Beowulf Essay

There are many difference in how heroes were portrayed in the period where Beowulf  was written. Beowulf was shown as an extremely confident, brave, and strong hero. These were the main heroic traits of that time period, but since then the traits have changed drastically in my opinion.  A contemporary hero now would be Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of The Rings.  Sam is one of the most over looked hero in our time, with out him Frodo would have never survived to destroy the ring because Sam was determined, caring, faithful.  These three traits are almost rare in Old English heroic stories, but are seen a lot in Modern English.   Although they are both considered heroes, they have more differences than similarities.

Beowulf was the main hero in the epic, Beowulf.  He was considered one of the strongest, bravest men around.  His confidence would almost be considered arrogant if he didn't have the acts his had completed to back it up.  The epic was written in Old English, therefore it uses a different language then we are used to, which leads us to seeing the story a different way because language is defined by the culture it is from.  With Old English we can tell that there was a lot of value in heroes being brave, strong, and confident enough to take on anything they faced and how they did not expect the women of the culture to be able to have any of these traits, instead be protective and take car of their families.  The men were considered the leaders and protectors of society, while the women were the supporters of the families. Beowulf strength is considered the strength of thirty men because he was able to slay the mightiest of beast, which include Grendel, who was killed by Beowulf ripping his arm of his shoulder. Strength is a trait for this old society that is shown in the strongest men of their time, very few are truly considered strong, but the few that are have almost God-like strength.  When faced with any challenge Beowulf was brave and took the challenge up whether he thought he was going to make it or not.  He never backed down from anything until he died, this could show how at the time men were expected to have no fear and protect the things around them.  While these traits are still seen in modern literature and cultures nowadays, they are no longer the biggest ones seen.

Although Samwise Gamgee isn't considered the main hero of his story, I believe he is the most important of them.  His determination is what got Frodo to the top of Mt. Doom, Frodo was dying due to the burden of the Ring and all of his injuries so Sam threw him on his shoulders and carried him all the way up the mountain.  Determination is now a trait considered valuable by almost all of modern culture, without it when people struggle they would quit and never preserver. Being faithful can save some ones life, because it means you will be there to protect them even when they don't expect it.  Frodo was tricked into thinking Sam had been selfish and ate all the remaining Elvish bread for the trip and sent him away from the quest, but as Sam was going home confused he found the truth and turned around to protect Frodo.  He came in time to slay the spider and protect the poisoned Frodo from the greedy Smeagle and the Orcs.  Caring comes in many forms such as: compassion, love, and protection.  Throughout the entire story Sam shows all of these qualities.  He is compassionate about helping Frodo complete this quest to destroy the Ring, loves and protects his homeland of the Shire by going on this quest because if succeeded, it will vanquish the evil seeking to take over "everything that good and light in this world." Sam is truly a modern hero, although he isn't recognized for what he has done, he has traits that support and save other people's lives.

Beowulf and Samwise are from two different eras of writing and culture.  This differences are shown in how they are portrayed and how the literature is written.  Their differences show the change in time of what we consider heroic and how society affects literature.