From Beowulf to Superman, why do we need our heroes? Our cultures have always created heroes. Despite our political, social, economic, and religious differences, we all have one thing in common: heroes. They help define who we are and what we want to be. Heroes give us hope and inspire us to head in the right direction. They show us that good will always triumph over evil and that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.
Heroes give us the inspiration we need to overcome problems in our own lives, and that is why we create them. Beowulf perfectly embodies the idea of a hero. He defeats the evil Grendel and his mother, slays the dragon, and saves his people. He is strong, brave, moral, and inspiring; all of which are traits that someone can look up to. While his story may have been written over a thousand years ago, Beowulf’s heroism has echoed through the ages. Even today, our heroes possess these same qualities.
In a way, one could say that Beowulf was the hero of heroes, not only inspiring the people of his time but also inspiring the heroes who would later be created in his image. The epic tale of Beowulf begins by introducing the hero. The author tells the reader how Beowulf has trekked oceans and slain monsters, making it obvious from the start that he is no ordinary man. However, as with any tale, the hero must have an adversary – an evil that must be overcome.
In Beowulf’s case, he faces three antagonists: the hideous monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the foreboding Dragon. However, one can argue that these three physical foes metaphorically represent one thing: the personification of society’s shortcomings. John Gardner’s Grendel” explores this idea further by portraying the monster as harboring feelings of lust and jealousy towards the inhabitants of Hrothgar’s mead-hall, which ultimately leads to his attacks due to his sense of exclusion. The story also alludes to themes of wrath and vengeance.
After Beowulf kills Grendel, Grendel’s mother seeks revenge for her fallen son by attacking the mead-hall. However, she is not the only character seeking vengeance. Beowulf himself also references revenge after Grendel’s mother kills Aeschere, Hrothgar’s advisor. He tells Hrothgar, Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning. For every one of us living in this world means waiting for our end. Let whoever can win glory before death. When a warrior is gone, that will be his best and only bulwark.
(1384-1389) It is ironic that Grendel’s mother represents vengeance, as Beowulf himself says, “it is better to avenge dear ones than to mourn them.” This raises an interesting point because it is difficult to determine the author’s intended message. Perhaps they were trying to speak to the morals of the time by suggesting that no one is above seeking revenge, not even the great hero Beowulf. Alternatively, they may have been commenting on the self-destructive nature of endless revenge cycles.
The other two monsters represent sins. There is no reason why Grendel’s mother should be excluded from this fact. If the author was trying to speak to the hero’s struggle against societal issues, then wrath would have to be considered a problem, not a solution. Finally, there is the Dragon whom Beowulf fights as an older king. The Dragon represents many things: Beowulf’s impending death, his final challenge, and his passing of the torch to the younger generation. However, when trying to convey this final antagonist to modern-day problems, the Dragon can only represent one thing: greed.
Stories have always depicted dragons as greedy, and Beowulf’s dragon is no different. The story describes it as an old harrower of the dark…the burning one who hunts out barrows.” The Dragon hoards gold, which represents greed. So, Beowulf, the hero with his superhuman strength and unrivaled courage, must defeat three monsters or three sins: jealousy with Grendel, wrath with Grendel’s mother, and greed with the Dragon. These are three of the Bible’s seven deadly sins that are ingrained in our society – sins that our heroes are still fighting today.
Popular heroes such as Superman, Iron Man, and Batman all seem to fight villains who represent some form of moral turpitude. However, what is truly interesting about these heroes is how closely they resemble a character a thousand years older than them: Beowulf. If heroes are meant to represent our moral aspirations, it would make sense for them to also embody our physical ideals. Consider how Beowulf is depicted physically – he is a strong, towering figure who stands out among his peers.
At that time, it was likely that every man aspired to be like them. However, if we look at our heroes today, such as Batman – a tall, handsome millionaire bachelor who drives fancy cars and dates beautiful women – we can see that this still holds true. The same can be said for other well-known heroes like Superman, Iron-man, and Captain America. However, it’s important to note that these material possessions are not necessary for their crime-fighting abilities. Our heroes not only reinforce our moral values but also embody the physical ideal of what we strive to become.
Although the physical nature of our heroes may excite us, it is ultimately their actions that we are drawn to. In Beowulf’s first section, the hero’s mission is to restore order and stability to a chaotic Heorot. This mirrors the role of modern-day heroes like Superman and Batman, who also strive to bring order and stability to their respective cities – Gotham City for Batman and Metropolis for Superman. These places can be viewed as metaphors for their cultures at large.
These places are all plagued by villains” or societal problems that must be defeated by the personification of our values or “heroes.” Heroes represent the protectors of our values, but we already have those in real life, such as policemen and government officials. In Beowulf’s time, kings and queens fulfilled this role. What is so astonishing about our heroes is that they are rarely any of these things. When Beowulf defeated Grendel, he was not a king or a man who enforced law. Modern heroes are almost never policemen or government officials.
