every day. However so many fall short due to the lack of understanding of what a hero is. While many heros do have amazing ablities and seem invinceble, what makes a hero a hero lies in his/her heart(and I'm not talking about blood and four beating chambers. although those are nice too). I believe the two main qualities of a hero are selflessness and above all honor. All though there are many more qualities of the heart that may be present, such as courage, integrity, love, and determination. All of these originate from selflessness and honor. If someone has selflessness in the sense of placing others or a higher purpose above one's self, they then become more than themselves. They become added effort to the GREATER GOOD. And from that comes the courage to do what is nessesary and love for a cause with breeds determination. And someone's personal honor I believe is the most important thing any man, women, or child can have, because humans fail and life is hard and eventually when fame fades into the dark and respect is shattered on the floor. Those moments are the times when the thin line between right and wrong becomes blurred and coruption and temptation start to seep into veiw. In the those times when the only thing a man has left is his honor, it is the only thing that can save him from himself. The drive to know that in the end, I did what was right and gave my all, that never ending pride in works, this honor is the driving force in every hero. This is root of a hero's heart!

He's often criticised for his boasts, even in the scholarship; but boasts were a cultural thing, and he cites his past feats by way of credentials for the job he's about to undertake. When he boasts in Heorot, he's been egged on, or rather invited to give his 'beot', to tell his tales: to offer his credentials. Also, the boast, in the culture, is a standard to live up to: he's told his aim, and now he has no choice but go through with the fight. You give your boast so you can't back out (as does a drunken coward or two in the story).
I find him absolutely unselfish. And he's gentle-hearted. At the end, the lament for him talks about his tenderness, his comradeship, in short his good heart. They don't even mention the ogres and dragons he slew, in his lament.
What's more, Beowulf is fighting a losing fight. That doesn't stop him. His is a sad story, terribly sad; and he himself, childless, is a sad figure at the end. Nevertheless he goes on courageously and gives his life for his society - a society he knows is on the eve of ruin. What more can you ask?
There is a strong element of 'the freak who's on our side'. That is, Beowulf is huge, too huge to be quite human, and uncanny in other ways; even his naivety or simplicity is a little like the monsters he fights. Beowulf is almost one of the monsters, but one who fights on the right side: hence the love for him. They love him as a defender - when mere humans can't defend - and perhaps, as a guy who might have been another Grendel.
I think I worship Beowulf. I can't name a better hero. Nor a better person to read on both Beowulf himself and his poem, than JRR Tolkien: 'The Monsters and the Critics', an essay, best thing ever written on the subject. If you ask me.
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