Three Roads To One Hero

Throughout the two epics, Beowulf, and Gilgamesh, and the novel Grendel, we see certain heroic characteristics of the main characters. Although Beowulf, Grendel, and Gilgamesh all come to a heroic end, they differ in way in which they came to that end. In Beowulf we read of a great warrior who cares about nothing but honor and his people. In Gilgamesh, we see a man who comes to a realization of his mortality, and then …

…gain glory for himself, but he attempted, and succeeded, to do this by serving his people. Grendel lived in this world by himself. He was able to serve everyone that he cared for, which is sadly only himself. He was not only able to serve himself though, but he was also able to find a meaning to life. He found that to live a good life, you sometimes have to lose yourself to find yourself.