Beowulf As A Hero

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How do Beowulf’s events correlate to Beowulf as a character? Beowulf exhibits characteristics of a hero in many ways. Some include his bravery, courage, skill, and quest. For example, Beowulf single-handedly defeated Grendel by tearing Grendel’s arm when his swords had no power and his soldiers died in front of Beowulf’s eyes (791-823). In other instances, Beowulf manages to kill Grendel’s mother, despite having all odds stacked against him when Grendel’s mother gnaws through Beowulf’s helmet and renders Beowulf’s sword useless under a spell (1518-1533). To conclude, Beowulf shows that he knows of his weakness in the encounter with the dragon. Within every one of these scenes, Beowulf’s craftiness, understanding of weakness, compassion to fight…show more content…
Beowulf begins with him getting notified of Grendel, the descendent of Cain who killed Abel and must precede all evil in the world. Already, one can see that Grendel will have evil qualities in Anglo-Saxon society, as he, “snatched up thirty men … and ran out with their bodies, the blood dripping behind them.” (123-124). When Beowulf knew, he felt as if he had an obligation for the Danes to go, and this represents the “boon” or reward of winning quite well. Otherwise, Beowulf would not have helped the Danes. In Anglo-Saxon culture, showing strength and power often led to having glory, riches, and land, as well stated later in Beowulf, “Healfdane’s son gave Beowulf a golden banner … and a helmet… and a coat of mail … and an ancient sword.” (1020-1023). This scene, after Beowulf defeated Grendel, shows the boon present in other heroes. Hrothgar and the bards telling of stories of the successful falling from grace and vice versa, again, represents Beowulf’s qualities. Based on this, Hrothgar mentors Beowulf because of Hrothgar having more knowledge and wisdom. Again, most heroes show characteristics of having a

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