Through these battles, Beowulf’s strength, humbleness and courageousness is revealed. These are characteristics that are crucial in defining an epic hero. However, every epic hero has a tragic flaw. Beowulf’s tragic flaw is his pride. His tragic flaw is evident throughout the novel thinking he can win them all.
Beowulf Argument: Hero Without Faults? There are many extraordinary people some great heroes and some everyday people like you and I. No matter how extraordinary there is still imperfection and fault among these special individuals. For example in the epic Beowulf written during the Anglo-Saxon time period the renowned hero Beowulf is the greatest warrior to ever walk the face of the Earth. To the people he is an almighty force that can’t be stopped and he appears perfect in everyway.
Owen Connelly’s book “Blundering to Glory” is about a brilliant man without limits, having a gift from God never seen before, the greatest commander of all time…Napoleon Bonaparte. “Blundering to Glory” goes into great details covering Napoleon’s childhood to his quick rise to fame. Napoleon Bonaparte had a great impact on most of Europe. He was a “scrambler” with no sense of when to stop. The author also puts a lot of emphasis on Napoleon’s mistakes or “blunders.” He had many victories because he never stopped attacking his enemies by using the ignorance of his enemy’s commanders.
In Beowulf, an epic poem, Beowulf is the superior character who depicts the true meaning of loyalty. Beowulf feels in a sense he owes Hrothgar, King of the Danes, a favor because the great king had assisted Beowulf's father years back. Although Beowulf is the epic hero of the poem, he is not the only character that demonstrates the characteristic of loyalty. Wiglaf is a Geat warrior who exhibits bravery and courage while helping Beowulf fight and slay the dragon. Even though the epic poem had a devastating ending, it would not have been the same without the characters displaying their loyal sides.
Noel Mendez Mendez 1 Mrs. Hinton English 3Period 2 August 31, 2012 Epic Hero Beowulf achieved many quest of tremendous value to himself and society. In the Epic From Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel, Beowulf did something that many people aren’t capable of doing. Beowulf proves to be a man of courage, leadership, and power and he can fit the image of an Epic hero in many ways. Beowulf was considered courageous during his lifetime because of everything he accomplished. Beowulf shows bravery in line 158 “… Death was errand.” He states that he will fight to his death.
A “Sophoclean hero” is a headstrong character that is willing to face the worse to attain his goal. This particular hero is always in need for peace even if it means breaking the laws and relies on principles. Antigone fought all the way for the pride and respect of her brother. She proved that she was capable of anything, even death. Creon is not a heroic character despite his excess on many aspects.
But most heroes tactics, weapons, and courage to become heroes. Beowulf did a great job in putting these three abilities together, which basically made him an epic hero. He didn’t fight for his survival; he fought for the survival of his people, which is why he sacrifices his life at the end so his people could have a
But no matter what the numerous different heroes look like, they all seemingly possess the same attributes. Tremendous courage, bravery, faith, and kindness all ultimately make someone a hero. The epic poem of Beowulf uniformly offers no exception. Beowulf sufficiently possessed tremendous strength and bravery. Despite sometimes wanting the vast glory for himself, Beowulf displayed kindness and faith towards his kinsmen.
Beowulf is often lionized as a courageous soul, a fearless leader, and an epic hero. He jumps into battle against monsters and creatures without a worry or fear of death and annihilation. His belief in providence makes him brave, but simultaneously irrational and dumb. Readers of Beowulf usually look only at his positive characteristics such as his legacy, strength, perseverance, pride, and alignment with the heroic code. Readers also question whether or not Beowulf is a true epic hero or just an idiot leader.
They are both doing something that no human would ever do, like taking a challenge for your king or being a superhero and fighting dangerous villains everyday. Even though these characters aren’t real, we can learn something from them. You don’t have to perfect to be a hero. The best heroes are the ones that most people wouldn’t expect to be. Gawain was the weakest knight who took up a challenge that no one else would, which makes him brave and courageous.