Name: _Jennifer Kim__

Unity in Duality

In several Eastern philosophies, the concept of “unity in duality” is presented to describe

the natural balance of opposing forces in the world. Many of you may have heard of the
ancient symbol of the yin and the yang, which shows equilibrium between black and
white. This symbol is representative of the interdependence of these two opposing
qualities. In the philosophy of Taoism everything is considered to have both qualities, but
the dualities allow each other to be dominant at different times. When both forces can
work together, there is harmony in the world. Both forces are seen as necessary and both
forces need one another to survive.
Your assignment:
Explore “unity in duality” in Beowulf and the Bible. Do forces work together to
create harmony? Are the opposing forces necessary and interdependent within the
story?
Use the space below to brainstorm and make a list of opposing forces in the stories.
Bible:
• Light and Darkness of the Earth
• Day and Night
• Land and Waters
• Aquatic Animals and Fowls
• Male and Female
• Heavens and Earth
• Good trees to eat and The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
• Man and Woman
• Husband and Wife
Beowulf:
• Behind the forest and rest of the Earth
• Humans and Monsters
• Good and Evil

I believe that only a few of these forces actually create harmony. Such as Light and Dark
from the Bible: during the day it is necessary to have light to see and at night when all is
resting, darkness is needed. However, in Beowulf, good and evil doesn’t create harmony.
Instead, there’s a lot of bloodshed from battles and there’s never peace between the two.
Though in the end, these opposing forces are necessary and interdependent in their
stories. For this, we can refer to the Man and Woman from the Bible and Humans and
Monsters for Beowulf. In the Bible, Adam and Eve had eaten from the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil. If you refer back to Genesis 3:11-13, their mistake is
shown as a chain reaction. Adam tells the Lord God that Eve had “given [him] of the
tree” (Genesis 3:12). And then Eve points her finger at the serpent. It’s literally just a
chain. In Beowulf, Humans and Monsters are necessary in their own way. For the story
Beowulf to develop, the “heroic” Beowulf had to have gained honor from somewhere.

Information on Eastern philosophies gathered from The Tarab Institute, Tao Te Ching by
Lao-Tzu, and Wikipedia.
And that somewhere is from fighting monsters or the evil. Without the monsters, the
heroes in Beowulf would not exist.

Information on Eastern philosophies gathered from The Tarab Institute, Tao Te Ching by
Lao-Tzu, and Wikipedia.