Hero and Anti-Hero: Beowulf and Albert Camus' The Stranger

That hero and anti-hero are opposing terms, one will not argue. However, the definitions of the two, and therefore the qualities they encompass, come straightway with arguments. Beowulf and The Stranger are two works with protagonists that can be argued as lying on either end of the hero spectrum. Beowulf can be said to demonstrate the qualities of the hero and Meursault the anti-hero. 

Beowulf takes place in England and was written during a time when Christian views were beginning to permeate contemporary ways but also when pagan views were not wholly discharged. Beowulf, a follower of the Geats’ king, Higlac, and the strongest of the Geats, hears news of a monster that ravaged the land of the famous King Hrothgar of the Danes. He promptly sets forth with men and means to rid the Danes of their nightly woes that came in the form of Grendel, the monster who killed in darkness. This is how the epic poem begins, but Beowulf’s heroic qualities began before the knowledge of Grendel’s presence and continued on after the monster’s death. 

Beowulf goes to aid Hrothgar because it was his duty to do so as he proclaims, simply, that he would sail to Hrothgar now when his help was needed. The ability to do what is necessary because of the knowledge that only he alone can accomplish a certain task is a heroic quality. This presents itself time and again in Beowulf. Though Beowulf is surrounded by his willing men in Hall Herot, he fights Grendel alone. Also, when Grendel’s mother showered her wrath at the death of her son, Beowulf dives alone into the abyss of the monstrous fen to kill her.