What Would Beowulf Do? How Beowulf Is a Christ-Like Figure Essay

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The contemplative question of “What would Jesus do?” has become a popular pragmatism in society today. There is an unwritten rule or sense of morality by which a properly functioning civilization may live. However, what method did early Anglo-Saxons use to remind themselves of what would be the proper thing to do in a situation? Even though they were a violent and warmongering culture as a whole, geared toward waging and winning war, they did have a moral code to honor. Anglo-Saxons prized the values, which they would have been learned by rote since childhood, including: courage and selflessness, honor, discipline and duty, hospitality, self-reliance, and perseverance. These principles of character are some of the main mores clearly …show more content…
Ed Belfour’s simple statement, “I love proving people wrong.” comically displays the acts which Christ and Beowulf were able to accomplish in the success of their quests.
Perhaps even some of the credit of Christ and Beowulf’s victories may be given to the supernatural abilities they both possessed in defeating their enemies. Beowulf’s immense strength of 30 men, and his ability to swim in the ocean for seven days straight, is almost parallel to Christ’s ability to raise Lazarus from the dead, multiply fish and bread by thousands to feed the hungry, and His feat of walking on water- no pun intended! These capacities are far beyond the ambit of average men, further explaining the supernatural nature of these two heroes. Beowulf’s exploits in the ocean, treading the bounding main weighed down by heavy armor and weapons, amidst sea creatures and stormy waters, attests to his metaphysical endowment by some higher power. “The hero with a thousand faces.” Written by Joseph Campbell, about Odysseus in epic of The Odyssey describes the path a person takes as he journeys through a heroic cycle, but the words also relate here to Christ. Not only did He walk upon water as if it were dry land, but he also calmed the brewing storm around him instantly. Anyone can tell that it weather takes time to fully abate when it has become restless, yet somehow, right as Christ told the waters to calm, immediately the ominous clouds parted, and the gray seas became blue
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