Comparative Paper: Beowulf and Batman Essay

A super hacek is a fictional character who is noted for feats of courage and nobility, who norm al singley has a colorful name and costume, a mastery of relevant skills, advanced equipment and/or extraordinary powers and abilities beyond those of normal human beings. More importantly, a superhero has a strong moral code, including a willingness to risk his birth safety in the service of good without expectation of reward. Although superhero powers vary widely, the posession of superhuman strength, the ability to fly, and enhancements of the senses argon all common. These abovementioned characteristics of a superhero are evident in Beowulf, the main character in the longest surviving metrical composition in Old English, which is also entitled Beowulf, by an unknown author (Online Reference support for Medieval Studies, 2006). Beowulf showed signs of being a superhero in what Wikipedia has cited as his three main battlesFirst Battle Grendel When Beowulf, being the prince of a Germ anic tribe from southern Sweden called the Geats, led his men to rescue the kingdom of Hrothgar of Denmark from Grendel, a lonely fiend (line 165), who has killed men and brought fear to all in Hrothgars charge. Beowulf tears Grendels arm from his consistence and Grendel runs home to die, which caused the Danes and the Swedes to rejoice.Second Battle Grendels Mother When Grendels mother attacks that same night Grendel was defeated, and took one man to avenge her sons death, Beowulf, along with his men and the Danes, traveled to the lake where this monster-woman lives, but the hero dives into the water alone, eventually defeating the towering mere-wife (line 1519) only by using a magic sword he finds in her cache of appraise (lines 837-1650).Third Battle the calculus Beowulf returns home and eventually be copes king of his own people. wiz day, late in Beowulfs life, a man steals a golden cup from a dragons lair. When the dragon sees that the cup has been stolen, it leaves its cave in a rage, burning up everything in sight. Beowulf and his warriors come to fight the dragon, but only one of the warriors, a brave young man named Wiglaf, stays to stand by Beowulf, because the rest are too afraid. Beowulf kills the dragon with Wiglafs help, but dies from the wounds he has received. The dragons treasure is taken from its lair and buried with Beowulfs ashes. These adventures of Beuwolf are somehow being resurrected in todays superheroes such as Batman, although both represent an entirely different literary traditions. The former is a tenth century Anglo-Saxon epic poem with a touch of saviorianity while the latter is a harvesting of what is called as popular destination photographic films, shows or comics that usually has a mass appeal. The classic hero possesses strength, morals and, above all, fights evil.This model applied in the time of Beowulf still applies today, only slightly modified. As a result of such innovations as television and fashion mag azines, society has come to value physical magnet and sexual prowess, as evident in the example of Batman. In addition, humility has become a desire quality in modern times, whereas self-confidence to the point of arrogance was a favorable attribute in the time of Beowulf. Despite the differences, similarities between the Anglo-Saxon hero and modern day hero can be seen through the comparison of Beowulf and Batman. Beowulf and Batman both possess the heroic quality of strength. We have seen Beowulfs feat in the three battles described above. Batman, on the other hand, single-handedly fights gangs of criminals on numerous occasions in the movie Batman, showing not only muscular strength, but endurance, much like that of Beowulf. Batman echoes the heroic strength of Beowulf. other heroic quality shared by Batman and Beowulf is their commitment to contend evil. When a villain attacks innocent citizens, the hero is there to protect them and fight the attacker. This is where the fight ing of Good versus evil becomes the next major component to the stories of Beowulf and Batman. The Anglo-Saxons were religious people and had a strong belief in God. The hero must kill the villain manifestation to face and never stab it in the back. These heroes represent the Good they are usually honest, clean, upright upstanding people an archetype for what a model citizen should be. Both the stories tell a tale of Good fighting against Evil and then dying for the people. Both Batman and Beowulf wear this heroic responsibility to fight evil well.However, as opposed to Batman, Beowulf, whose main asset was his amazing hand strength, not much mention was made of his knavish good looks or his incredible intelligence (Rollins, 2006). As Christianity spread throughout Europe, feudal cultures told stories that combined their warrior ethos with Christs example of personal sacrifice. Despite developing a global culture theoretically no longer quite as dependent on national conquest, t he Western gentleman still tends to project our savior hero as someone who kicks butt (think of Neo in The Matrix) (Wandtke, 2005).Alongside this pervasive trend, however, an elicit countercurrent developed in the Renaissance and has reached its peak in recent years. This countercurrent suggests the hero who rights the wrongs of the world with force might actually be destructive to general cultural development (as one cultures hero will often be another cultures villain). Do our warrior heroes fork out us with examples of the heights we can reach as Christians? Or do they operate with moral principles that contrive in opposition to the teachings of Jesus? Even though the roles have changed for the heroes throughout time their importance to the countries has not gotten smaller. These heroes jobs are also as equally important as the ones of Beowulfs day because they play a large role in our society. Television, radio stations and comic books are a form of cheer that allows peop le to be introduced to heroes and escape their problems and lives, and pretend that these heroes would transport them into a world solely their own, a world where the good triumphs over evil even for a moment. For as long as there are harsh realities, there is always a room for make-believe.Worls CitedAbrams, M.H. Beowulf. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Retrieved 22 Apr 2006, .Beowulf. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 23 Apr 2006, 1211 UTC. 23 Apr 2006, 2048 .Beowulf Introduction. Online Reference Books for Medieval Studies. 08 Aug 2003, Wandtke, Terry. From Beowulf to Batman Classic Heroism in modern Contexts (Or, Wheres My Jesus Action Figure?). Imaginarium cornerstone festival. 30 June 2005, .Rollins, Roger B. True Blue Revolutionaries or tire Beowulf Reruns. MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 23 Apr 2006, .