Our Real Heroes

What truly makes a hero? Is it like the heroes we read about in Beowulf who were strong, and greater than the average man? Or are heroes the kind of people we see everyday, the ones that will go out of their way to make someone else's day, or even life better? I think that in our society we have all sorts of beliefs on who are heroes truly are. On days like today, Halloween, we see all the little boys that are dressed up as their favorite superheroes because they truly believe one day they can become like them. These superheroes are the ones like in Beowulf that posse a quality that normal people cannot obtain. I think in society we always like to idolize those types heroes because that's the way humans have always been. It's fun to be able to believe in something greater than the truth. But I also think that we have moments in our society that make us feel like everybody in our lives is a hero. Our nation has come together to praise our heroes on several occasions. These heroes are the people we see everyday; our brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, neighbors, etc. We praised our cops, and firefighters and all forces when things like 911 and the Sandy Hook shooting happen. Traumatic times like that when some people have to risk their life for the safety of others help us realize who are heroes truly are. Our heroes should be those sitting and fighting wars for us right now, so that we can keep our freedom and everything we take advantage of.  I think that back in the time of Beowulf it was okay for heroes to be boastful and egotistical. If they weren't like that, than nobody would realize their true greatness. But in today's society, word can spread so fast and there are so many ways to access it, that it is seen as rude if someone boasts the way that Beowulf did. No matter what our society says, we would never want a hero that thinks he is better than everybody else. Today, we want heroes that we can relate to. We aspire to be these people, these are the people that children want to grow up and become. I think today's society verses the society in Beowulf help play a big role in why most of us as readers did not enjoy the story. Heroes like Beowulf are not relatable. We do not get the triumphant feeling of growing with the hero, therefore we don't feel attached to the hero. Bob Riley once said, "Hard times don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the hero within us is revealed." and I think this proves my point that we don't really want a hero with super natural powers, we want a hero who starts like the rest of us and makes himself seem super natural.