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The Modern Hero Of Beowulf

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Aaron Payne
Mr. Walter
English IV
September 28
The Modern Hero
“The art of leadership… consists in consolidating the attention of the people against a single adversary and taking care that nothing will split up that attention” (Adolf Hitler). Although Adolf Hitler may have been one of the worst men in history, he had a similar rise to power as the Geatish warrior Beowulf did. He gained his leadership by showing up to Germany in their time of need and telling them that he can fix their economic depression after WWII. Throughout the epic poem, Beowulf demonstrates a leadership style that is very effective; however, it has failed many leaders and their cultures in the past, and it is often carried on today. This also ties into Beowulf’s hero model, which shows us how drastically the idea of heros have changed throughout history.
Beowulf’s charismatic leadership style is adequate for him to achieve the role he deserves over the Danes, although it comes along with several drawbacks. Beowulf comes to power by being a courageous figure that comes to help the Danes in their time of need. He often brags about his courageous acts to show his greatness, we see this when he is confronted by Unferth, "The fact is, Unferth, if you were truly as keen and courageous as you claim to be Grendel would never have got away with such unchecked atrocity, attacks on your king, havoc in Heorot and horrors everywhere" (590-594). After defeating Grendel, the Danes look to him as their invincible hero

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