What truly makes a person a hero? In today's society, a hero is portrayed as someone who stands up against what is wrong and triumphs over it. Although I do agree with the previous statement, I believe it takes an even bigger hero to stand up against what is unjust, knowing that the chances of failure are great, but still doing what is right. An example of a hero can be found in the story of Beowulf and his stand off with the seemingly invincible monster Grendel. In this essay, I will show what obstacle that Beowulf had to face, the uncertainty of his victory, and the reason why Beowulf is so heroic.
             In this story, Grendel, a descendant of Cain, terrorized the Danes for twelve years simply because he despised the joy of mankind. Beowulf, the hero of the Geats, asked his uncle, the King of the Geats, Higlac, if he could go assist the Danes. His help was welcomed by the Danes' king and quickly laid a trap for Grendal leading into a standoff in which Beowulf won.
             While it could be argued that Beowulf knew he was going to win. It was stated that he had the strength of 30 men. However, Grendel was a monster, who by all accounts, was seemingly invincible. Besides being protected from weapons by magic, he was also very powerful. So saying that Beowulf, while maybe confident, was 100% certain of his win may be an overstatement.
             Perhaps what truly makes Beowulf battle with Grendel so heroic was the fact Beowulf appears to have had no personal involvement with either Grendel or the Danes before their encounter in the story. He seems to have involved himself solely because he felt it was the right thing to do. No one appears to have asked him to battle Grendel, he just felt he had to. This fact alone, even though he did ultimately win his confrontation with Grendel, makes Beowulf even more heroic.
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