Essential Question 1

There are many social obligations of a hero in the epic poem, Beowulf. These obligations would be, loyal, adventurous, brave, leadership, strong, and ambitious. A hero feels obligated to help others, whoever they may be. A true hero always follow through on their promises, and never goes back on their word. Beowulf says that he,"can council Hrothgar" to "overcome the fiend" (lines 274-275).Here he vows to help Hrothgar vanquish the evil, and the tone in which he speaks in causes Hrothgar's thane to believe in Beowulf. A hero is someone the people can count on, just like how Hrothgar is now counting on Beowulf.
People have said that Beowulf is very strong and powerful; he "has the might of thirty men" (line 378). He may not fear any man but I do not think he is aware of his deification process; he is just brave and has a willingness to help others. I do not think he considers himself a God, he just knows he is the only one who can help Hrothgar to defeat Grendel. And he still waits for the approval of "superiors" before he helps while a God would just do as he pleases.