Ponders the question if Beowulf can be transformed into a cartoon to reach a younger audience. Analyzes Beowulf's credenitials as a tragic hero. Maintains that his mystique would be ruined by being portrayed as a superhero.
Beowulf- the first masterpiece in English literature- is going to be featured as a Saturday morning cartoon character, exposing school-aged children to violent actions. Children will typically not understand the history behind Beowulf and will dismiss him as an action figure. While Beowulf did play a heroic role in poetry, he may not serve as an ideal role model for children that are unable to justify his "despairing of life" actions and who will most likely learn more about his adventures in school (Beowulf, 1054).
Despite the numerous other violent cartoons school aged children have exposure to, it is easy to presume that young adolescents will repeat Beowulf's actions. Many young children yearn to be the heroes of their school. A cartoon of Beowulf would portray him as the "Scylding warrior, savage and grim," who beheads Grendel's mother (Beowulf, 1052). This action is not suitable for children who are not yet unfamiliar with the tragedies of epic poems. After this event, Beowulf's heroic character is enhanced thus, giving children more motivation to use violent tactics to become a hero. Any child seeking attention is likely to repeat this act of violence. While many people may argue that school-aged children are old enough to differentiate between what is morally and ethically wrong, how can they possible all think the same in such a diverse world? Children will decide what is right and what is wrong on their own, and praising a cartoon character for using such gruesome violence in defeating enemies will only steer them towards the negative side.
Not only might Beowulf as a cartoon character have a negative impact on school-aged children, its literary importance will be misinterpreted as well as degraded. School-aged children will not understand the adventures of Beowulf to be any different from that of any other typical action hero such as Superman or Spiderman. Children should not learn of Beowulf through a cartoon but in a classroom where they can take an in depth approach to learning more about the heroic poem. Present day school curriculum is comprised of numerous literature masterpieces including Beowulf. Children will be given the opportunity to read the poetic presentation in a classroom where questions they have on the material can be answered. They will be able to understand the explicit symbolism of Beowulf through school-based learning much more than they would through reading a cartoon strip.
Portraying Beowulf as a cartoon character invalidates the mystery of his appearance. Much of the beauty in the Beowulf relies among the fact that no individual has ever seen him. Each person has a different image of Beowulf that they have comprised from their sole knowledge of him. Why should a solitary artist have the right to depict Beowulf and how is it possible for him to capture every individual's image of Beowulf into a simple cartoon? Everybody is entitled to his or her own imagination to interpret Beowulf's character. Beowulf acts very courageous in his adventures, and "of living strong men he was the strongest" (Beowulf, 132). Many children have a broad range of what they consider to be strong and by depicting Beowulf as a big, build cartoon character, many kids image of strength will be defied. Not only that but transforming Beowulf into a cartoon character will place a restraint on children's imaginations. Also school-aged children will not realize that Beowulf relates many problems to us such as the "nature of success, true friendship, and the final values found in life and death."
Beowulf as a cartoon may interest school-aged children at earlier ages but they will not be fully learning the literary importance considered as the supreme achievement of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Many people argue that by giving Beowulf a role as a cartoon character, the cartoon will give school-aged children more interest of Beowulf. However, to depict Beowulf as a simple cartoon character to interest children in deceitful because so much more importance lies in his character. When children reach their later levels in high school and realize that Beowulf its not the cartoon character they were once introduced to but just an epic hero, they will immediately dismiss him to be just another boring character among literature. They will not realize that Beowulf is a much larger epic hero who performed many more adventures than those introduced to them in a cartoon.
Nevertheless, Beowulf plays an immense role in England literature and depicting him as a cartoon character degrades his importance. School-aged children will learn much more about Beowulf in a classroom than they may by reading a cartoon strip that could corrupt their minds with violence and restrain their imaginations.
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