It is a strange concept to think about, but there is a reason for it. Societies do not believe that real-life law enforcers represent their core values. While these entities are necessary in keeping order, they seem to be bogged down by complications and bureaucratic bias, or at least viewed that way. This opinion of them has seemingly been present for a very long time.
In Beowulf, Hrothgar, the king, has to call Beowulf for help. However, Hrothgar is the governing entity; he should be able to handle the evil Grendel by himself.
In Gotham City, Batman works hand in hand with the city’s police commissioner, James Gordon. However, it is not Gordon who defeats the bad guys”; it is Batman. Even someone like James Bond has a “license to kill.” The heroes we create seem to be above the law. While they vow to protect the innocent and uphold justice, they do not necessarily abide by society’s laws. Technically speaking, they could be called criminals; however, we still see them as morally outstanding individuals. This idea was coined by psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg as post-conventional morals.
It is the idea that people live by their own ethical principles, which usually include basic human rights such as life, liberty, and justice. The belief that stealing to support your starving family takes precedence over the fact that stealing is illegal may be considered right or wrong, but it is a principle that our heroes live by. Therefore, if we can accept the fact that most people live by their own core principles, another point arises. This idea has been highlighted in psychologists Zeno Franco and Phillip Zimbardo’s study titled The Banality of Heroism.
In this study, it was argued that we all have the potential to be heroes, waiting for our moment to shine. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the word hero” originates from a Greek word meaning “protector” or “defender”. We will all have an opportunity to protect or defend someone or something; it is not an action exclusive to law enforcement. Consider the heroic first responders who have dealt with multiple tragedies, as well as fathers who give their children kidneys and people who donate blood regularly.
These acts of heroism, no matter the scale, are something that people have always done for each other. Heroism is a universal attribute and is within the range of possibilities for every person, inspiring more of us to answer that call. It’s a self-creating loop where real-life heroes inspire the stories of our fictional leaders, and these fictional stories in turn inspire real-life acts of heroism. That’s why we grow so attached to our heroes. We not only read about them in the fiction we create but also on the news.
Superman, Batman, and Beowulf are all heroes inspired by the heroism we see every day. The similarities between our modern heroes and Beowulf are apparent. It’s extraordinary how even after a thousand years, the way we see our heroes hasn’t changed. This makes one believe that a thousand years from now, our heroes will remain the same.
However, there is a difference between Beowulf and his modern-day counterparts that speaks to the differences in our cultures. In The Anatomy of Criticism, author Northrop Frye highlights five types of hero.
Most of our heroes fall under the first three types, and Beowulf falls under the second. The heroes are classified by their power of action,” which may be greater than ours, less than ours, or the same. Type one presents the hero as divine, above both man and their environment. Heroes like Superman would fall under this category because we can never replicate what they are able to do. Type two states that the hero is still above most ordinary men but is only slightly above the restrictions of the environment; these heroes can bleed and even be defeated.
Heroes that fall under this category are Batman, Iron Man, and Beowulf. It is these type two heroes that seem to draw the most fascination because they balance between the delicate line of divinity and humanity. They are created just above the reach of men. While we know we can never actually be Batman, Iron Man, or Beowulf, they still are close enough to us to give them a sense of vulnerability. However, there is a difference between them: while Batman and Beowulf are both type two heroes, one of them grows old and inevitably dies while the other seemingly never ages.
This is the major difference between our heroes today and Beowulf. It is also the key difference between our culture today and the culture of Beowulf’s creators. Throughout the story, Beowulf constantly makes references to death’s lurking presence, while Batman comes out year after year without having aged a day. In a time where everyone had to be ready to fight and die, it was natural to create a hero who himself had to be weary of death. Back then, people worried about dying in war and accepting their fate. Today, although we are still constantly at war, not everyone has to physically fight.
In an age where medicine can extend one’s life to over one hundred years, death is not always our biggest concern. Most people, at a young age, feel invincible and our heroes reflect this idea of immortality. However, the fact still remains that no matter how different the culture – even cultures a thousand years apart – we still create heroes. Our cultures need heroes because they offer us so much: hope, inspiration, and a model for how one should live their own life. They give us all of these things and more but perhaps the most important thing is that they remind us of what we are capable of achieving.
The escape they offer us is a much-needed respite from the challenges of life. Throughout history, people have faced difficulties such as debt, death, love, hate, war, racism, health issues and success. These heroes provide a temporary escape from these challenges while also inspiring us to overcome them. This is why heroes are timeless; from Beowulf to Superman we have always looked up to our heroes and that is why we need them.
