Journal 1: Does Beowulf remind you of any heroes in real life, in fiction, or in movies today? What characteristics do the heroes share?

Throughout many poems, stories, and movies today, the imagery of an epic hero may not always appear. An epic hero essentially reflects the values and ideals of a particular story. An example of these ideals would be strength, ethics, and the ability to fight off evil. Although there may be quite a few characters that can be depicted as an epic hero, I believe that Superman would be a good archetype, like Beowulf, to an epic hero. Superman fights off villains to protect mankind and Beowulf rips off Grendel’s arms in order to protect his people. This shows how both heroes share the same ethics—putting the lives of their people before their own. These examples also show their ability to fight off evil. Both, Grendel and Superman contain the other ideal of an epic hero-strength. Although Grendel and Superman are not required to risk their lives in order to save the innocent people, they both do it anyway. Even though these two characters were created during different time periods, they both contain the ideals of an epic hero.