Monday, September 8, 2014

Beowulf Essay

Beowulf has been mentioned to be an artifact to his time period, and like every precious artifact it gives off a sense of life and not only that but their beliefs or teachings. Many still use Beowulf as an exemplary hero because he holds a lot of the traits that hero’s still have now a days for example courage, inner strength, and caring for those around them or their people, but there are also differences in which Beowulf and our current heroes don’t have in common like, gender. For example Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games sacrificed herself to save her sister and although it was an act of courage, Katniss doesn't have Beowulf’s confidence and his standards in living.
            Katniss had never seen herself as much in society, just as the hunter of a poor district 12 family, but coming from district 12, which meant  she didn't have the same advantage as the rest of the districts that  had schooling on how to survive and win. She didn't have confidence she had hope and that’s what leads to success in these contemporary heroes. Hope is the main motivation not the confidence in being able to win. This story also gives strength to the female race, something that wasn’t portrayed in Beowulf but only represented the women in the story something too small to even talk about or as something malignant.
            Sure Beowulf was a hero’s but he was a hero that was born in a rich family, so he  doesn't have those struggles that our heroes have in these day in which they give up something of themselves to grow or take a risk at success. His economic problems didn't bring him to fight with the dragon, sure maybe he just wanted to increase their profit but they would survive without the money. Katniss on the other hand had more of a possibility of having her name pulled out than many others because since her dad had died she had to provide for her family, this was not what led her to the Games, but it did talk about her character and her finance situation.

            Beowulf is a great hero but wouldn't fit in as well in our society as a hero compared to those that come from similar social standards and with the same motivations to success. His story would most likely be seen in an action movie and that’s because he conquers monsters, but views on characteristics for heroes has change to accommodate to the type of people, so people can feel that they see a little bit of themselves in the character. 

4 comments:

  1. Hey Susie!
    I also made a comparison between Katniss Everdeen and Beowulf and I think you used good evidence to support your idea. I wish you had defined more of Beowulf's context and its characteristics, but everything else was good! Nicely Done!
    -Jisu

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  2. Hey Susel, I really enjoyed your comparison with the economic situation! I never would've thought of that but maybe you could clarify a little bit of what Beowulfs reputation or standing actually was in his society and compare that to Katniss's situation.

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  3. First off, thanks for taking your time to read and evaluate my essay! I appreciate it. Your essay is very well written. I believe your thesis is "Many still use Beowulf as an exemplary hero because he holds a lot of the traits that hero’s still have now a days like, courage, some sort of strength, and caring for those around them or their people, but there are also differences in which Beowulf and our current heroes don’t have in common like, gender. " You did a great job by elaborating on your examples you give, especially the one about the economy. It would have been more efficient if you would have introduced more of Beowulf in the opening paragraph. You explain about Katniss, but leave us with no sign of Beowulf.

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  4. I like the comparisons in your essay Susel. Just what the prompt could be asking for. I understood where your thesis was heading, but try to add more distinct attributes between the two heroes. You can also think about the way they handled situations (i.e. fighting, being hunted in Katniss's case, etc.)

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