Bravery In Beowulf

In the film Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis, Beowulf states, “Keep a memory of me, not as a king or hero; but as a man: fallible and flawed.” Looking into the eyes of a man or woman will never reveal the true identity. A person is made up of millions of thoughts, actions, and qualities. Even the bravest of them all hide dark secrets. In Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel, Beowulf is perceived as a prideful and strong hero. There is more to his story than the ink words on a page. The film Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis, provides another side and more clues to figuring out this long-lost, mysterious hero. Through careful scrutiny, the book and film contain several similarities, but the differences are more pronounced. These consistencies …show more content…
In the poem, bravery is a prominent theme.Beowulf proves his bravery multiple instances. He is willing to step up to the challenge, when no one else volunteered. “‘Grendel is no braver, no stronger than I am! I could kill him with my sword; I shall not, easy as it would be’” (31). Beowulf’s speech shows his audacious personality. He does not run like a coward because of some crisis ahead. Beowulf is like a firefighter. He always jumps into the fire of peril. During his duel with the dragon, he is literally in fire. The mindset of facing battle after battle may seem like suicide to others. Instead, the hazardous component of a fight makes him come alive. He illuminates his true qualities as a hero and reminds everyone of his brave actions. His excessive gallant behavior leads to overconfidence. This overconfidence may seem like a flaw to some. However, in their society, confidence is valued over any other sins or flaws. A hero needed to have bravery in order to slay the monster and protect the kingdom. Fearlessness is an essential trait for Beowulf to prosper as a hero. In Robert Zemeckis’ film, Beowulf continues to have fundamental qualities of confidence and courage. He faces numerous monsters because of his bold behavior. Fighting the dragon especially reveals Beowulf’s bravery. After years of retirement, he is ready to battle monsters in an instant. He shows his bravery by fighting on such short notice. Both works of art value bravery and demonstrates Beowulf’s extraordinary amount of courage. Despite the similarity, the key difference lies in the purpose of his bravery. In the book, Beowulf’s bravery is an effect of his confident and prideful manner. However, the movie expresses bravery as a result of other traits. When he fights the dragon, Beowulf wants the pride, but also feels responsible to kill the dragon. He is the one who brought the dragon to life.