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Heroism in Brit Lit Heroism in Beowulf and Gawain and the Green Knight Heroism can be viewed in many different ways. African-Americans viewed the late Rosa Parks
Submitted by aboveall34 on December 15, 2005
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Heroism in Beowulf and Gawain and the Green Knight
Heroism can be viewed in many different ways. African-Americans viewed the late Rosa Parks as a heroine for not giving up her seat on the bus that day. George W. Bush is viewed as a hero by some Iraqis and is considered the problem by others for the war and displacement of Saddam Hussein. The way person/persons are viewed in hero status depends on the person themselves and on who is doing the viewing. The situation also must be taken into account to truly decide on wither or not a person can be viewed as a hero/heroine. Growing up your dad may have been your hero or possibly a famous athlete on TV. In literature we have viewed heroes as the man who rescues the damsel in distress or who slays the fire-breathing dragon. In British literature there are a fair number of heroes, from Beowulf to Sir Gawain.
In Beowulf King Hrothgar of Denmark is enjoying a prosperous and successful reign. He is living happily until a monster named Grendal comes and terrorizes his kingdom. Grendal wreaks havoc on the Danes killing them nightly and besting all efforts to defeat him. This happens for many years. A young Geatish warrior named Beowulf hears of the situation of King Hrothgar and is intrigued by the situation. He travels with a small troop of men to Denmark to kill the beast. Beowulf immediately embodies the mantra of a hero. The Danes had been in this predicament for years yet no one had come to their rescue until Beowulf. Once Beowulf arrives in Denmark he is criticized by some as being unworthy to the reputation that precedes him. He counters these accusations by recounting stories of his accomplishments. A hero is usually prideful and does not take well to criticism and Beowulf exemplifies this right off the bat. Grendal appears later in the night to start his usual terror, but this time Beowulf is waiting. He attacks the monster unarmed and scares the monster. Grendal tries to flee but Beowulf...
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