Mrs. Paulsen
Pre-AP English II-7
October 7, 2016
Good and Evil
To be considered a hero you have to demonstrate certain qualities that show your bravery towards a group of people. Sometimes a hero acts courageous out of attention and other times a hero truly wants to fight for his people. On the other hand, to be considered a villain you deny all good and go against heroic actions. In Beowulf, Grendel, Grendel’s mom, and the dragon all challenge Beowulf, the hero, in different ways revealing his traits as a warrior.
At such a young age Beowulf is given the title of a warrior. Early on Beowulf faces his first obstacle, the fight against Grendel. Grendel is known as the primary villain of the Danes. He is the one that everyone wants to defeat to win the title of a hero. Prior to the first battle, Beowulf constantly boasts about himself to show his people how confident he is as a warrior. This does not necessarily show how a hero should act but it is understandable because he is a young …show more content…
In continuation of his leadership Beowulf now takes on the role of being a kindhearted king towards his people. Rather than sending his warriors out to fight the dragon Beowulf sacrificed himself. Beowulf “worked for the people, but as well as that he behaved like a hero” (3005-3006). One quality of a king that makes them a great king is the fact that they never take full credit for the many battles one. In this case Beowulf always made sure to give the “everlasting Lord of All…thanks…”’(2795-2796) for all the winnings he earned. Even his people “extolled his heroic nature and exploits and gave thanks for his greatness; which was the proper thing”(3174-3176) to do. Unfortunately it is a sad thing that Beowulf died after battle but at least he reached his goal of making a name for himself and by becoming a courageous