Heros

This past month in class we talked a lot about heroes and what a hero is.  Several questions were given such as what characteristics a hero must have and where our archetypes for heroes came from.  Personally, I think that most of us have gotten our ideas of what a hero should be from superhero movies and comics. We have all grown up with that kind of media surrounding us and it has just taken hold.  All of these heroes have some sort of super power or quality that puts them above the common people.  They also do good deeds in the community as well as fight the "evil."  Most people think that for there to be a hero, a person must have done some good deeds, have something over others (like a superpower), and be a generally good person.  I feel like there are so many people out there who think that all it takes is a good deed, but I don't agree at all. To see someone as a hero, I think that they also need to have the right motives for what they are doing. Everyone says Beowulf is a great hero all throughout history. However, I don't think we are told enough about Beowulf's personality or mindset to really make this decision.  He may have only ever gone to fight Grendel and the dragon for his personal gain.  After all, during that time period, a goal in life was to have your name remembered in death.  I'm not saying that he wasn't a hero, I just don't think that we should decide from his actions alone.  The storyteller or whoever wrote Beowulf's story may very well have intended him to be a hero, but left out more about his character and motives.  The people of that time would have seen this story as heroism because then, Beowulf's actions were how they perceived it.  A lot of it also deals with perspective.  The people of whom Beowulf ruled over may have seen him as a hero, but Grendel would not have, as well as myself.  It just really bothers me sometimes how so many people are so quick to make someone into a hero.