Beowulf Essay

Beowulf exemplifies the heroic traits and the literary techniques of its time.  Analyze this in the context of our class discussion and the commentary you read, and compare with a contemporary hero and the way his/her story is told.
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Extension (you can do this as a separate piece, or you can do this within the framework you establish in response to the above prompt, but this idea was too good to let go even if its authors did :)

How would Beowulf be different if the story was told from a feminist perspective?
    Beowulf is the personified hero of his time. Beowulf is strong, brave, and on the border of godlike. The author symbolizes fate in the form of dragons and personifies the aspirations of the people of his time. Jean Gray is a dynamic hero that also exemplifies the heroic traits that Beowulf does.
     In Beowulf, the battles between Beowulf and his mother are a test of life and death. Each time up until the last battle, Beowulf was able to close death's door with his strength. The dragons symbolized how fate can be challenged but not defeated. Beowulf embraces his strength and power to overcome these situations.. Jean Gray is originally a firecracker with evil and destruction on her mind. She becomes fate and puts others around her in life or death situations. When Professor X suppresses the evil part of her mind she becomes a character who is afraid of her strength and power t avoid these situations.
     Most heroes are a result of people aspiring to be godlike and powerful, but being godlike is impossible in the natural world so supernatural stories surround these abilities. Beowulf is the person every Anglo-Saxon aspired to be. They wanted to have an ultimate strength, an undying bravery, and a position of leadership. Beowulf was a leader who could face anything, but his bravery caused him to face his final battle alone when his strength failed him until Wiglaf saved him. Beowulf is an emotionally stagnant character and the only human characteristic he has is his code of honor causing his character to seem godlike and unattainable  Jean Gray has incredibly powerful abilities which favor the mind over the body. As a female hero, she brings a more attainable heroic character because she brings a lot of emotion into the storyline.
     If Beowulf had been told from a feminist/female perspective, an incredibly dynamic character would have been produced. Brienne of Tarth (from Game of Thrones) is an emotional, strong, and brave woman. She saves men from thieving bandits and has a crush on the King's father as well. Her heroic character is very human like because she shows emotion and strength at the same time. This allows the reader to more practically be her.
    Beowulf's character could be considered more mythical than realistic because of the traits he has. Beowulf id strong, brave, honorable and overconfident while Jane Gray is powerful, knowledgable, emotional, and underconfident. Beowulf's character contained the traits that people aspired for in his time just as Jane Gray embodies the triats that people aspire for in her time.