If you were to consider Beowulf a hero by today’s standards, I would ask you to really analyze who he is as a person and some of the things he does before making that decision. While at times he acts with valor in hero-esque fashion, all this was for show. To be considered a hero by today’s standards there are many different qualifications that have to be met. My definition of a hero is someone who puts his self before others, and acts out of the goodness of his heart, not to show how strong he is, but because he wants to help others. Beowulf is not a hero because he acts out of pride or hubris, puts his self before others, and does not do things for the good will of people, but to better his self.
Beowulf’s hubris is one of the main deciding factors in showing how he is not a hero. It gets him into trouble and will eventually be his demise. His hubris shows true at many points in the story, and proves he could never be considered a hero. An example of this could be how he fights Grendel without any armor on. Why would he do this? He would do this because he is BEOWULF. Beowulf has the hand-grip of thirty men, and can take on Grendel by himself. Later in the story, Beowulf gets his self into real trouble when he fights the dragon. He is now an old man, whose strength is lost with old age. But he is Beowulf. He can fight the dragon can’t he? No he cannot. His old age shows as his rusted sword withers away in battle. A true hero does not have this immense pride.
Beowulf puts his self before others at many points in this epic. A true hero is never thinking of his self, while Beowulf always is. While Beowulf is fighting Grendel, he allows one of his men die. No hero will ever allow this to happen right in front of his face, and do nothing to prevent it. It is sickening to believe this kind of behavior was once considered heroic. Even Beowulf’s true reason for fighting Grendel is not heroic. Grendel had been attacking the mead hall for twelve years, but that meant nothing to Beowulf. While Hrothgar was happy that Grendel had finally been slain, he was killed for all the wrong reasons. Beowulf did not want to help Hrothgar at all, but instead wanted to show how strong he is. A true hero will put his self before others, no matter the occasion.
While you may say that Beowulf was a hero because at times he did help people like Hrothgar, he always acted for all the wrong reasons and had a pride like no other. The real heroes of today would be people like firefighters, or policeman who will always put themselves in dangerous positions, only to help those in need. In our society today, Beowulf would not be considered a hero.
