Verity's Book

What's A Hero?

Hey guys! This is kind of a random discussion starter, as well as a chance to show you what I've been working on in school lately. I'm attending a Classical Conversations program, and for the first four weeks our discussion on British Literature has centered around the question of heroes, and what defines a hero. We went through Beowulf, Canterbury Tales: The Knight's Tale, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Our assignment after those four weeks was to write a composition on any or all of the heroes in these books and our own definition of a hero. This was my essay.

WHAT IS A HERO?

What is a hero? The definition is not an easy one. One person's hero is brave. Another's is chivalrous. Another's is renowned. Still another's hero is all of these.

In the simplest, most complete definition, a hero is the one who does what must be done when no-one else can do it, no matter what the cost to himself. He will have the qualities of courage and wit or strength(often both). And he will point ultimately to the greatest hero of all, Jesus Christ. We will look at a widely acknowledged literary hero, Beowulf, and see how he embodies these heroic traits as listed above.

To begin with, Beowulf possesses strength. This is possibly the most remembered aspect of him. He tears off the monster Grendel's arm barehanded, slices off the female Grendel's head with a single blow, and breaks numerous swords with his hefty swings. It is his strength that allows him to save King Hrothgar from the two Grendels and slay the dragon threatening his own people. He has quick wit as well, evidenced by the way he attacked the first Grendel: getting in under its jaw, so that its teeth could not reach him; as well as his quick reactions and recovery during the times when the fight with Grendel's mother turned against him.

Beowulf is courageous. When he heard of the plight of King Hrothgar he did not hesitate to come; from the first he was willing to do all to rid the Danish of their scourge, and he did without asking even more than was requested of him, remaining to slay Grendel's dam, that "hell-bride" and "tarn-hag". Any peril he came upon he faced with remarkable fortitude, even when it seemed his death was near. Many times his fearlessness is referenced in the writing: "he never lost heart"; "Beowulf bore himself with valor". His courage is notably not blind bravery, however; in his final encounter with the dragon "each antagonist struck terror into the other".

Finally, Beowulf pictures Jesus Christ. It may be questioned how much his heroism is motivated by personal gain – he is promised great rewards – but he nonetheless embarks on both his first mission and his second before any reward has been promised, his immediate goal to save the Danes from their twelve-year torment. As for his last venture, when having ruled the Geats for fifty years he faces the dragon, he goes to it with foreboding in his heart. He is old, and his strength, though great still, has grown less. He fears he will die, and he does: a sacrifice of the king's life to save his people from the ravages of the dragon. So is echoed the great Sacrifice, that of the greatest King for His own people.

A hero is one who does what must be done – when no-one else can do it – no matter what the cost to himself. And that is what Beowulf does, what heroes all throughout history and literature have done. They will continue to do it, too. For the theme of sacrifice is one of the deepest appeals to human hearts.

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So... yeah, that's what I've been doing. What's your definition of a hero?