Hero?

         While discussing Beowulf, we tried to determine who a hero would be in our society today. We often debated whether or not the motives behind a person’s actions affects whether or not what they do is heroic, and if therefore they should be labeled a hero. Today in America most people would agree that the men and women in the military are heroes, even if they never face combat. They volunteer to sacrifice themselves and protect our country. A new incentive that the military is now using to recruit is the promise of a fully paid education in exchange for service in the military. So my question is, are the people that only join the military so that they can go to college for free heroes?

            I relate this situation to that which happened in Beowulf in the fight against Grendel’s mother. Beowulf brought 12 soldiers along with him, but when the time came to fight, all of the men except for one, Wiglaf, left Beowulf. It is not clear what those men were motivated by, but their main goal was obviously not to help Beowulf protect the townspeople.

            So today, if an 18 year old realizes that he has no money for college and joins the military solely for the promise of a free education, is he a hero? If that is his only motivation, then when the time comes to face combat, his drive could fail. This instance, for me, is easy to discern that this 18 year old is not a hero. Another example though, which I think relates to Beowulf himself, is if that same teenager then performs valiant acts. Going to college for free and helping himself out still only drive him, but at the same time he is saving lives and protecting America. The poem Beowulf, doesn’t give a lot of insight about the man Beowulf. What I did infer though was that Beowulf was mainly fighting Grendel and his mother so that he could gain glory for himself. When he was about to die he asked to see the treasure, which shows me that he wanted to assure himself that he would have the glory of winning the treasure. That is why I think a lot of people debate whether Beowulf is a true hero. My opinion is that Beowulf and the 18 year old performed heroic acts, but should not be called a hero. Hero’s need to possess the quality of selflessness, and I don’t see that in these two instances.