Beowulf Essay

Modern Hero

Throughout history, civilizations have defined themselves through their culture: through their songs, art and poetry.  Heroes, especially, in cultural myths and stories, tell us much about cultural values, as they show us what a culture values in its heroes, but also what the culture despises, in the various foes of the hero.  Even modern cultures have heroes, even though they may not be part of modern mythology, the English speaking world has many, from super heroes in comic books, to the epic heroes of books and movies, such as Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in J. R. R. Tolkien’s books.  One well known hero from modern times is Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars series.  Although he is a current hero, his story is comparable to ancient hero stories, such as the old germanic hero, Beowulf.

Characterization, and other parts of the literature, show us how Star Wars is just as much a heroic epic as Beowulf.  Luke, like Beowulf is one man, who is able to take down a dark and looming evil.  Luke’s version of Beowulf’s Grendel is the Empire, physically represented by the Death Star.  Luke and Beowulf are the only people to take down the evil in their worlds, although many others have tried and failed to take down the evil.  With both Luke and Beowulf, their evil returns for a second time, shown in Star Wars by the Empire rebuilding the Death Star, which mirrors the attack from Grendel’s mother in Beowulf.  In both stories, the heroes are shown as humans, as being able to to fail, but eventually overcome their failure.  In Beowulf, this happens when Beowulf loses in his first battle with the dragon, and in Star Wars, this takes place when Luke looses his arm at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.  Finally, the use of help from companions is an aspect in both stories.  The two heroes are able to fight by themselves, but it is shown that they can be more successful with comrades, such as Beowulf’s Wiglaf and Luke’s various friends, such as Han Solo, and R2-D2.  

The techniques used throughout the two stories are also indicators that Star Wars is a heroic epic.  In both stories, the heroes represent the ideals of their culture.  Beowulf is a muscular man who Is the epitome of bravery, chivalry and honor, which are the three most important personal traits of the ancient germanic tribes.  Luke, on the other hand is the underdog, a youthful child who is imaginative and thrust into his heroic journey, and is successful in it.  This represents the ideals of our culture, as we tend to side with underdogs, and we love to see the weak win, most likely due to our fear of higher powers, such as governments or evils we contrive in our own minds.  The imaginative and youthful aspects of Luke are currently viewed as a positive aspect of people, as it is an indicator of purity.  This concept was created by the romantic hero from romantic literature, and explored in Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye.The traditional hero’s journey is also found in both stories.  The threshold is represented in Star Wars when Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru are murdered, giving Luck no way to return home, and in Beowulf by Beowulf’s journey to Denmark.  The return in the two stories happens multiple times, due to the multitude of battles.  The most definite return in Star Wars occurs at the end of A New Hope, when Luke returns to Yavin 4; and the most definite in Beowulf is when Beowulf returns, victorious to Geatland.  Finally, both stories use pathos to draw interest from their audiences by having the heroes’ parents/guardians killed.  This makes the audience pity the hero, and connect them with their own lives.  This connection is what makes these stories so meaningful, because it allows their audience to understand that they can overcome great feats, just like the hero.

In modern times, the ancient art of heroic epic stories and poems is still alive, just portrayed in a less serious manner.  Our modern epics are almost identical to the ancient ones, such as Heracles and Gilgamesh.  We use these stories to represent our people as a culture, we put into them our hopes and ideals in people and society, and use them to teach others about these.