1. There are three flashbacks that are told to Beowulf that are significant and share a common thread that ties all of them together. The first flashback is the story of Finn. In Finn’s story, he attacks Hnaf, who is a Dane, without a reason. Finn is married to Hnaf’s sister, and together, they have a son. The marriage was supposed to be a peace treaty for the Frisians and the Danes. When Hnaf and Finn’s son die, Finn’s wife loses her brother and her son, and Hengest becomes the leader of the Danes. Finn and Hengest declare a truce, and Finn’s people and the Danes are forced to live together all winter. Hengest ends up killing Finn, a war breaks out, and the Danes end up winning. Hengest then goes back to Denmark …show more content…
In The Odyssey, and in Beowulf, Odysseus and Beowulf have many similarities and differences shared between them. In The Odyssey, Odysseus plans before going into every battle. In Beowulf, Beowulf uses his brute strength and kills things to win every battle with no planning ahead. The single most critical difference between Odysseus and Beowulf is that Odysseus has a wife, a child, parents, his men, Eurycleia, and Eumaios. Beowulf only has his family, who isn’t talked about much, and Wiglaf. This is the most critical difference because Odysseus is motivated by his human relationships to try to reach home, and since Beowulf has little to no human relationships, he has no heir at the end of the epic when he dies. Odysseus and Beowulf are also different because Odysseus shows more emotions than Beowulf does. In The Odyssey, Odysseus cries when people bring up Troy, and he celebrates the highs and the lows with different people in different places. In Beowulf, Beowulf only shows his emotions when he realises he has no heir for the throne when he dies. One similarity Beowulf and Odysseus share is that they are protected by a God or gods. Odysseus is protected by Athena throughout all of The Odyssey, and Beowulf is protected by gods and a God. Another similarity is that Odysseus and Beowulf both have families, but Beowulf isn’t affected by his family as much as Odysseus is affected to his. The epic heroes,Odysseus and Beowulf, both share many similarities and