Beowulf Essays (917 words) - Literature, Fiction, Beowulf, Film

Beowulf The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf is the most important work of Old English literature, and is well deserved of the distinction. The epic tells the story of a hero, a Scandinavian prince named Beowulf, who rids the Danes of the monster Grendel, a descendent of Cain, and of his exploits fighting Grendel's mother and a Dragon. Throughout the epic, the Anglo-Saxon story teller uses many elements to build a certain depth to the characters. Just a few of the important character elements in Beowulf are Wealth & Honor, Biblical & Paganistic, and Man vs. Wild themes. Many of the characters in Beowulf are, like in most epics, defined by their status. But, in addition to status, the Anglo-Saxon culture also adds an element of honor. To the Anglo-Saxons, a character's importance, as well as their wealth and status, where measured not only in monetary terms, but it was also measured in terms of honor, fame, and accomplishments. Hrothgar, king of the Danes, is one example of the Anglo-Saxon measurement of importance in Beowulf. In Canto 1 the story teller describes his wealth and importance, not as mounds of gold or jewels, but instead as his ability to "[lead] the Danes to such glory." and as his tendency to "In battle, [leave] the common pasture untouched, and taking no lives." Through this display of compassion for the commoner who doesn't fight in battles, Hrothgar proves the full extent of his honor and therefore the extent of his wealth and status. Beowulf, the hero-prince, also proves his true wealth and status through his deeds as defender of the Danes. As he fights and defeats Grendel, Beowulf Earns Fame and wealth from his companions, and from the Danes, but more importantly, he earns honor raising him to the level of an archetypal hero. Grendel, on the other hand, is the total opposite of Beowulf. He has no wealth, no honor, and he in infamous as an evil killer. This lack of wealth and honor defines Grendel as a symbol of evil and corruption. In addition to using Honor and wealth to define a character's character, the story-teller(s) have incorporated alternating Biblical and Paganistic motifs in the epic-poem. The original Epic was obviously Paganistic due to the time period of it's creation. But, as time wore on, the rewriting and touching up of the manuscripts by various sources including religious monks, caused the characters to have slight Christian characteristics. These Christian themes have become very important to the epic to add am element of depth that wouldn't be possible in modern times due to the lost of the Anglo-Saxon culture and beliefs. An example of the Biblical motif in Beowulf is Grendel. Grendel it biblically described as evil in this excerpt: [ Grendel] was spawned in that slime, Conceived by a pair of those monsters born Of Cain, murderous creatures banished By God, punished forever for the crime Of Abel's death. The Almighty drove Those demons out, and their exile was bitter, Shut away from men; they split Into a thousand forms of evil-spirits And feinds, goblins, monsters, giants, A brood forever opposing the Lord's Will, and again and again defeated. The Biblical reference in the epic has become a modern day archetypal motif, and serves to give the listener an idea of the extent of Grendel's pure evil and gives a logical explanation for Grendel's murderous behavior. This example, not only shows the evil in Grendel's nature, but also the torture in his heart caused by his Banishment from God. It serves to give the reader an idea of why Grendel would kill the Danes for no reason other than their happiness. Beowulf also has a religious motif to his character. One example of this is in Canto 6 line 381 in which Hrothgar states, "Our Holy Father had sent [Beowulf] as a sign of His grace, a mark of His favor, to help us defeat Grendel and end that terror." This religious description shows Beowulf as a sort of messiah sent by god to save man from evil. But, more than that, since Beowulf is in fact not a messiah, this description shows the good in Beowulf's heart and the purpose of his mission. Another Biblical reference in Beowulf is shown in the tower of Herot which is very similar to the tower of Babel in the fact that it's built as a sign of superiority and accomplishment. Like Babel, though, Herot only serves as a symbol of downfall more than one of glory because it causes many deaths and

Piaget essays

Piaget essays Cognitive abilities to retrieve immediate knowledge and experience of the pre -operational child (age 2 - 6) The project is based on Piagets stage theory of cognitive development Based on Piagets theory, children during the pre - operational stage have acquired the ability to stand apart and view themselves from another persons perspective. They are able to describe themselves as different from other children by listing their unique characteristics, especially the fact that their names are different. They develop a more complex understanding of themselves, such as age, name, family etc.. During the same stage children become aware of and use gender as a dimension by which to classify people. Once children become aware of their own sex, they learn to label themselves as boy or girl. Early childhood is the time when children start to learn family values, and become a cooperative part of the family with their own responsibilities. They spend countless hours of play and other activities with their siblings. Although young children may use words reflecting an understanding of time, such as minute, hour, day, or week, they still confuse the concept of time and space. Based on Piagets theory, I believe that the interviewed children will know their age, name, gender, and their siblings. I do not expect to know their exact birthday and address because it is still too abstract for them. Furthermore, I do not expect that the background/culture is influencing the childrens answers to my questions. I believe that all four tested children do understand and are able to answer my questions. Interviewing four children from different backgrounds was the method use to assess the childrens cognitive development. The four-year-old identical twin girls were interviewed in the living room of their parents house. Each girl was interviewed separately. The five-year-old German boy was...

Operation Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Operation Paper - Essay Example The business operations need to be overseen by the leaders of a particular organization which ensures that the set targets are achieved and even surpassed. The operations of the businesses undertaken by the organization need to be well organized as well. Organizations of all forms have a group of leaders who oversee the running of its daily business. The codes of conduct followed by the leaders of the organization are stipulated in the constitution of the memorandum of understanding of a particular organization. The leadership of the organization has to have leaders who are well versed with the operations of the business (Ryans, More, Deutscher 49). If the organization is a form of innovation, its operations have to be run by an entrepreneur who came up with a business idea being implemented in a particular organization. Alternatively, if the entrepreneur or the owner of the business is just an initiator of the idea, entrepreneurs can come up with newer innovations to improve the entrepreneurs’ ideas. For an organization to reach its profit targets, it should treat all its stakeholders well. This is because, the stakeholders, most especially the consumers, creditors and employees play a key role in production and supply. If an employee, creditor and consumer are satisfied, profitability will be achieved. The leaders selected to manage the operations of the organization must possess the qualities of good leaders. Organizational leadership is the key to a successful organization since it is a major ingredient to quality output (Ryans, More, Deutscher 70). A business being an organization whose main objective is generating profits needs to be marketed. Business marketing is the act of marketing an organization’s products to another business that further sells it to the consumers. This activity of business marketing is mostly delegated to the marketing department, which is given the role of