Have you ever held the door for someone, helped them out of a car, or displayed some other act of humanity? If yes, the modern world would consider you an everyday hero. However back in the time of Beowulf, a hero is portrayed as a strong and courageous super human. And while ancient and modern hero archetypes may serve a purpose in literature, they do not accurately reflect what it means to be heroic in real life. Old stories and modern films use implied metaphors, the hero cycle, and are usually influenced by culture. Whereas a real life hero is not bound by a writers ideas, and acts on their own.

In almost every heroic story or film the hero encounters a challenge. These challenges can be thought of as metaphors for heroes in real life. Beowulf goes through many challenges throughout the book, but a notable one is when he goes to Grendel’s mother’s lair. When he “sank though the murky waves for hours, and at last he saw the mud of the bottom” (570, 574) he goes through a challenge. This challenge is a great example of a metaphoric challenge. The water symbolizes all the things he must go through to get to his goal, the bottom. Also he was sinking for hours. This amount of time also shows that no matter how far away the goal seems, it’s always reachable in some way or another. A second instance of this is when Beowulf kills Grendel’s Mother and “her body fell to the floor, lifeless […] Beowulf rejoiced at the sight.” (642, 645). This illustrates that when completing your goal as a hero, you are rewarded. In this case Beowulf is rewarded with pleasure and the knowledge that the people in Hrothgar’s kingdom are safe. In real life, the hero does not have to be one person. It can be a group of people working to defeat a heroic goal as well. Take Feed My Starving Children for example. Their goal is to save the “Thousands of children [that] die every day from starvation” (fmsc.com). While that goal seems far away, they get closer to reaching it every day with volunteers and new technologies. Another great example of real life heroism is the Volunteer league of America. They supply volunteers to groups like FMSC and also help “The millions pf homeless people in America” (volunteersamerica.com) find a place to stay. Compared to the epic monsters that are seen in Beowulf, the real life heroes may not seem as heroic. But we have to remember that the stories only provide an example for them.

Another way literary heroes do not accurately reflect what happens in real life is the hero cycle. In Beowulf, he pretty much steps right though all the stages of the cycle in a distinct way. When “[he] goes to the lake where the monster’s mother has her underwater lair” (Narration Paragraph) it is a distinct transition from the threshold of adventure to the kingdom of darkness. Another example of Beowulf following the cycle is when the dragon is ravaging his lands and we find out that “For Beowulf, the price if this last victory will be great” (Narration Paragraph). This turns out to be the final, ultimate test for Beowulf, proving that the story follows the hero cycle almost to the letter. However in real life this usually is not the case. Real life heroes try to execute “simple acts of kindness can brighten someone’s day”. These acts are things such as holding a door, waiting for people for someone to cross the road, or stopping the elevator are simple acts that help people out. And while they don’t follow the hero cycle, they do show heroism. However in real life there are also people who embark are larger goals. For people such as these, there may be large obstacles in their way to completing their goals, but they still usually don’t follow the hero cycle. They follow the principle “Doing the right thing isn’t always easy, but when you stand up and do it, it’s always worth it” and it usually is in the end.

A third reason why hero stories do not pertain to real life is that the stories and movies are bound by culture and the ideas of the writer. In Beowulf he is bound by honor and glory to defend the kingdom. When it says “Beowulf […] heard about how Grendel filled nights with horror and quickly commanded a boat fitted out” (109, 113) it shows that an Anglo-Saxton hero would help the people as quickly as possible and worry about consequences later. Later in the story we see that a hero in Anglo-Saxon times would not have grieved at losses, but would instead plot for revenge. Beowulf says “Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning” (1384–1389) this proves that a true hero would go out for the fight, honor bound, then to sit inside crying. A real life hero however, would not have been so culturally restricted. While there is honor in heroism, it’s not to the point where it drives everything that happens. For Feed My Starving Children, their goal is not to preserve their honor, it’s to preserve the “tons of potential in all the children. And every life lost is a potential loss.” (Dr. Peter Orazem). In the STLF group, their “mission is to reveal leadership through service relationships, and action”. This is to help students in high school and collage show their leadership skills through volunteering so they can use those skills later in life. As you can see these groups don’t set their goals with honor in mind, they are set with the wellbeing of others in mind so that they can have a better future.

In conclusion to this essay, every day heroes are different then the heroes pictured in books, stories, and movies. While ancient and modern hero archetypes may serve a purpose in literature, they do not accurately reflect what it means to be heroic in real life. Weather that difference lies in challenges, culture, or the hero cycle and they paths they choose, the heroes of every day are a better representation of what to expect from a hero that can actually exist.