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Compare And Contrast Beowulf And The Teaching Of Leadership

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How much does it take to become a hero? Being a hero takes more than just sparing a dollar to a friend or giving your charger to a friend as well. After reading “Beowulf and the Teaching of Leadership”, it’s a clear sign on what and is a true hero. This article is written by Tom Loughman, PH.D and John Finley, PH.D. There are so many heroes as we know of today that changed the way we lived for the better. Such as Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and John F. Kennedy. Think about it, without their initiatives to help innocent people, our world would be so much different. Beowulf in this story is an epic hero. He shows his courage and bravery throughout the story. Not all heroes are made from the comics we read and the movies we watch. …show more content…

For example, Beowulf had to face Grendel, a very powerful monster that had the strength of 30 men. “From every side, trying to open a path for his soul, but their points could not hurt him, the sharpest and hardest iron could not scratch at his skin” (Beowulf, Page 52, lines 321-324). This just simply powerful Grendel was. His skin was literally impenetrable but a mortal man. Later in the story, Beowulf has to defeat a new evil, Grendel’s mother. “He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s answer; the heaving water covered him over, For hours he sank through the waves; at last he saw the mud of the bottom” (Beowulf, Page 57, Lines 450-454). The fact that Beowulf was underwater for hours is unhuman-like. No one in the real world can breathe under water for this long. In addition, he defeated Grendel’s mother under water as well which is just unrealistic in the real world. This moments captures how Beowulf used his courage and bravery to help vanquish the evil that has

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Although these two heroes are from different time periods, their strengths in battle are equivalent to one another. For instance, Beowulf shows his strength by fighting for the Danish people. He kills Grendel by detaching his arm. “He twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped, muscle and bone split.” (497-498).

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Beowulf was courageous in fighting Grendel because he did not even use a sword to fight the monster. Beowulf ended up cracking Grendel’s fist, barely breaking a sweat. Grendel did not fight back, so Beowulf ended up breaking his shoulder off, which tore his arm and claw off too. Another component of

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Something helps to prove that statement is The Supreme Ordeal. An archetype that causes a hero to cross the threshold but they each had their own way of doing it. Beowulf crosses the threshold by boasting and putting his pride on the line. By doing this he would never be able to shy away from grendel’s rath.

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Poems have been around for ages, and have many different forms. They’ve inspired and molded literature in a bunch of ways, as even rap came from a form of poetry and that’s a part of our modern world. Leadership is also is also an essential aspect consistently present in our modern day world, as now schools and kids to focus on team work and improve their leadership skills. “The Old English epic poem “Beowulf” contains timely insights into leadership and motivation, trust, respect, loyalty, and sacrifice that could inform current leadership practice” (155). John Finley and Tom Loughman go into depth on this in their scholarly journal, Beowulf and the Teaching of Leadership.

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They are the ones that cure us humans. Our parents are even our heroes; they are the ones that give you shelter, food, clothes, and they’re just the number one hero. Most likely realistic heroes don’t fight monster and creature, but Beowulf was known for his action. Beowulf, one of the toughest character that live back then. Beowulf is known for his heroic action and the deeds he has done.

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Alexander Hamilton once said, “There is a certain Enthusiasm in liberty that makes Human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.” Beowulf is an epic poem in which the main character Beowulf did acts of service, but he fought for those who couldn’t fight. The overall theme of good versus evil in Beowulf had Beowulf dealing with challenges that no ordinary man would be able to handle unless they were a true epic hero. Throughout the poem Beowulf proves to be an epic hero by his strength, bravery, and sacrifice.

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The effects of leadership throughout our timeline in this world have had a major toll on how we shape our lives today. We have many types of leadership like democracy, theocracy, and many more. We see these types of leadership in the poem Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney. In the epic the main kings are Hrothgar who is a generous and a natural leader of the Danes, and Beowulf who is known as a noble and loyal king of the Geats. Both of these kings went through many events that had many different impacts on them and they succeeded.

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In the epic Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is depicted as a heroic figure who fights monsters and defends the weak. During its time, Beowulf would be considered a great hero, however in today 's standards Beowulf would only be considered a great warrior. That’s because a hero should value the lives of the people and not seek to be rewarded. Instead, Beowulf committed heroic acts for his own selfish reasons and never shows to values the lives of the people. From fighting Grendel to slaying the dragon, Beowulf only fought because he value the fame and fortune that comes along with those accomplishments.

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Wherever human beings are accumulated together in large numbers, they need leadership. Even a school needs a principle to mentor and escalate the school’s rank. Armies need generals to lead them to a courageous victory. Civilians need governments, captains of industry and intellectual leaders of thought as well. However, There are characteristics common to most great leaders that can be picked out.

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Leadership Lessons In Beowulf The story of Beowulf offers many lessons that can be interpreted in different ways. In my article I will focus on the theme of leadership. Leadership can present itself in a multitude of places in a person’s life, but for me it appears most in my work with student council.

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Leader for the People Beowulf is a strong leader in “Beowulf”, a poem written by an anonymous Christian, and is seen to be a hero in the face of the Danes. There is a lot of controversy on the topic of whether Beowulf is a hero or not; however, I believe the answer is quite evident. Unlike a character such as Gilgamesh, Beowulf does not look death in the face just to boost his ego, he fights for the safety of his people. Beowulf is considered as a selfless hero due to his confidence, his lack of a fear of death, his exemplary actions, and his attitude towards the final outcome of his battles.

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This shows how even though he was old and weak, he still doesn’t back down and is still dedicated to fight monsters. Beowulf’s dedication is so great that he goes in knowing that the odds are against him but he would rather die fighting than cowering out. Secondly, when fighting Grendel’s mother Beowulf “discovered that no sword could slice her evil skin” yet after his weapon fails him he continues using his resources until finding a weapon and “ striking her with all (the) strength he had left, caught her in the neck and cut it through...her body fell”(Raffel 1521-1522 1565-1567). During Beowulf’s battle with

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Beowulf is a perfect example of what a real hero is because he does not hesitate to save a person's life even if it risk his life. He knows the reason for why they are in the situation and does not turn back from it whatsoever. An example of how Beowulf shows this is by the way he stood by Breca’s side for seven long nights at sea during the race. The reason why he did not leave his side was because Beowulf did not want Breca to be eaten by the sea monsters. It was

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Christopher Reeve (AKA the 1978 superman) said that, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles”. Both Beowulf and Modern day heroes are similar in that way in that they fight for the common good of people. That quote from Christopher Reeves on what a modern day hero is, also applies to the epic hero qualities that Beowulf has. Similarly Beowulf and a modern day hero defeat an evil so that good can prevail. Some examples are, Beowulf Slaying Grendel and Grendel's mother to save the land of the Danes, and soldiers fighting enemies that threaten the lives of a country, and police officers putting criminals behind bars.

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Literature has maintained a strong influence on society and its perceptions of heroes for centuries. In consequence, the time period in which a literary work is written reveals much about that society’s ideals. For example, the Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, illustrates the deeds of a heroic knight and reflects the values of his community. Throughout the poem, Beowulf displays commendable behavior by saving another kingdom, defeating three villains, and maintaining allegiance to the lord and his people. Even though a millennium has passed since the release of this epic, heroes today display characteristics similar to those of Beowulf.

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