Leaders and Heroes: The Difference

King Hrothgar is one of the few people with actual leadership experience. He has gone through a variety of situations, both good and bad. He did not stop Grendel from attacking, but he did save his people from many wars and traumas. His advice to Beowulf is mainly to remember to be humble because he has seen many heroes like Beowulf who become complacent heroes who do not remember the customs and ideals that made them heroes in the first place. This complacency has led to many ex-heroes's demise. This seems to be arguing that being a hero is not the same thing as being a leader. Conquering and destroying enemies is a different skill set from leading a people. For example, when Beowulf went to kill Grendel's mother, he had no fear of death, so he could blindly go forward knowing he could die. As a hero, that was seen as great and selfless. But if he were a ruler, that would have been disastrous for his people, because it would put them all at risk.

Beowulf does show parallels to current politics. As I write this blog post, a television ad is playing that questions whether one presidential candidate can be trusted with nuclear codes. Donald Trump has built his campaign on being a hero who will "Make America Great Again." At the Republican Convention, his speech argued that only he could save America. But this style of individualistic masculine heroism is probably better left to stories and movies. To rule a country, you need to be able to build coalitions and work effectively with many people. Unlike Beowulf, however, the current presidential contest does not seem to be between age and youth. Instead, we might argue that it is a contest between gendered leadership styles.