For the past two-thousand years, readers have always been enchanted by the depiction of fictional heroes in many works of literature. The audience is entertained with the environments authors create, and how these environments differ from everyday life. Of course, everyday life has changed over the years, and because of this, authors have had to modify their interpretation of their fictional heroes. Often authors" portrayals have reflected society's interest of that time. From the Anglo-Saxon time period of Beowulf, to the present day literature of Harry Potter, society's interests have influenced the depiction of fictional heroes. This influence has also created entirely new ethics and standards of heroes over the years. This evolution, sometimes gone unnoticed, is illustrated in the works of Beowulf, Mark Twain, and J.K. Rowling. With the passage of time, heroes have changed from the super-human beings of Beowulf and to being illustrated as ordinary people that do not require physical strength to over come obstacles. Although this evolution has taken place very slowly, heroes of fictional literature have changed over the past two-thousand years. .
Written by an anonymous poet, the epic of Beowulf is one of the earliest works of literature that deals with the ethics of heroism. Bravery and loyalty were traits that were highly desirable for heroes. In addition to these traits, heroes of the Anglo-Saxon time period had to be very strong and willing to sacrifice everything. In the epic of Beowulf, the warrior Beowulf risks his life for the people of King Hrothgar. "I mean to stand, not to run from his shooting flames, stand till fate decides which of us wins" (Burton Raffel 45). These moral decisions are revealed in the epic of Beowulf. The main character, a Geat named Beowulf, displays bravery because he isn't afraid of death and fate. He relied on his strength to win each battle.