Beowulf: A True Hero In Literature
Beowulf by Gareth Hinds is graphic novel based on the Anglo-Saxon epic from 1000 A.D. This work tells the story of a warrior-prince named Beowulf, who completes various heroic tasks throughout the epic story. How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster teaches the reader the real qualities and characteristics it takes to be a true hero in literature. In his quests Beowulf proves that he is a true hero in literature.
In chapter 1 of How to Read Literature like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster explains how the quest of a hero works in literature. “The quest consists of five things (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, (e) a real reason to go there (Foster 3). In Beowulf’s first quest he is the quester and his place to go is hall Heorot. The stated reason to go there is to defeat Grendel with his bare hands and the challenges and trials are Grendel killing the other soldiers and fighting the Grendel with no weapons. Beowulf eventually does defeat the Grendel with no …show more content…
Foster explains how in order to keep the plot flowing people must die instead of the hero. “The plot needs something to happen in order to move forward, so someone must be sacrificed. That ‘someone’ is rarely the protagonist” (Foster 84). This quote shows how someone must be sacrificed in order to continue the plot. In Beowulf there is a good example of this. When Aeschere is killed Beowulf says, “Tis better for a man to avenge his friends death than to spend his days lamenting.” This quote leads to Beowulf’s next quest, which is to kill Grendel’s mother. Without the death of Aeschere the plot would be stuck with no flow to Beowulf’s next quest. This shows how Beowulf can be classified as a hero in literature. Lastly, Beowulf is a hero because he was never afraid to die for the purpose of his quest, multiple times he said he was either to die or achieve his
In chapter 1 of How to Read Literature like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster explains how the quest of a hero works in literature. “The quest consists of five things (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, (e) a real reason to go there (Foster 3). In Beowulf’s first quest he is the quester and his place to go is hall Heorot. The stated reason to go there is to defeat Grendel with his bare hands and the challenges and trials are Grendel killing the other soldiers and fighting the Grendel with no weapons. Beowulf eventually does defeat the Grendel with no …show more content…
Foster explains how in order to keep the plot flowing people must die instead of the hero. “The plot needs something to happen in order to move forward, so someone must be sacrificed. That ‘someone’ is rarely the protagonist” (Foster 84). This quote shows how someone must be sacrificed in order to continue the plot. In Beowulf there is a good example of this. When Aeschere is killed Beowulf says, “Tis better for a man to avenge his friends death than to spend his days lamenting.” This quote leads to Beowulf’s next quest, which is to kill Grendel’s mother. Without the death of Aeschere the plot would be stuck with no flow to Beowulf’s next quest. This shows how Beowulf can be classified as a hero in literature. Lastly, Beowulf is a hero because he was never afraid to die for the purpose of his quest, multiple times he said he was either to die or achieve his