6/25/14
ENG271
Mr. Haberstroh
Beowulf vs. Achilles
Beowulf and Achilles are different in many ways; one of which is their character. Beowulf is a prodigious warrior and leader who fought to defend his soldiers and to make places more passive. He also perfectly exemplifies the morals of loyalty, pride, and courtesy. Achilles, on the other hand, is not as heroic as Beowulf, even though he was also a great warrior and had herculean strength; he mostly battled for revenge, collective position, and power. He was motivated by a thirst for glory.
Beowulf went on voyages because he wanted to show people that he is a dependable leader and that he can fight pretty much anybody from monsters to dragons and all the other kind of beings. He also sought to show people how brave and protective he was. Like the story of his fight with Grendel shows everyone how smart he is about definite things and how he is not fearful of doing anything. The part of the story where Beowulf slayed the sea monster demonstrates that he is a reliable warrior and that he gets his job done no matter what he has to do.
As I stated earlier, Achilles mostly fought for collective position and power, and the passing of his best friend Patroclus, did not make Achilles more deliberative or self-reflective, rage, arrogance, and bloodlust still consumed him. Achilles would also sacrifice everything just so that his name would be reminisced; which shows that the only person that he mostly cares about was himself and what people thought of him.
In my opinion Beowulf is more courageous because he would do just about whatever thing to protect his people and that he is not terrified of anything. He also does that so people would find him as a dependable leader and would not be afraid to be led by him.
Both men were very oriented towards getting glory. Achilles' only reason for going to Troy is to enhance his own glory. Beowulf is not quite as direct about this, but the price of glory and