Thursday, November 20, 2008
Lauren Waring Beowulf Question #1
In Beowulf strength and courage were major characteristics of their heroes, which is depicted by Beowulf himself. Do you think that these are the characteristics that make someone a hero? Do you think that the Anglo-Saxons were quick to celebrate their new found hero, or do you think he was worthy of this celebration?
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I think the people celebrated appropriately. Grendel was a creature that was just destroying them and their town. They were unable to stop him, until they found Beowulf, who bravely battled him and somehow managed to defeat him. Grendel was not just a hinderance or a nuisance, but an awful, violent beast. A victory over such a creature or person is absolutely worthy of a celebration like the one they had. After all, they did not expect Grendel's mother to come after them. If they had known she would do this, I would say that they absolutely celebrated too early. However, they were under the impression that Grendel was gone, the terror had ended, and their lives could return back to normal. Their celebrations were appropriate for these reasons.
I realized I didn't answer the first question asked. I believe courage is a quality of a hero, but I do not believe that strength is. Despite courage being a heroic quality, however, it may not always result in someone being a hero. It all comes down to how this courage is displayed by the person. Beowulf uses his courage to stand up and face Grendel in a battle, which he wins. If it were not for him possessing the courage to do this, Grendel would still be attacking the innocent people. Strength, on the other hand, is not a heroic quality. Strength is something that is simply a characteristic or a trait one has. If someone is strong enough to lift up a car, are they a hero? No, they are not. Perhaps using this strength to defeat someone like Grendel makes one a hero, but in reality, it all goes back to courage, which is what makes someone take on such a challenge in the first place. Strength is just a mere benefit in situations like these.
A hero needs to be courageous, but I do not think they necessarily have to be strong to be a hero. In Beowulf’s case it was important that he was strong because he needed to physically defeat Grendel. He was also courageous and selfless, but there are many other characteristics that could make someone a hero. A stereotypical hero is strong, powerful and courageous; these are characteristics that would be helpful for a hero to posses, but they do not necessarily make a hero, and if a person does not have all of these exact qualities then they can still be a hero. The Danes were so happy and overcome with joy because Beowulf had defeated Grendel and then his mother. They immediately saw him as their hero because he was, he saved them from the monsters and they treated them him as such.
I think that Beowulf deserved his celebration after his victory against Grendel. Strength and courage are definitely two qualities you want a hero to posses. Beowulf was worthy of a huge celebration for defeating not one but two huge monsters that were terrorizing the Danes. he saved so many people and for that alone deserves a celebration in his name. His strength and courage to defeat the enemies saved many people.
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