Beowulf Fame and Duty

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lured and tricked by the good look of the monster. This is how a true hero should act, someone with gifted power but still sees his duty as the top priority when there’s so many distraction and traps.

Lastly, the transformations of Beowulf are also different between the movie and the poem. In the movie, Beowulf is portrayed into a gifted good fighter with power, after every monster he slain he doesn’t really transform from a hero to a good leader. After he killed Grendel, he didn’t become more responsible, his lack of responsibility is shown when he give up to Grendel’s mother and putting the whole kingdom’s people in danger. This proves that Beowulf is still the same immature irresponsible simple minded fighter. Beowulf from the poem, in the other hand, transformed to a more responsible and mature hero after every monster he kills. He understands his duty and always finish it. After he kills Grendel’s mother, he become a mature leader who has ability to rule and protect his own kingdom.

In conclusion, even though the movie and the poem are both talking about the same Beowulf but the two characters have very different act and characteristic. We can see their differences in their responsibility, how the value fame, and the different transformation over time. The Beowulf from the movie is a fake hero who values his own good and fame more than others’. He’s someone who risks the people in the kingdom’s life in danger just because he’s afraid. A true hero is the Beowulf from the poem who puts his duty first and always think of the greater good.

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