Beowulf Essay

      There is little difference between a hero like Beowulf and a modern hero like Batman.  Both characters fight evil, using their impressive skills and tools, to protect the ordinary people under duress.  While these two heroes have a lot in common they also have some differences, like the drive behind their heroic actions.  Beowulf acts heroically to prove his worth because in his time a man's success and status was based on his skills in battle.  Batman's actions are due to the revenge for his parents deaths he seeks.  The two vastly different reasons for being heroes represent the difference of today's culture and that of the past.

       Another thing that the heroes have in common is a villain to bring them conflict to resolve.  The villains differ greatly from each other with Grendel being a scary monster and the Joker being a regular person just like the audience.  In Beowulf's time a mythical creature was a logical choice for an antagonist because the people of that time knew little about the world they lived in and the unknown scared them, hence the monster Grendel.  More modern text such as Batman uses an ordinary person with a dark side to portray the villain because many criminals are just like us and the fact that any one of us can be that sinister frightens us.  The styles of fighting are also different between the villains with Grendel just killing everything in sight and the Joker planning elaborate set ups and robberies.  Grendel's simple approach to fighting reflects on the simplistic lifestyle that was lead by the people of the time whereas the Joker's knowledgeable and well thought out tactics reflect on the amazing advancements we are making in our time.

      These two heroes do differ in a lot of areas, but they share the bravado and selflessness needed to be a hero.  They are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to bring justice to their community.  Even as the times and our ways of life change there will always be a hero because people need to believe in extraordinary good during these trying times.