In the story of Beowulf, the main character, Beowulf, possesses great amounts of courage, valor, and bravery in which all of these are used to overcome great feats. Beowulf shows courage by talking on the monster Grendel with only his bare hands. “The monsters flight, fastened those claws in his fist till they cracked.” Reference to page 49, lines: 330-340, 360-380. He shows valor by putting himself forward to take on the monster and not backing down from a challenge. “Then he saw the mighty water witch and swung his sword, his ring marked blade, straight at her head.” Reference to page 52, lines: 491-500, 530-540, 555-564. Lastly, he shows bravery when he goes in after the dragon even when he knows he is too old. “I’ve never known fear, as a youth I…
Beowulf and the 13th Warrior are two stories that are centered around the Anglo-Saxon culture and even though they have many things in common, there are a few key differences to the stories. These are two great stories that portray the Anglo-Saxon culture very well. The two stories both show good and evil, different companions, and how they memorialize the dead. The written story, Beowulf, can only describe some of the gruesome details. The movie however brought out some of those details into full light. Such as, when the North Men pass around their "community bowl." It does not seem vastly surprising if that had actually occurred in the barbaric culture. Even though the Anglo-Saxon people seem barbaric they are still quite an organized culture.…
The plot of the epic poem Beowulf and the film The 13th Warrior differ greatly compared to each other. In Beowulf the main character, Beowulf set sail to the Danes land in order to defeat a monster named Grendel. In the film, the character that represents Beowulf, Buliwuf, sets out to defeat a race, not a single monster and its mother, the race of Wendols. The character defeats Grendel in the poem; but he does not defeat all of the Wendols in the film on the first attack. The character Buliwyf then defeats the Wendols on the second attack, where they kill the ‘mother.’ Both characters have to defeat a dragon, or ‘fire serpent.’ In the epic poem, Beowulf is not poisoned until he is scratched by the dragon. In the film, Buliwyf gets scratched by the mother. The characters go through turmoil; they fight for life and limb, and battle forces they did not even know existed. The plot of the story changes between both poem and film to accompany the story line and keep the reader interested; even though the main characters are different and they have different names, the whole plot as the same general idea, just in a different sequence.…
Instead of doing a translation of Beowulf, the writer of the "The 13th Warrior" used his creativity to fabricate a new story. To start off, "The 13th Warrior" is seen through the eyes of Antonio Bandera's' character, Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, while Beowulf told the story of Beowulf from a third person point of view. The characters, Beowulf (Beowulf), and Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan ("The 13th Warrior") are of different groups. Beowulf is Anglo-Saxon and Buliwyf is Swedish. In "The 13th Warrior" groups of men fight the evil which are men dressed up as bears, called Wendol's possibly to seem more frightening, and their mother, who is an evil witch person and the leader. Beowulf generally fights the evil, which is represented by Grendel and his mother, who are both monsters, descendants of Cain, alone. The warriors of "The 13th Warrior" and Beowulf, clearly, had reasons for fighting the Grendle, his mom, the Dragon, and the Wendol's. Beowulf wanted to be famous and Buliwyf and his men just wanted to help out. Beowulf was more of a super hero type unlike the men in "The 13th Warrior." Buliwyf and his comrades were not offered money or any reward; they did not so much want to be remembered for their heroic deeds at Herot. They just wanted to help save the place. Like Beowulf and Buliwyf, Grendel and the Wendol's had reasons for attacking Herot. Every night the men at the kingdom would stay up late laughing, dancing, drinking; celebrating their greatness and Grendle was never invited because he was Gods curse. Grendel grew weary…
Beowulf also has the heroic characteristics of being brave. Beowulf would go and fight taking a risk of his own life on the line just to help out others. not for himself.. at all. But others around him. Beowulf went into it knowing that this nasty slaying dragon was bigger than him but he still didn't have a doubt in his mind going in to fight this dragon.…
Courage is another trait that is typically shown by Beowulf and Dr. King. Beowulf is courageous because he always responds to his call to duty even when the odds are against him. He fights two giants and a dragon and does not give a second thought as to…
Beowulf is definitely a very courageous man. While being a leader of the Geats and protecting the land, he shows bravery throughout the epic poem. Beowulf’s motivation was not to kill Grendel, a demon descended from Cain, but to only build up his reputation. He shows bravery specifically during three accomplishments during the epic poem.…
Being courageous is one of the first qualities that sets a hero apart from a common human being. Being courageous means to stand up to adversity without fear, to continue to forge on regardless of the daunting things one faces. Beowulf was not shy about showing his courage. When he hears of Grendal’s torment to Hrothgar’s kingdom, Beowulf races to their aid. He does not hesitate when he asks permission of Hrothgar to slay Grendal. He knows thus far, they have been unable to defeat the demon. When Grendal comes to the kingdom that same night, Beowulf, using no weapons other than his bare hands, looks -Grendal in the eyes and rips off his arm, causing him to be mortally wounded. (Lines 750-820) This passage of Beowulf is a great example of what it means to be…
