Beowulf And Achilles Research Paper

A hero is a figure that influences positive impacts among people. Usually the hero starts out as unknown and works his or her way up into fame. Not all heroes have to have fame though. There are plenty of heroes that are unknown to this day. In the case of Beowulf and Achilles both are very famous among their people. The people look up to them both and admire them in different ways. Beowulf was a king who fought for his kingdom that he loved. Achilles was a great warrior who fought for more than just a selfish King. Both heroes share one common similarity, both are highly admired by their peers. To be a hero you have to have the necessary characteristics but you don’t always have to have fame to be a hero.
To be a hero they must have the basic …show more content…
They both share the trait of leadership. Whether it is for a kingdom or a group both lead in a mighty way. This is an important trait of a hero because it shows one taking command of a situation. In Achille’s case, he has a group of men that follow him throughout the story. Instead of obeying their king they follow their leader Achilles. In Beowulf, the people look up to the king as a mighty warrior just like Achilles. Both heroes are admired greatly for their brave souls. Both heroes have the characteristic of leadership which is what makes them a great hero. This is what makes them well respected by their peers. Although both leaders are alike in many ways they do have their differences like any human …show more content…
Beowulf’s path to a great warrior was a cocky one. Every time he would fight he would take off his armor to mock the enemy. People of his admired this because it showed great bravery. Beowulf loved the limelight. In everything he did it was to boast himself. On the other hand, Achilles was not a huge fan of being in the limelight. Whenever the warrior fought it was for his own reason. The only reason he went into battle at the end was because his beloved cousin, Patroclus, died at the hands of Hector. If Achilles wanted enormous fame among his people he would be fighting in every opportunity he had. It showed the modest side of Achilles where Beowulf had no modest side to him. This is what separates the two warriors.
Achilles to me is the better hero because of the reason he fights. The great warrior never wanted to fight for the selfish king the ruled the Greeks. Achilles did not believe in what the king was doing so he fought for himself and loved ones. This takes a lot of ambition because going against a king was unheard of at the time. Beowulf was a king who fought for fame and glory, Achilles fought for people he loved. Achilles a lot like a hero of today’s society. Many of today’s heroes are unknown and fight for people they care about. Whether it is an American soldier or a parent everyone has a hero in their