In Beowulf there are many symbols and elements. The symbols of Herot Hall and Grendel represented all that was good and all that was bad in the story. There are also many Christian elements in this pagan story. These aspects of the poem are important, but are not relevant to today's society. In the poem Beowulf, Beowulf is an epic hero. The poem gives an idea of ​​what a hero really is. Many of these ideas have been carried over into modern society, and a person shares these traits with Beowulf. He is the modern hero of Michael Jordan. Beowulf and Michael Jordan had a surprisingly similar journey. The similarities between Beowulf and Michael begin with their fathers. Beowulf's father was a great warrior who gained a reputation for being strong and courageous; however, Beowulf's father was killed and never saw his son do great things. All of these traits of Beowulf's father are similar to those of Michael's father. Michael's father, James Jordan, was a great professional baseball player who gained a reputation as a restless player and a good leader. James was killed later in life and never got to see his son do great things. Just like Beowulf's father. We know that Beowulf and Michael gained reputations when they were young. Beowulf earned his reputation by killing nine sea monsters while participating in a swimming race. Beowulf lost the race, but gained much respect in his homeland when his people heard the story. Michael gained his reputation in the same way as Beowulf. Michael, however, earned his reputation on the North Carolina basketball court. At the University of North Carolina, Michael became the best player in college basketball. He won many awards in his senior year, but did not win any championships in his final season. He became very popular and gained a strong reputation, much like Beowulf. Now that Michael and Beowulf had gained a solid reputation, they had to leave their homeland to become heroes. For Beowulf, this meant that he had to leave Geatland to help the people of Daneland. For Michael, that meant leaving the NCAA for the NBA. Both entered these new places with reputations for the great things they had done before. Because of each of their great abilities, many were jealous of their talent..