Essay #3

“Nothing is given to man on earth - struggle is built into the nature of life, and conflict is possible - the hero is the man who lets no obstacle prevent him from pursuing the values he has chosen,” once quoted by Andrew Bernstein identifies the main character of Beowulf, Beowulf. Beowulf possesses majority of the great heroic, or even epic heroic qualities. Although Beowulf is an ancient legend, he happens to share many heroic qualities with former U.S. president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. There might be differences between an epic hero and a contemporary hero, one of them having to do with the time period, but they both share the qualities of a “hero.” As heroes, they fought for the same goal, which was the protection of the people. The actions of these two figures were arguably considered heroic by replying to the results of the future.

Beowulf and Roosevelt are deliberated as different type of heroes. Obviously, Roosevelt can’t fight monsters and Beowulf couldn’t have brought US into the first class country as it was. One of the characteristics that Beowulf contains that refers to an epic hero is the ability to excel in strength. Like many other epic hero, Beowulf was able to defeat the monster, Grendel by ripping his arm off and later defeat Grendel’s mother by holding his breath for an extremely long time. His strength was well recognizable through other battles. However, Roosevelt’s strength wasn’t physical, but mostly mental. Roosevelt was able provided strong leadership during the Great Depression. From all the economic decline and many other negative effects, Roosevelt was able to stand firm and lead the nation into recovery. He was also able to provide a plan to relief and reform, well known as the New Deal. Not only did Roosevelt lead the nation out of the economic decline, he also directed the path in World War II that occasionally delivered a victory. Other characteristic Beowulf showed was loyalty. Beowulf first delivered loyalty to King Hrothgar, who once saved Beowulf’s father. In return, he courageously arrived to kill the monsters who were threatening the king’s palace. With the gifts from King Hrothgar, he presented to his own king, which added to his loyalty. On the other hand, Roosevelt’s works as a president can relate to loyalty to the people of the nation. He was able to recover the failures and made more comfort to many. People adored him because they felt that someone among the government actually cared. He was the face of hope and reform. Being courageous is one of the key characteristics of a hero. When facing the monsters, Beowulf never thought twice about fighting them. Nonetheless, he dominated the battles against them. The domination of the battles leads to another characteristic, faith. Frequently after many battles, he tends to give glory to God. The element of faith in God was possibly in a mean of spreading Christianity.

Many stories that involve a hero have been written by both men and women, but it was very rare that it was examine if the story would differ when it is told in the opposite perspective. In Beowulf, many things would change if it was told in feminist perspective. Because this epic poem contains so many actions, it wouldn’t be really coherent if actions were taken out. Since Beowulf was a male, it is the actions within power and strength what brought this epic poem to intensity. In order to put it in a feminist perspective, it would most likely contain indebt details on Beowulf’s compassion and loyalty.