Hmm..What does make a good hero? Is it valor, courage, leadership? Perfectly Quaffed Hair?! I would say it could be a mixture of a lot of elements (maybe not so much the quaffed hair haha). When we look at Beowulf we see he is selfless when he shows up to Herot to help fight the beast Grendel who has been tormenting them. When he kills Grendel, he even expresses sorrow that he did not even kill the demon directly so they could have his body as a trophy. Part of being a good hero is modesty as well. I feel this might be a characteristics that Beowulf lacks by accepting the steeds and trophies and gold.
I would say that there really isn't a perfect example of a hero that incorperates the traits of strength, valor, etc. Beowulf does come extremely close to this though. The book does foreshadow in the story of the Dane King how the power got to his head and even Hrothgar (how he used to be a good warrior but now he is weak as a warrior now that he is a king) so I'm interested to see if Beowulf will keep his heroic ways when he becomes king, or if he will become like his predcessors.
Testing, testing, 1...2..3...
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ReplyDeleteJust like we discussed in class. Modesty wasn't important back then. Beowulf had to accept the gifts in fear that he might show disrespect toward Hrothgar.
ReplyDeleteBeouwulf has a great background of combat and leadership skills so maybe he will keep his heroic skills when he becomes king.
Beowulf accepted the gifts, but shared the wealth with his people and compadres. However, I don't really think that having these "heroic skills" will benefit anything once becoming king. Hrothgar was a "great warrior" as well, but really he had great negotiating skills...
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the traits you have listed, but, like we discussed in class, Beowulf wasn't just taking the gifts out of greed and selfishness. I do agree with your statement though, about there not being many examples of great heroes. However, those that are great seem to be the everyday heroes, such as those giving their lives fighting for us and protecting us.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there really can be an example of a "perfect hero" everyone has different opinions. I mean i could like spiderman and miichael could like batman. It's all a matter of opinion. Beowulf was a great hero, he got the job done, no matter his intentions. He was a hero to some, and to others, like grendels mom he was a villan. It's all about how you put it into perspective
ReplyDeleteInteresting. As we have learned, Beowulf could have been the same weak and pathetic king like Hrothgar, or a really vain, foolish warrior, but he didn't. and yes, it does help to have perfectly coiffed hair, at least for the ladies! ;) "wink, wink". OK, not really.
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