Beowulf Essay

            Heroes today are seen as compassionate men and women who always think of others before themselves. They are willing to risk everything for those they love no matter the effect it has on their duty or honor. Beowulf is quite the opposite. He is the product of a time when duty and honor preceded everything, even family. During that time period they didn’t have the luxury to love freely and risk everything to “follow their dreams”. The men were expected to live by a strict code that once broken was worse than death. Beowulf embodies these ideals in his characteristics of strength, honor, and duty, and in the nature of his hamartia. In comparison, modern heroes like Iron Man don’t exemplify the same characteristics and ideals in the same way that Beowulf does. There is always an underlying complexity in Iron Man’s character and hamartia that isn’t seen in Beowulf.

            Beowulf’s whole demeanor relies solely on his strength. His inner strength is characterized by his outer strength and ability to kill monsters like Grendel with his bare hands, whereas Iron Man’s strength is characterized by his determination and willingness to sacrifice himself for those he loves. Beowulf’s physical abilities never fail him in combat with Grendel and Grendel’s mother, which is characteristic of a time when physical strength was highly coveted among men and seen as representative of good character. Iron Man’s good character is seen in his actions, whereas Beowulf’s good character is solidified by the outcome of his ventures. If Beowulf hadn’t defeated Grendel he would’ve been disgraced and lost all respect because he came to represent the strength of his lord.  Beowulf’s strength has a direct correlation to power and success in the form of land and a title, whereas Iron Man’s strength allows him to be happy and save the people he loves.

            Honor and duty play a huge role in the decisions Beowulf makes. Beowulf takes on Grendel not only to showcase his strength and gain respect, but also to do his duty and maintain his honor. It is his duty to defeat Grendel because he has the strength to do it. If he had decided not to fight Grendel because he didn’t think it was his problem, then that would’ve been seen as dishonorable and cowardly. It was also Beowulf’s duty to defeat Grendel because he fights for Hygelac, and it would’ve made his lord look weak if he failed or didn’t take the challenge. Iron Man does have a duty to the citizens and to the people he loves, but he doesn’t do it to protect his honor he does it to protect the people and the ideals that are being threatened. That is the fundamental difference between Iron Man and Beowulf. While one fights for respect, honor, glory, and duty, the other fights for love and freedom. Beowulf measures honor and duty based on what Hrothgar and Hygelac think of him, and based on whether he succeeds or fails, while Iron Man measures honor and duty based on what he thinks of himself.

            Beowulf’s hamartia was that he had no weakness. His fatal flaw occurred when he was fighting the dragon and he was too strong for a sword to be of any use. He couldn’t get close enough to the dragon to fight it with his bare hands, and he couldn’t use a sword to kill it. His hamartia was his strength which solidifies the idea of Beowulf being a product of a time when complexity wasn’t valued. On the other hand Iron Man’s hamartia was the parts of himself he didn’t like. The things he covered up with sarcasm and bravado. His fatal flaw was that even though he had all the money, intelligence, and power he could ever want he was still afraid of losing it all and failing to live up to expectation. Iron Man represents modern society’s focus on human complexity and the me generation, while Beowulf represents a time when personal inquiry was a term not yet thought of.

            Although Beowulf is a character who portrays strength, honor, and duty, and whose hamartia is his own strength he is severely lacking in complexity. He only acts based on duty and honor, and his only weapon is his physical strength. In contrast Iron Man acts based on many different motives, most of them being love and freedom, and his hamartia is so complex it took four movies to develop. He also has many different weapons like determination, a billion dollar suit, and a full head of hair. The point is that Beowulf and Iron Man are products of different societies, one based on survival and the other based on material goods, and that shaped each of their characteristics and morphed them into different heroes.