Beowulf And Achilles Essays - Beowulf, Geats, English-language Films

Beowulf And Achilles Beowulf is a story about a man named Beowulf who desired fame and fortune in life. The Iliad had a character named Achilles who is similar to Beowulf because he also desired glory. But they are two completely different stories written at different times and different places by different people. Both stories have unique qualities such as dragons in one and multi-gods in the other and that is what makes fictitious stories like these classics. Since achieving fame is a goal of these two characters, and since these are great works of literature, people can relate to wanting to be famous in life. So this essay is about Beowulf and Achilles and what they went through to be famous and also what they went through to keep their fame. The Iliad, written by Homer, is about a few weeks of a ten-year war between the Trojans and the Acheans. Achilles is one of the main characters of The Iliad and he is a great man. All he wants is blood. His friend Patroclus was killed and he fights to avenge his friend and earn glory in the process. He would not have achieved glory if his friend hadnt died though because Achilles knew that when he fought he would die (Iliad, p. 117). His friends death is what led Achilles to the fame and glory he received even though he couldnt really enjoy it since Achilles died in the war. Achilles key to fame was not only in killing hordes of Trojans but also killing one of their beloved icons Hector. ...Brilliant Achilles drove his spear and the point went stabbing clean through the tender neck... (The Iliad, ln 385 386, p 195). He killed Hector as revenge for Hector killing Patroclus. Hector was the first Trojan icon to go down in The Iliad although the next ones went down later on in the war, perhaps not in The Iliad but in the Aenid. Aeneas speaks of the war in Aenid and he describes how Hectors father, Priam, met his death. After Hectors death, Achilles would drag the body every morning around his army base three times to show the accomplishment he had made in the war. The gods didnt really agree with him though because they kept healing Hectors body (not back to life though). ...All his wounds sealed shut, wherever they struck... and many drove their bronze blades through his body (The Iliad, ln 496-497, p 209). Eventually, Priam (with help of gods) got Achilles to sell Hectors body back for a bunch of priceless goods. Give (Hector) back to me, now, no more delay I must see my son with my own eyes (The Iliad, ln 650 651, p 212). Being begged by a king increases his fame just because a king doesnt usually do that, especially in this case. Priam gets the body and buries it and thats the end of The Iliad. Whereas in Beowulf, written by an anonymous poet, is about a man who is very strong. He travels to a distant land to kill a couple monsters and earn glory for himself. The quest begins when Beowulf heads to the Danish castle. He is a Geat by the way. His king is Higlac and Beowulf asked him if he could travel the seas to earn glory for himself by helping out the Danish and their king, Hrothgar. When Beowulf finally got to Hrothgar, Hrothgar was glad to see him; he seemed to have a lot of faith in Beowulf. Our Holy Father has sent him as a sign of His grace, a mark of His favor, to help us defeat Grendel and end that terror (Beowulf, ln 381 384). The monster, Grendel, had already killed around 30 good men and what would be another man to him (the king doubts), even though the man was the strongest in the world? Oh, by the way, Unferth (who sat at Hrothgars feet) questioned and disliked Beowulf claiming he was not as strong as he makes himself out to be. After Beowulf proved him wrong, he went on his way to earn his fame. That night, Hrothgar left the hall and when the monster