Originally an oral epic and composed in Old English, Beowulf – depicting societal values and, of course, a hero – is considered the first great work of English national literature and “one of the most important and exciting epics of Western literature.”
What kind of “exciting” stories of heroism are shared today? How are they shared? Which qualities does (0r would) TODAY’S HEROES have? Compare these with the qualities that you have read so far in Beowulf. If possible, support your comments with one or two specific examples. (250 words).
Stories of heroism that are shared today are the ones that involve saving people from famine or from a criminal. For example, people in the world raise money to support schools in Africa to help the people living there have clean water to use. The people living in a metropolitan city share them or the news reports them. Qualities that today’s heroes have are courage, generosity, and strength. In Beowulf, the hero is named Beowulf. Beowulf is a Geat that traveled to the Danes to save them from Grendel and his mother. Beowulf is described as someone with courage, generosity, kindness, and strength. The hero saves the Danes, which are people from Denmark from an evil force. The evil force relates to a monster and the monster’s mother. Grendel and Grendel’s mother are the monsters. Both of them are described as being cruel, grotesque, homicidal, and scary. They enter the mead-hall killing many of the innocent Danes living under Hrothgar’s rule. The mead-hall is located in Herot, which was a place in the book where the Danes lived. Beowulf, the hero comes to the rescue and battles the monsters. When Beowulf comes to the rescue, he is showing both courage and generosity to the Danes. After a long fight, Beowulf ends up pulling Grendel’s arm off, letting him bleed to death. When Beowulf stabs Grendel’s mother and cuts off Grendel’s cranium, he is displaying strength, because swords were unable to do any harm to the beasts. Those are the kinds of exciting stories referring to heroism that is shared today.
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