Beowulf essay

       Beowulf is the absolute hot shot of his time. He has what seems like everything someone would only wish to have. A roll model to people of his time, yet just a mythical hero to the people of our generation. In our modern society we do not look to Beowulf himself  as a hero, but we do look to similar people or stories such as Superman, and Spider-man. Both are awesome heros with "of course" similar traits. The only thing that sets them apart is the time period in which they are told.
       Superman is a story about a boy who lived on the planet Krypton and was sent down to earth by his father who was a scientist. His dad had engineered him to where he was as strong as could be, and could fly. Beowulf had the strong as could be trait the same, but back in the time when Beowulf was created, they didn't have the scientific phenom we have now. Almost all heroic action stories told in our culture have to do with sci-fi. Also, one small thing is superman always travels alone to whomever he is going to battle, and Beowulf has a army with him. This is also a trend in modern literature where the lone hero takes on his antagonist in a one on one battle.
       Spider man is also based upon a scientific them in how he was bit by a spider in which the bite gave him super powers. Besides that spider-man and Beowulf have a lot in common. They both are heroes who are incredibly humble about there work and do it for a purpose and to accomplish something. Beowulf and Spider-man both do what needs to be done, even if it is dangerous. They both also are very confident in how they show themselves to be. Also, the biggest similarity is they help others. For example, Spider-man is always helping his city from crime and protecting the people. Beowulf is also protecting people, just not from his own home town.
        Time is the biggest key difference in the way stories are told. Change is always happening and society gets bored from the same thing, so over time stories have progressed to what new generations want to see and hear. Beowulf is a awesome story that was huge in its day, but in today's world most people only read it because its assigned to them. However Superman and Spider man give a us a feeling of how popular Beowulf must have been.