From Beowulf to Iron Man; The Evolution of the Hero By Nick Ventresca

Now as we look at Beowulf, I find that his characteristics lack relatability. If I had to describe him, the words I would use to describe him are strong, pompous beyond belief, brave, and above all else, absolutely insufferable. I'm well aware of the fact that the text was written hundreds of years ago but it was near impossible to resist the urge to roll my eyeballs several times throughout the story. 

As I think back on the work we've done over the school year so far, I find myself repeatedly coming back to our study of heroes. We took a look at Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon hero of peoples that are centuries gone. Upon thinking about our Beowulf studies, I find myself contemplating the role of heroes in our lives.

Since I can remember, heroes have been in nearly every story I've ever known. As a kid, I found myself aspiring to be like some of these role models. From Spider-Man, Batman, Luke Skywalker, heck, even my Dad, I kept finding myself wanting to emulate the qualities and characteristics that I admired in my heroes so I could be more like them. 

For those that are unaware, here's a summary of the Beowulf story as described by me:

Common Folk: "Oh my gosh Beowulf!! There's a monster!! We know how awesome you are!! Can you come and take care of it for us?'

Beowulf: "Of course." *Beowulf kills the monster*.

Common Folk: "Wow Beowulf!! Thank you!! You are so strong and noble. What would we do without you? Please take these rewards because you are just so cool!"

And then this continues another two times before Beowulf dies.

Now while this summary is rather poor, it still describes my point; Beowulf lacked depth. Beowulf to me seemed much less like a person and more like a Greek god in the sense that he was without flaw and perfect in every way. Not once in the story is Beowulf called out for being ridiculously cocky, even when it's so painfully obvious to the modern-day reader. Instead, Beowulf is worshipped similarly to gods. This flawlessness is what turns me away from heroes like Beowulf because they don't seem like people to me, thus making their deeds and qualities just as unrealistic and impossible for me to reach and aspire to.

When you compare Beowulf to the heroes we see in entertainment today, this perfection becomes even more apparent. Take a character like Iron Man, one of the biggest heroes from this last decade, and come up with some descriptions for him. For me, the words I think of are smart, brave, but most importantly, arrogant. This arrogance is an integral part of his character because even though it may cause him to fail, he always finds a way to overcome his adversities and save the world.

This quality of his is amazing because we as the audience find ourselves relating to not just positive, but negative aspects of our heroes. By giving our heroes real-life flaws, along with heroic traits, heroes become easier to not only relate to but to aspire to, as their lows seem just as possible for us to reach as their highs. While no Anglo-Saxon could ever hope to be Beowulf, today people can hope to not only be like their heroes but potentially be better. 

This to me is quite interesting and shows just how far the concept of a hero has come and how it has changed to be far better. This shows just why studying past literature is important because it shows how drastically the world has changed and just how much our world may change in the future.