Beowulf vs. Heroism - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 690 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/05/13 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Beowulf Essay Did you like this example? Out of all the important values followed by the Anglo-Saxons, heroism is a trait every individual strives to have. Heroism is far more than simply physical courage, it is the goal to fulfill any of his/her obligations to a group of individuals he/she is a key member in. For example, the king in the epic is shown to have the obligation of being generous to all his people especially his thanes whom he must reward with valuable gifts for their defense of their people. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Beowulf vs. Heroism" essay for you Create order Beowulf, on the other hand, is the most valued and respected individuals among the Anglo-Saxons due to his actions. Beowulf is not just another man looked up to because of his wealth or fame, it is because he is a warrior and compassionate human being that makes looking after his people a number one priority. Beowulf is one of the greatest heroes depicted in the people not only because of his great power in battle but because he also fulfills his social obligations. He has virtues of a civilized man and the strength of the greatest warrior known to man.The three basic traits a true hero must have is strength, courage, loyalty, and fame. However, if those are the only qualifications in order to be known as a well-known, respected hero; would Grendels mother be a hero as well? Throughout the epic, the readers are able to know the three basic traits and understand how exactly a villain and hero are two different individuals. Grendels mom was strong, loyal to her son, and well-known through her huge battle with Beowulf. The catch is, the readers later learn that an Anglo-Saxon hero is not solely defined by his/her traits but by their appearance through God himself. As said in the epic, Beowulf is seen as good from the eyes of the lord therefore he is a true leader many individuals must respect and learn off of. On the other hand, Grendel and his family are all seen as horror to all by the lord therefore they are evil. Even though both characters have the three basic traits of a hero, God is the only person that can differentiate one from good or bad. God plays a huge role in the Anglo-Saxon community especially when it comes to knowing which individuals are true, good heros from evil villains however the characters action also play a key role as well. Beowulf has also carried the mindset of being fair in any battle he has been in. Beowulf only relies on his God given strength and his war gear that protects him from any weapon his opponent may use. However, even though the only way Grendels mother could be defeated was by a blade in her armory, Beowulf still continued to use his strength to eventually tear off the monsters arm. Grendel, on the other hand, only depends on his weapons when in battle. Even though he is physically stronger than his own mother, his weapons play a key role in the battlefield fighting his opponents. Unlike Beowulf, Grendel is portrayed as a monster who does not respect the people he should protect at all cost. Beowulf selflessly fights to defeat any threats that may step into their circle of security however Grendel is seen as a very strong and powerful man that eats his victims; practically anyone that steps in his path which is very unhero like. As though it may seem as if all the heroes mentioned in the epic are the same due to the individuals having the three basic traits of a hero itself, Beowulf is illuminated in the story in order to learn off of and be a prime example as to what a real hero chosen by God himself looks like and values. Beowulf is a fearless defender of his people whereas Grendel is a perfect combination of both isolation and violence which is a recipe for disaster. By illuminating Beowulf, the reader is able to see the similarities and differences between the different heroes and villains to fully understand what it means to be a true hero to all.

