Ben Parker, a character on Spiderman, once said, With great powers, comes great responsibilities. As a leader, Beowulf has a lot of expectations to live up and fulfill. However, he fails as one because he does many stupid things. He puts himself at risk many times when it is completely unnecessary. When the scholar Renoir said: the ideal union of wisdom and action which is a necessary component of leadership, he concludes that Beowulf commits every action wisely. However, I truly disagree with Renoir because, in my opinion, Beowulf is merely an egocentric loser. Everything he does is fueled by greed for fame and power. Therefore, I would not consider Beowulf a genuinely qualified leader because he lacks the qualities of being sensible, humble, and selfless.
Generally, as a leader, he/she has the responsibility to stay live in order to look after his/her followers. He/she should also make reasonable decisions that are safe and beneficial to his/her group. However, Beowulf fails to do so, because, in his big head, he thinks that he is invincible. At one point, Beowulf says, [his] hands /alone shall fight for [him] (Lines 267/268), insisting that his bare strength alone is equivalent, if not superior, to Grendals monstrous abilities. Beowulf exhibits this insensible trait again when he claimed that he would use no sword, no weapon (630) when he approaches Grendals malicious mother. By acting so irrationally, Beowulf not only puts himself at risk, but also his entourage in danger. If Beowulf was a true leader, he would make the decisions that are safe, not the ones that will help him shine the brightest.
Incidentally mentioned before, Beowulf makes the decisions that will make him most popular and heroic simply because he is self-centered. When he approached the king, before fighting Grendals mother, saying, My famous sword stay in your hands, (465), Beowulf is expecting the sword to remember Beowulfs legacy despite if he wins or loses. Beowulf, in my opinion, puts himself on a pedestal. He believes that everyone, and everything is inferior to him, claming that [Hes] never known fear. (624) He puts too much value onto himself and overestimates his abilities. He states that, No one/ could hope to defeat this monster... (646/647), asserting that hes the only candidate capable of slaying monsters. I sometimes wonder how a person with such a big head like Beowulf could walk, let alone lead.
Nevertheless, Beowulf is a bad leader because he is greedy and only concerned about himself. Maybe its my amnesia, but I dont recall reading any passages acknowledging the significance of Beowulfs army. Beowulf is gluttonous for attention just as he is for riches and fame. Although he claims to fight Grendal to liberate Hrothgar from the monsters terrors, I strongly believe that he engaged in combat in hopes of becoming famous. Beowulf would go to any extent, despite the things at stake, even if it was his own life: I sold my life for this treasure.(820/821) At the end of the epic, when he defeats the dragon, Beowulf demanded Wiglaf to erect a tower in commemoration of him and to bury precious treasures along with his corpse. Instead of leaving the fortune back with Wiglaf to be revenue or the community, Beowulf selfishly takes it with him to the ground. If thats not selfish, I dont know what is.
For these reasons, I strongly and truly believe that Beowulf does not deserve to be called a leader. I think that he is just an overrated individual who gets more attention then he/she should. If Beowulf was really a heroic leader, he would lead his people to stop fighting, move away from monsters, and live a civilized lifestyle. But instead, Beowulf likes to put himself in danger and the people around him at risk also. Despite the sugar coated lies he tells himself, Beowulf is only a human being. At the end of time, like a beater warrior (708) that is he, Beowulf grows old and then dies.
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