Patrick Ramos Per.

In todays time, people see heroes like Spiderman as an admirable person because they embody a certain trait. But back in the tenth century, within the society of another great hero, Beowulf, people have different thoughts of what admirable qualities people should have. In Beowulf, there are many qualities people admire within there society. The first quality that people admire is strength. Beowulf shows a sample of his strength when he has a race with Brecca. that wed risk/ Our lives at seas/ I remained near him for five long nights/ Until a flood swept us apart/ The frozen sea surged around me/ It grew dark, the wind turned bitter, blowing/ From the north/ Creatures who sleep deep in the sea were stirred/ Into life- and the iron hammered links/ Of my mail shirt/saved me/ From death (Beowulf, Pg. 28 ll. 269-286). It takes grwat strength to swim in the ocean fro five nights. Beowulf accomplishes this task wearing a heavy armor and defeating monsters along the way. To resist such obstacles takes awesome strength, strength only wish to have. The second admirable trait is bravery. The bravery of a man can be seen when Beowulf agrees to fight the dragon when he knew the dangers that came along with the adventure. Then Beowulf rose, still brave, still strong,/ And with shield at his side, and a mail shirt on his breast,/ strode calmly toward the tower (Pg. 42 ll. 688-690). Beowulf knows the limits his mortal body can take, yet he decides to fight a fiery beast

anyways with weapons not fit for the quest he faces. This is true bravery. A person is willing to sacrifice himself to save the life of everyone else. The final trait is loyalty. Wiglaf embodies this trait while fighting the dragon. None of his comrades/ Came to him, helped him, his brave and noble/ Followers; they ran for their lives/ And only one of them/ Remained/ As a good man must/ His name was Wiglaf(Pg. 43-44 ll. 746-752). Wiglaf stays to fight even though everyone else left. He helps his prince defeat the monster no matter what happens. Wiglafs loyalty is very apparent in this situation. To stand by a duty, above all else no matter what the cost, and to stay with a leader is true loyalty. There are many qualities that people admire in Beowulfs time. In fact, some of those qualities are still admired today. Whether it is back then or now, qualities, such as strength, bravery, and loyalty, get recognition and admiration for how great and noble they are.