Young Goodman Brown Looses Faith in The Woods Essay

Young Goodman Brown Looses Faith in The Woods In the story Young Goodman Brown, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author introduces evil images to tempt and delude Young Goodman Brown as he made his way through the woods. Goodman Brown, by the end of his journey, understands there is an evil side to human nature and believes that man is doomed by original sin. The main character, Goodman Brown is introduced as a well-mannered man who is happily married to Faith. Initially, the language such as sunset and pink ribbons symbolizes light and a positive environment in Salem Village, where the story takes place. Then, as Goodman Brown journeys through the woods, changes in the environment make him change the way in†¦show more content†¦This change is noticed after the apparition of the old man seated at the foot of an old tree. Apparently, the old man and the main character can have be taken as father and son; but there is something significant about this 50 year old man, his staff: ...which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent (p. 62). The language suggests nothing good can come from a 50 year old man walking alone at night in the woods carrying such a staff. In fact, the old man represents the devil or evil spirit that encourages G oodman Brown, who is already hesitant, to continue his journey through the woods. Let us walk on, nevertheless, reasoning as we go; and if I convince thee not thou shalt turn back (p. 63). As they walked, the old man continues to introduce Goodman Brown to the negative side of the world by showing him that humans can also be evil. I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem; and it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, in King Philips war (p. 63). This suggests that his father and grandfather had an evil side to them, which made him understand that no matter how good a person may be, there is always anShow MoreRelatedThe Dichotomy of Self Reliance and Conformity1169 Words   |  5 Pagesthematic and ambiguous short story, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, as well as Ralph Waldo Emerson’s intriguingly influential and uplifting essay, â€Å"Self-Reliance†. Hawthorne’s writing aspires to implicate theories and themes about the reality of the world we live in and to illustrate our individual limitations through the art of symbolism and irony. Emerson uses a unique approach in his writing, endeavoring to inspire people to appreciate the world they live in, and to have faith and confidence in themselves. Read More Setting and Its Effect on Understanding Young Goodman Brown Essay824 Words   |  4 PagesSetting and its Effect on Understanding Young Goodman Brown nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Every tale ever told shares similar formal elements. All of these formal elements have equally important consequence on a story. The setting of a story has direct correlations to the way that the reader consumes the meaning of the story. The setting in Young Goodman Brown allows its author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, to leave the ending ambiguous, without closure. 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[Fort Worth: Harcourt, 2002] 316) is a short story with strong Puritan influence. Puritanism is a religion demanding strict moral conduct and strong faith. Puritans held that Christians should do only what the Bible commanded. Analyzing â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is dependant upon understandingRead MoreNathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown1063 Words   |  5 Pagesnamed Salem, as young Goodman Brown leaves his wife, Faith, for a duty in the forest. Faith begs her husband to stay with her, but he insists that the journey must be completed that night. In the forest he meets an older man, carried a staff looked like a black serpent. Other inhabitants of the village were in the woods that night. Suddenly Young Goodman Brown hears his wifes voice in the trees so decides to fly through the forest by the old man’s staff. 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This makes â€Å"Greasy Lake† an allegory, because it can be read at a literal level, but interpreted on a second, more meaningful level. The story of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, can be considered an older parallel to â€Å"Greasy Lake.† The main character, an adventurous young man, sets out to do an evil deed and finds himself witnessing something more evil than he can imagine. Both stories tell the reader that when one is looking for trouble, one willRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesof historical veris imilitude – â€Å"the way it was†. Each episode logically and inevitably unfolds from the one that preceded it, thereby generating a momentum that drives the plot forward its appointed resolution. Chronological plot structure can be loose, relaxed and episodic. In Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones and Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, the plots are composed of a series of separate and largely self-contained episodes, resembling so many beads on a string. The unifying element is the protagonist

A Gathering Of Old Men Essay Example For Students

A Gathering Of Old Men Essay Inner and Outer Images in A Gathering of Old MenIn the novel A Gathering of Old Men, Ernest J. Gaines, portrays theNovel through the eyes of individual narrators involved on the events of the day. The novel focuses on a group of cowardly black men who finally stop running and stand up for themselves and years of suffering. There is great difference between the narration of the black and white people. The black men grow through the novel and become individuals and depict their inner pain. The Cajuns do not see nor realize the years of pain and guilt that the black men have carried with them. The story illustrates two worlds, the inner world is the life in Marshall Quarters, the old black men and their family; the outer world being everything outside the Quarters, Fix, the Cajuns, and even the white people. The blacks have an inner family that has experienced similar hardships and treats each other in ways that are considered offensive by those members of the outside world. One of the most prominent examples is his use of the Christian names, given by their ancestors slave owners; and their nicknames. Before each black person narrates they are introduced, Grant Bello aka Cherry (41). Throughout the entire novel all black people have a nickname in which they only allow the inner world to refer to them. When Yank is confessing the crime of killing Beau Griffin begins to take down the name Yank. Y-a-n- and is corrected Sylvester J. Battly . Be sure to spell Sylvester and Battly right, if you can (99). The name he wants printed to the outside world is his real name, not the silly nickname his inner ring of friends refer to him as. These nicknames they find harmless by their peers, are offensive by others. When Charlie comes back, now a man, he wants to have a handle, too-like Mister. Mr. Bi ggs (187). This demonstrates the two distinct worlds of the blacks and whites. The nicknames are offensive if spoken by those outside their world. There are continuous examples through the novel that illustrate the presence and difference in the two worlds. Each of the old men tells a story of pain due to oppression by the white man. These stories automatically separate Mapes, Fix, or even Candy from the world and lives of the men. The common thread that unites these men is their story. Only on this day do they become individuals versus a group, a world with a common thread. They became individuals by telling their story that also depicted the difference in worlds. When Johnny Paul tells his story of the palm-of-Christians he tells Mapes, the outer world, No, Sheriff, you dont see. You do not even know what I dont see (89). The black men have different experiences and histories that separate them from the outside world. This is constant though the stories. To the Cajuns, the graveyard is more land, but to the blacks its their ancestors and identity. Without the graveyard, they will not be remembered. Each of the stories is a di vision between the two worlds. When Charlie returns to his world to confess the he killed Beau, he becomes a man. And says I want the world to know Im a man (187). By admitting his actions and standing up for himself he is proud. Although his action is murder, he still believes the world needs to see him as a man. In the end of the novel Mathu makes the decision to ride with Clatoo and the others that greatly symbolizes the two worlds. The inner world sticks together, especially after they have found their identities. Many of the differences of the two worlds are portrayed by symbols or symbolic statements. Candy refers to the old black men as her people, I will protect my people (19). She is not a part of that inner world, possibly apart of Mathus world, but not the inner world in general. By calling them her people, she claims ownership, which is far in the past. She is white and has not been oppressed by the white men for years.

