Beowulf Journal #1: The Modern Dragon Slayer

                In the story of “Beowulf,” Beowulf embodies the archetype of a dragon slayer. The dragon slayer is someone who faces death in order to save a community.  Beowulf faces death in the form of Grendel and Grendel’s mother in order to save a community, the Danes. As can be seen, Beowulf clearly fits the description of a dragon slayer.  Since the dragon slayer is in fact an archetype, this same pattern has been used throughout fiction and movies and can even be seen in reality. The “dragon slayer” can be seen in reality with the soldiers who fight for our lives every day. Then, in movies such as Harry Potter and books and stories such as Robin Hood, one can see even more examples of dragon slayers. Overall, the archetype of a dragon slayer embodied by Beowulf can be seen in modern works.

In reality, soldiers as an entity are the dragon slayer. While one man is not really strong or powerful enough to act as the dragon slayer, the soldiers together are very powerful. While people may disagree on the “dragon” that the soldiers are sent to slay, it is hard to argue that soldiers are not definitely sent out to protect communities. Not only do they protect Americans at home but they also play roles in protecting foreign communities. They face death nearly every day but continue to fight for our freedom and for the protection of those foreign communities.  Overall, the power those soldiers have as an entity and their dedication to protecting communities at home and abroad make them an example of a modern dragon slayer.

Many movies and books also have great examples of a dragon slayer. In the Harry Potter series, Harry, is in fact, a dragon slayer. Harry, who is the “chosen one,” has a power so great that he is the only one who can stop Lord Voldemort, the “dragon” in this particular scenario. Harry is not necessarily physically stronger but his bravery and intuition are what help him in his mission to protect his community. Throughout the series of books and movies Harry goes through many life threatening tests and trials that eventually lead up to him killing Lord Voldemort. By killing Lord Voldemort, Harry saves his community at Hogwarts along with the rest of the magical kingdom from oppression by Lord Voldemort.  Other examples of dragon slayers include Robin Hood and Batman. In Robin Hood, Robin Hood faces exile and execution to help protect and save his community of the poor. He does so by fighting and robbing the rich, who are the “dragons.” Robin Hood is very clever and skilled in things like archery. These skills are what help him become the dragon slayer that protects the poor. In Batman, especially in “The Dark Knight” series, Batman becomes the Dragon Slayer. Batman is physically superior much like Beowulf is but Batman also depends on his brains and gadgets to become the “dragon slayer.”  The dragon that he is trying to slay is the organized crime and villains that have plagued his city, Gotham. Speaking of Gotham, the city is the community that Batman is trying to protect. Batman sacrifices his health and faces death to clean up Gotham to create a city that its Citizens could feel safe and proud to live in.

As one can see, there are many examples of dragon slayers that can be seen in modern works and in reality. The soldiers are just one great example of dragon slayers in reality. There are many other influential and powerful people and entities that protect many different communities. Likewise, Harry Potter, Robin Hood, and Batman are just a few of the movies and books that have examples of dragon slayers.  Each one of these dragon slayers has their own unique characteristics but they all have one purpose and that is to protect their community. Overall, the archetype of a dragon slayer can be seen in real life, movies, and books of today.