Heroism In Beowulf

The topic and theme that was most appealing to me during this two week period is with no doubt “Heros”. One may question what the true definition of a hero is, and the answer to that will vary from person to person. To some, a hero could be a person who has saved them from a time of despair, to others it could be a person that excels in both wisdom and strength. At times, even the smallest acts of generosity and kindness could be viewed as heroism such as the squire offering Yang Wen some money after he was robbed. To Yang Wen, the squire could be viewed as a hero. However, many would argue if a hero was always necessarily a good person. An enemy for example, could also be viewed as a hero from time to time when their actions and words have …show more content…
I believe that in this short story, many different types of heroes could been seen. The first being Squire Yang offering Yang Wen three strings of coins for his journey back home. Although there was no reason to give Yang Wen any money, Squire Yang did so out of pure generosity after hearing out Yang Wen’s story. To the squire, three strings of cash may not be much but to Yang Wen, it was much needed money in order to continue his journey in hopes of rescuing his wife. As the story progresses, Liu Kuei’s defeat at the hands of Yang Wen earned him massive amounts of respect from the audience. However, Yang Wen’s actions after he had won the fight had angered Liu Kuei’s disciples which intended to give him a beating. In the fight, we can see a display of both mastery of the staff and also Yang Wen’s outsmarting Liu Kuei. These actions alone could already be considered qualities of a hero to some. Being physically skilled is one thing, but having the wisdom to carry out each move perfectly is another. After the disciples requested to see Yang Wen in order to give him a beating, the squire extended his generosity to Yang Wen once again by offering to act as his brother to save him from the beating. Lastly, Yang Wen’s heroic charge to save his wife goes without saying and is probably one of the more stereotypical and textbook heroic actions. Although Yang Wen concludes that the grandmaster and his …show more content…
Both were in my opinion heroes, but complete different types of heroes. Yang Wen is what we’d consider a more stereotypical hero, skilled combat but also wise in knowledge. He is able to defeat opponents with his physical might whilst also using his knowledge and quick thinking to get him and his loved ones out of dire situations. The neighbor on the other hand claimed that she was showing her gratitude by bearing the child of Ku to prevent his family line from dying out as Ku was too poor to be wedded. Although it could be argued that Ku was also a hero in some respect due his countless visits to his neighbor’s house, taking care of her ill mother, the neighbor towards the end of the story had revealed that she was had in fact behead an enemy in order to avenge her father who was falsely charged and murdered. Yang Wen’s actions would be perceived as heroic to most but the neighbor’s actions could be questionable to some. Despite her cold behavior towards Ku and ultimately disappearing at the end of the story, I still believe that she is of the heroic type, not only did she help out at the Ku residence, she had gifted them with an heir. However, Yang Wen had thoroughly impressed me with not just his knowledge and skills, but also his courage and