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Past and the Present Culture Values

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Past and the Present Culture Values
Christian Benavidez
Mr. E Everett
AP Eng. IV
28 September 2012
Comparison of the Past and the Present Culture Values:
Heroes and Villains Then and Now
All values change over time; some are slower such as Cultural values that are learned behavior patterns that can continue to change thorough time. The view for cultural values today are different from than what they were centuries ago; in today’s view for a hero would be simply a normal person in the modern era who is distinguished by nobility and passion towards others that goes out of he’s way to help a person in need or an act of some bravery towards a community. In the epic “Beowulf” the Anglo-Saxon’s cultural values are different from our thoughts of a hero that are too perfect to be true for a simple man can possess. Culture values have changed and are different from ours and the 8th century from reflecting heroes and villains.

Cultural values have changed for over centuries ago from when the Anglo-Saxons walked around and told their poems about heroes and monsters to our tales of modern day heroes and villains. In the epic “Beowulf” they would boast in the victories of Beowulf and praise him for his noble deeds and slayings of monsters that plague the land. The noble Beowulf in the epic was an example of a model of a perfect hero that had the traits of bravery, strength, skill, honesty, compassion and loyalty. The heroes in our day and age are more likable now than that of the Anglo-Saxons in the past that revolve amongst their successes from their flawless traits. One example of a modern day super hero that is popular by our standards is Spiderman and Batman. The reasons that they are widely more popular than any other superhero is that they possess flaws like any other average human, Superman or any other superhero don’t have to deal with simple human flaws due to their out of this world superheroes attributes that have little human characteristics. Spiderman and Batman would be common


Cited: Page Anonymous, Beowulf. New York, NY: Penguin, 1999. Print. Beowulf and Grendel. Sturla Gunnarsson. Truly Indie. 2005
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