How The Honorable Men During Beowulf’s Time Are Different From The Modern Men

Categories: Beowulf

Essay, Pages 4 (800 words)

Views

Beowulf is an epic hero from the famous Anglo-Saxon poem ‘Beowulf.’ His character was said to be larger than life. Beowulf was known to have the strength of thirty men in his hand grip. Beowulf was an honorable man, and he was a great warrior. During Beowulf’s time which was about 900 years ago, to be a hero was to be a warrior. Beowulf is a typical example of the heroes of the Anglo-Saxon era. He used his strength to fight against evil instead of using it for his gain.

Don't use plagiarized sources. Get your custom essay on

“ How The Honorable Men During Beowulf’s Time Are Different From The Modern Men ”

Get custom paper

NEW! smart matching with writer

Beowulf was courageous if he were not courageous, many people would have lost their lives. He gave them freedom from their fears. Time has changed so are the human beings. The honorable men during Beowulf’s time are different from the modern men.

During old times, strength and courage were considered to be an honor for the men, but the definition of honor is different in modern days. The honor is above the individual feelings and desires.

People built their honor codes which cannot be judged by others. Modern men should be respectable to get the honor. Even if you lose a game, shake hands. Losing in a game or any competition is not losing the honor. Modern men are considered honorable if they do something which makes their family, country, etc. proud. Code of honors is still there in our society. Mostly code of honors are codes of morality. Men get shamed for breaking the code of honors, but the society is less judgmental towards men.

The idea of honorable men during Beowulf times was associated with strength, warrior skills, courage, and intelligence. Men had to fight all the odds for his people and honor. He should have died while fighting for his pride and people. Men should have the strength not just mentally but also physically as Beowulf could take off the arm of Grendel with just his strength. Honorable men during Anglo-Saxon times were considered to be fearless. They were supposed to not feel afraid by anything. The honorable Anglo-Saxon men used to help the people when they cry for help even if it means to lose your life. For example, In Beowulf poem, the king of Danes appealed for help from Beowulf when Grendel’s mother came to avenge her son. Beowulf like a truly honorable man got ready to fight with Grendel’s mother. Death was an honor for the honorable man during Beowulf times. Honorable men were willing to die for the pride and glory. The honorable man was there for the people. They helped the people in need. The idea of an honorable man was to decide the right thing at the right time. He was supposed to make the right decisions, and he had the strength to face all the odds.

About 900 years have passed since the Beowulf times, People have changed, and their mentality has also changed. In Anglo-Saxon times, Honorable men were the men with physical strength. When they used to come back home after winning the war against the powerful men they were honored by their family and everyone like when Beowulf came back after winning the fight against Grendel’s mother. He was honored by the king and also his family. But in modern times, men do not have that much physical strength. Honorable men are the normal people with the respectful attitude towards others. No one needs to have immense strength to be an honorable man. In Anglo-Saxon times, Honorable men need to have great wisdom, and they were supposed to make the right decisions. If they would take a wrong decision, then they would become dishonorable. But nowadays, people know that no one can always make the right decision. So one bad decision cannot turn the honorable man into dishonorable. But sometimes it depends on the type of decision. If the decision of an honorable man was to kill many people or hurt them, then they will get hate from the people. In modern times, Honor is associated with respect, kindness, and intelligence whereas, in Beowulf times, honor was associated with strength, courage, and intelligence.

People have changed with time. Their thinking process, their ideologies have also changed. The change is mostly due to their experience. They have realized that violence is not a way to show strength. Even though violence is still present in modern days, there is not as much as in Beowulf times. But it is not considered to be an honorable thing. There are characters like Superman in our modern stories who has the physical strength like Beowulf, but the idea of an honorable man is not associated with physical strength in modern times. It has more to do with mental strength and thinking about the well-being of the people and humbleness.