River Skipper Dear Professor Anderson free essay sample

Little Johnny, with his new toy, the River Skipper boat. According to Lord Greene, Little Johnny likes to play around the center of the Greene Hilly estate, near the South Bridge. He has to release his boat somewhere along the Raging River and Lord Greene wants to suggest that he put it near the South Bridge and then retrieve the boat at the North Bridge. However, Lord Greene is concerned if Little Johnny will reach the North Bridge in time to retrieve the boat from the river. Therefore, we need to find out how fast Little Johnny has to travel to retrieve the boat, whether it be in a straight path through the woods or along the driveway. Also, Lord Greene’s engineers informed us about the velocity setting that is currently being used for the River Skipper, V1 (x) = 1+5 cos2 x2, but they are also considering to use V2 (x) = 5 cos2 x2. We will write a custom essay sample on River Skipper Dear Professor Anderson or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Our primary objective is to find the fastest rate for Little Johnny to travel to the North Bridge and to also find his rate if he were to travel along the driveway. To find his rate, we will use the formula distance = rate x time. However, the difficulty of this problem is finding the time that it takes the River Skipper to get from the South Bridge to the North Bridge with each velocity setting. Finding the time is difficult because the rate of the River Skipper is always changing at each position. To overcome this difficulty, we found the area under the curve of the Raging River and subdivided it into smaller intervals. This overcomes the difficulty because the rate is considered to be fairly constant within each smaller piece of area and results in an approximation of the rate of the River Skipper. First, we used the distance between two points formula (x2-x1)2+(y2-y1)2 to find the distance between the South Bridge and the North Bridge to determine Little Johnny’s straight path. Additionally, we used the arc length formula 1+(f? x)2 to determine the distance along the driveway. Following that, we subdivided the Raging River (y = sinx) into 1000 intervals between the South Bridge (0,0) and the North Bridge (0. 877, 0. 769). The distance of each interval was found by using the distance between two points formula and the right endpoint of each interval was used for the position. The position of each interval was inputted into each of the velocity settings. Then, the distance between two points of each interval was divided by each of the velocity settings using position as a function of x. Using this formula, 1000 intervals were summed together resulting in the time that it took the River Skipper to travel along each interval. Using the calculated time of the River Skipper and the distances of the two different paths, we used r = d/t to find the rate that Little Johnny had to travel. As a result, the distance between the South Bridge and the North Bridge through the woods, in a straight path, is 1. 7 and along the driveway is 1. 22. The total time that it took the River Skipper to travel by using the first velocity setting is 0. 216 and for the second velocity setting is 0. 267. Therefore, using the first velocity setting, Little Johnny would run in a straight path at a rate of 5. 42 and along the driveway, he would run at a rate of 5. 65. Using the second velocity setting, he would run in a straight path at a rate of 4. 39 and along the driveway at a rate of 4. 57. Distance between South Bridge and North Bridge * Straight Path – 1. 17 * Along Driveway – 1. 22 * Total travelling time of River Skipper V1 – 0. 216 * V2 – 0. 267 * Rate of Little Johnny using V1 * Straight Path – 5. 42 * Along Driveway – 5. 65 * Rate of Little Johnny using V2 * Straight Path – 4. 39 * Along Driveway – 4. 57 Overall, we feel that Little Johnny would run faster in a straight path through the woods at a rate of 4. 39 with the River Skipper set at the second velocity setting. In doing so, Little Johnny will be able to reach the North Bridge before his boat arrives. Also, if he were to travel along the driveway, he would have to run faster to retrieve his boat since his rate would be.