essay 117

The works we’ve read so far in Unit One have been both difficult to understand and hard to relate to. As you complete your studies, you might wonder how British literature relates to your career or trade of choice. We don’t go on sea voyages anymore, or gather in mead-halls, or go on pilgrimages to Canterbury. However, some careers require traveling to different places or countries, leading a crowd, and might even include company-wide staff conventions. One could say that characters like Beowulf portray great leadership, and other human traits that employers look for when seeking to hire the best candidate for a job. The literature you have read also demonstrates universal themes and deals with emotions and experiences we recognize today: standing up for a cause, the need for community, and taking long, life-changing journeys.

Develop a personal response in which you demonstrate how you would deal with these universal themes in one of the scenarios below. This assignment requires you to get creative. Follow the instructions in your prompt of choice. You only have to pick one prompt.

You are welcome to use first person (I and we) and to present this in any form you choose — multimedia presentation (i.e. power point; video), poem, short story, letter to the editor, journal entry, blog post, newspaper article, advertisement, or even a series of Facebook status or Twitter updates — as long as your writing meets the minimum word count of 250-300 words.

PROMPT #1: Leaders must be able to show loyalty to their cause, their country and to their people. Loyalty is clearly shown as one of Beowulf’s character traits. You are the leader of your own organization or company, and you want to show your volunteers and staff members that you are a loyal leader. What are some steps you would take to portray this loyalty? For example, how would you handle complaints from both clients and employees should problems arise? What systems would you put in place to ensure quality control and show that you are true to your word as a leader? Be sure to tell your reader about the company and present a specific scenario that you are dealing with. If presenting this in multimedia form, you could go as far as showcasing your brand that should also exemplify loyalty to clients and those in your company.