John Yossarian, the individualist combateer of Catch-22, and Beowulf, the hero of Denmark, though both protagonists of their stories, portray two seemingly contrasting ideals of a hero. Yossarian, even by virtue of his unusual name, is marked as an outsider and an individualist who displays cowardly and self-motivated acts. Beowulf, on the other hand, is the personification of the "perfect" hero. His deeds are inhumanly courageous, he is accepted without question by those he seeks alliance with, and acted with the interests of his followers in mind.

Yossarian breaks away from the idealistic mold of the hero from the very start. He does not endanger his own well-being for the sake of his peers. In fact, he goes to lengths to avoid putting his life in peril at any and every chance. However, because the system of values surrounding Yossarian is so obscure and...