Most people define a hero as a person who has superior or superhuman strength. Beowulf is “the strongest of the Geats- greater / And stronger” than anyone else in the world (lines 110-111). Saying this shows that if Beowulf cannot defeat Grendel then nobody else can. Beowulf shows how intelligent he is in lines 134-137 when “Beowulf arose with his men / Around him ordering a few to remain / With their weapons”. Beowulf is smart enough to realize that if nobody stays with the weapons somebody will steal them, and they will be left unarmed when a war breaks out. To be considered courageous, a person must face something that would frighten most. Beowulf does just that on numerous occasions in Beowulf. Beowulf faces and conquers Grendel in lines 515-517 “The victory, for the proof, hanging high / From the rafters where Beowulf had hung it, was the monsters / Arm, claw and shoulder and all”. The mighty water witch, Grendel’s mother, becomes troubled with the loss of her son and wants revenge on Herot. When she attacks Herot, Beowulf takes action and conquers her in lines 643-645 “Her body fell / To the floor, lifeless, the sword was wet / With her blood, and Beowulf rejoiced at the sight”. Some heroes use special powers, or costumes to help them win the fights against the bad guys. However, Beowulf believes in being ethical. He does not want to be…
Beowulf's traits, good and bad, define him as a hero by Anglo-Saxon standards. But his arrogance, greed and selfishness contradict the modern, humanistic image of a hero. When it comes to Beowulf getting what he wants, nothing will stand between him and his goal. No amount of lives lost is too many for Beowulf, and the high cost to others only contributes to his glory. In his own time and culture, he was the ultimate hero of legend because he saved his people from monsters attacking them. But he falls far short when compared to today’s standards of selflessness, in which heroes are defined by risking their lives for others, and thus valuing their own less. Today’s heroes know that he may not make it out of the…
In the epic Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is depicted as a heroic figure who fights monsters and defends the weak. During its time, Beowulf would be considered a great hero however in today's standards Beowulf would only be considered a great warrior because a hero should value the lives of the people and not seek to be rewarded. Instead, Beowulf committed heroic acts for his own selfish reasons and never shows to values the lives of the people. From fighting Grendel to slaying the dragon, Beowulf only fought because he value the fame and fortune that comes along with those accomplishments.…
Also, Beowulf constantly demonstrates his bravery with valiant and heroic acts. One way he shows his courage is that when he is warned by a coastguard who thinks there is nothing anybody can do about the monster; Beowulf boldly declares he is “come to do what [he] can against the demon Grendal”(22). This quote shows Beowulf’s bravery because even with the warnings that Grendal has killed many men before him, he still ventures on without fear. Another daring act of Beowulf happens when he is at the mouth of the Firedrakes sinister lair, and has “come to quench him” (98). This example shows Beowulf’s courageousness because he is not afraid to fight the Firedrake, even if he has to bring the fight to the fiend. It is clear that Beowulf is a very brave and daring hero.…
What inspires courage? What drives a hero to go so far? Why does the hero choose his exhausting, dangerous path with no visible outcome? Does he even regret being a hero? In an epic work of literature, a hero’s motivation can be fame, righteousness, justice or even vengeance. In the case if Beowulf, he embraces his heroic path to help humankind get rid of living terrors, named and unnamed. He sails across the ocean to a foreign country and battles a fearsome, unfamiliar monster just because he wants to help the Danes end their sufferings “He who had come to them from across the sea, bold and strong-minded, had driven affliction off, purged Herot clean” (lines 347-350). It is not his obligation to embrace such a dangerous mission for the sake of a neighboring country. Yet he is willing to risk his life (and almost lose it) to exterminate an enemy of humankind along with his monstrous mother “He’d traveled to the bottom of the earth, Edgetho’s son, and died there, if that shining woven metal had not helped” (lines 507-509). May be Beowulf wishes to seek fame for himself, too, but in the most part he hopes to make use of his strength and valor for the greater good of the society he lives in “ Ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering forced on Hrothgar’s helpless people” (lines 353-354). Though Beowulf has to face not only one but many terrifying supernatural monsters, he takes a great resolve to shrink from no difficulty, following his path till the dark lake or even the end of his life. In his final battle Beowulf sacrifices his life for his people as their hero and their king. He has been ruling his country in peace and prosperity for fifty years “ I’ve worn this crown for fifty winters…ruling as well as I knew how” (lines 744-750) and he ends his reign with the most heroic act: sacrificing himself to restore peace to his land “Leaving life and this people I’ve ruled so long” (lines…
A true hero does not fear anything, not even death. Instead, he sacrifices all that he is for what he believes to be right. He risks his life for the sake of humanity, helps others no matter what the situation is, and asks for nothing in return such as money or treasures. A hero is a person who is determined to do what is right for their nation, and determined to follow their dreams and achieve their goals, which they have set for themselves. Beowulf is an epic that tells the story of the legendary Swedish prince, Beowulf.…
It also takes bravery in order to be a heroic figure. Beowulf was extremly brave because he had to over come the demon Grendel. Only a brave soul could of done that. “The beowul rose, still brave, still storng. (633) The quote says that grendel was not only a brave herio but a strong one at that.This shows that Beowold rose to the occusion not only being strong but being brave. Being brave is a key factor in being a heroic character.…