BEOWULF ESSAY

 Beowulf and Nelson Mandela

"Nor have I seen a mightier man-at-arms on this earth than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken, he is truly noble. This is no mere hanger-on in a hero's armour." Quoted by the Danish guard, it is evident that Beowulf carries the traits of an epic hero. Although today’s ideal hero may be slightly different from Beowulf’s time, heroes such as Nelson Mandela share common characteristics with the epic hero. Both are courageous leaders who are highly respected by many people. Despite these similarities, the two heroes differ in their physical attributes and their egos. Their respective stories are told through different techniques.

In Beowulf, the main character carries the qualities of a epic hero, which includes leadership quality, courage and valuable honor. Likewise, Nelson Mandela carries the same characteristics. As for Beowulf, he was shown to be a natural leader from the beginning of the story. He brought 14 of his men to voyage across the sea to fight the notorious Grendel. After beheading Grendel’s mother in the cave, Beowulf was promptly asked by Wealhtheow to rule over the kingdom. Her favor for Beowulf reflects the fact the he was naturally fit to lead the people. In Mandela’s case, his leadership qualities were also powerful. After he was elected president for the National African Congress in 1991, Mandela had the talent lead the African people to negotiate for the African independence. Aside from their strong leadership, both Beowulf and Mandela were very courageous for their efforts to tackle their enemy. Beowulf chose to face the monster who kept killing the Danes for twelve years. He clearly proves that he was brave and confident when he chose to fight Grendel unarmed. In a similar context, Mandela was not afraid to fight the apartheid of South Africa. At a young age, he joined the African National Congress and practiced non violent protests against the racist government of South Africa. With the threat of being subjugated, Mandela still had the courage to stand up for his beliefs. Given these heroic qualities of both men, it was natural that they had much honor and respect from their people.

Despite the similarities, Beowulf and Mandela have different characteristics that embody the ideals of a hero. The Anglo-Saxon ideals of a hero include immense strength, which Beowulf made the perfect example of. He was able to tear off Grendel’s arm with his bare fists. The epic describes how the danish men used swords to injure Grendel but had no effect. Mandela was not a physically strong person in contrast. The modern ideal of a hero does not necessarily include the super human strength, which did in Beowulf’s period. Pride is another quality that Beowulf embodied more than Mandela. Due to jealousy, Unferth tried to debase Beowulf  but he responded by being prideful and boasting about his fight against the sea monster. Nelson Mandela was not as prideful, since he was not aiming to seem better than the ordinary citizen fighting for independence.

Since Beowulf was written centuries ago, the techniques employed to demonstrate the Anglo-Saxon values were somewhat different than the real story of Mandela’s. Beowulf contains symbolism and a tone only akin to an epic. The story was glorified to fit the theme of a great hero. Nelson Mandela’s story is also glorified, but many of the literature written and told about him reflect the real events of what happened. Still, Mandela’s achievements were so great that it did not need the glorification. The presence of fate and God in the epic is evident. Mandela’s story does contain some of these elements but the main focus of his story is on his success in removing apartheid from South Africa.

The Anglo-Saxon heroic traits seen in Beowulf are also seen in Nelson Mandela, a contemporary hero. Both men are courageous and highly respected. They were not afraid to face the wall that stood before them despite the huge shadow that hung underneath. Better yet, Mandela and Beowulf both strived to defeat their enemy, with apartheid as the enemy in Mandela’s story. Their natural leadership skills are also evident. Yet, the centuries apart heroes had differences in that Beowulf was very prideful while the South African President was not. Beowulf was immensely physique and superhuman, while Mandela had the ordinary physical strength. Even though the two heroes are from very different time periods, both had achieved glory and great success for the people they cared about.