Beowulf And Ideal Man Essay, Research Paper

The epic Beowulf shows us how a mans? character is tested as he encounters

difficult situations. The unknown author of Beowulf, leaves behind a mystique,

an intriguing quality with which the character which hold our interest. The

modern-day hero, Superman, also possesses these same qualities. Their modest

actions are what helped these hero?s to become their peoples? ?ideal

man.? The first quality that earns a person?s respect between Beowulf and

Superman is wealth. Neither of these men had a considerable amount of money.

This helps the every day man relate to them more easily. In the epic,

Beowulf?s home is far away from his lord?s castle. We get the sense that

Beowulf is an outcast because of the lengthy distance to reach his kingdom. In

stories such as these, the outcasts are perceived to be the poorer of the people

in the kingdom. Like Beowulf, Superman lives in seclusion from the society in

which he lives. He apartment is purposely set on the opposite side of town from

everyone he works with. In relation to the common man?s life-style, we can

easily assume that Superman does not make much money. This fact is defined by

Superman?s day job as a reporter for the city of Metropolis. The ?ideal

man? of past and present has to posses the quality of intelligence. Beowulf

shows great intelligence in his approach towards his battles. In his battle with

Grendel, Beowulf uses a soldier for a decoy to expose Grendel?s strengths:

Grendel snatched at the first Geat He came to, ripped him apart, cut His body to

bits with powerful jaws, Drank the blood from his veins and bolted Him down,

hands and feet; death And Grendel?s great teeth came together, Snapping life

shut. The he stepped to another Still body, clutched at Beowulf with his claws,

Grasped at a strong-hearted wakeful sleeper -And was instantly seized himself. .

.(Raffel 314-323). This passage shows us how Beowulf?s planning ahead led him

to victory. By exposing the monster?s strengths as well as his tactics,

Beowulf was able to counter-attack the monster and win. The second time when

Beowulf shows us his intelligence is when he goes fights Grendel?s mother: She

welcomed him in her claws. Clutched at him savagely but could not harm him.

Tried to work her fingers through the tight Ring-woven mail on his breast, but

tore And scratched in vain. . .(Raffel 475-479). Although his armor did not

ultimately stop her, it slowed her down and gave Beowulf time to overcome her.

For Superman, his intelligence comes from experience. Because of his daily duty

of ?protector of the Earth,? Superman reacts instantly to the problems he

faces. When he fights enemies, Superman tries to have the fight on his terms. He

lures the criminals out of the cities, away from the people. If that?s not

possible he takes care of business in a quick and orderly fashion. He does this

by keeping the innocent bystander out of the way. The quality that is the most

overwhelming of all is Beowulf?s and Superman?s superhuman attributes.

?For hours he sank through the waves? (Beowulf 469). Here Beowulf is

swimming down to fight Grendel?s mother. Being underwater for so long makes

him supernatural. An ordinary human can?t hold their breath for more then a

minute, let alone a few hours. Superman has many superhuman qualities. He has

ex-ray vision which lets him see through wall and other things so he can see

what is going on. He has inferred eye sight with which he is able to melt

objects with. Lastly, Superman has the ability to fly. This quality by itself is

what gives him the most admiration by the people. Seeing a person fly is a great

experience for the people of Metropolis. Not all heroes can ?fly faster than a

speeding bullet,? but each hero can share similar characteristics through the

eyes of the perceiver. There is an expectation of what a hero is supposed to be.

Thus, by comparing and contrasting Superman and Beowulf?s traits, we can

attribute their qualities to the ?ideal man.? There will be obstacles to

face, but a hero will overcome the challenges as demonstrated by Superman and

Beowulf. We all hold in our heart the ability to become a ?hero? or the

?ideal man.?