Beowulf: a Heroic-Elegiac Poem

Beowulf: A Heroic Elegiac Poem Beowulf is definitely a heroic-elegiac poem. Beowulf was a hero to many. He exhibited, the traits of a â€Å"good king†. He was a warrior with extraordinary abilities which made him seem superhuman. He was selfless choosing to protect the masses rather than himself. This was an act of generosity, as well as, great loyalty. There are many references in the poem to the ancestors of both Beowulf and Hrothgar. They are referred to with reverence regardless to whether they were good or bad. The references are made as lessons to the present and future kings and queens.As a heroic-elegiac poem, Beowulf begins with an example of a bad king to contrast him with a good king. Shield Sheafson who was not a good king because he demanded that clans far and wide pay homage to him. He destroyed mead halls and rampaged through the countryside. He was selfish and cruel. His heir, Beow, would be the antithesis of his father. He would be a blessing to the Danes. Beo w would be known for his generosity which garnered him loyal followers. Beow was the grandfather of Hrothgar. Hrothgar was loyal, courageous, generous and protective of his kingdom.Hrothgar was a good king like his father and grandfather before him. He would decide to build a mead hall where he could share his treasures and good fortune with his people, a place where they could feast and rejoice. These events described here prove that, in fact, Beowulf is a heroic poem. The mead hall, Heorot, would only be a safe haven for a short while. The hall would come under attack. Grendel, a monster, would be annoyed by the sounds of gaiety day in and day out. Grendel would begin to terrorize the hall murdering many before the would be abandoned due to fear. Hrothgar kingdom was gripped in terror.Beowulf heard of Hrothgar’s plight and decided he needed his help. Beowulf was known to have the strength of thirty men in each arm. He would travel to Hrothgar’s kingdom to volunteer t o be their defender against Grendel. He demonstrated selflessness, courage and generosity for the people of another land. All these are attributes of a good king and hero as shown in the poem. The transitory state of human relationships is shown in the repeated conquests of Beowulf. Beowulf killed Grendel and then he would have to kill Grendel’s mother who was seeking revenge for her child’s death.He was rewarded many times over by Hrothgar and he shared his good fortune with his men. Hrothgar offered him the throne. Beowulf declined in deference to the rightful heirs. Beowulf, eventually, becomes the king of the Geats. â€Å"He ruled (it) well for fifty winters, grew old and wise as warden of the land. † He is tested for a final time. His kingdom is threatened by a dragon. Beowulf challenges the dragon alone and he is mortally wounded. Wiglaf was the only warrior to remain by his side. Wiglaf stated, â€Å"Anyone ready to admit the truth will surely realize th at the lord of men who showered you with gifts and gave you he armor you are standing in—when he would distribute helmets and mail-shirts to men on the mead-benches, a prince treating his thanes in the hall to the best he could find, far or near—was throwing weapons uselessly away. It would be a sad waste when the war broke out. Beowulf had little cause to brag about his armed guard; yet God who ordains who wins or loses allowed him to strike with his own blade when bravery was needed. There was little I could do to protect his life in the heat of the fray, but I found new strength welling up when I went to help him.Then my sword connected and the deadly assaults of our foe grew weaker, the fire coursed less strongly from his head. But when the worst happened too few rallied around the prince. So it is good-bye now to all you know and love on your home ground, the open-handedness, the giving of war- swords. Every one of you with freehold of land, our whole nation, will be dispossessed, once princes from beyond get tidings of how you turned and fled and disgraced yourselves. A warrior will sooner die than live a life of shame. † This excerpt from the poem shows the transitory state of human relationships proving Beowulf is an elegiac poem.

Explain two psychological theories of individual development and Essay

Explain two psychological theories of individual development and discuss how these can be used to understand the health of an individual today - Essay Example â€Å"He tried to trace current behavior to early childhood experiences including children’s sexual fantasies† (Kalat, 2008, p.24). Erik Erikson’s greatest contribution to Psychology is evidently his take on the stages of Human Development. Divided into eight stages, he argues that for every stage man has definite goals and desires to master to be able to overcome various personal conflicts. The inability to conquer these could lead to arduous consequences in the long run. His theory offers a more practical approach to dealing with psychological troubles. They are specifically founded on stimuli response from the subject. The congruence of stimuli and behavior becomes an apparent main topic for Erikson as a psychologist. Perhaps his dissimilarity lies in the perspective of change attributable to a person that he suggests. The stages, to Erikson, have particular social and emotional conflicts that lead to the paced development of the individual. The person’s inherent analysis of his life, this becomes the main focus of humanistic psychology. The newborn stage, as he suggests, is delineated to trust vs. mistrust between the infant and his parents or caretakers. This where this issue is introduced trust is established. Infancy require parental affection and constant nurturing to provide a positive grounds for human relations. The absence of these factors could lead to a future that may be ridden with the child’s inability to form bonded relationships. The main issue in adolescence is identity. This is particularly so in Western societies where this stage is vital in the formation of a person that could lead to his character throughout his life. This choice is separated between intimacy and isolation. The person may choose to be with others and commit to sharing himself or he may opt to shut out others from his life. A full lifespan gives rise to

The Portrayal of Asian Males in D. W. Griffiths Broken Blossoms Movie Review

The Portrayal of Asian Males in D. W. Griffiths Broken Blossoms - Movie Review Example The film Broken Blossoms perpetuates this stereotype by portraying the Asian male as submissive and weak. Broken Blossoms was released in 1919, during the growth of the yellow peril, a social perspective that rose from the influx of Asian immigration into the United States and some European countries. In America, the yellow peril originated during the late 19th century as Asian laborers immigrated in record numbers to San Francisco to work for the railroads and culminated in Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor which forced America to get involved with World War II. Marchetti writes, Within the context of America's consistently ambivalent attitudes to Native Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans, and other peoples of color, the yellow peril has contributed to the notion that all nonwhite people are by nature physically and mentally inferior, morally suspect, heathen, licentious, disease-ridden, feral, violent, uncivilized, infantile, and in need of guidance of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. (2-3) America used the stereotype of the yellow peril to at firs... In Broken Blossoms, the Asian male is not only portrayed as being weaker then the Anglo Saxon male, he also must be punished for transgressing cultural boundaries by falling in love with a white woman. In the beginning of the film, the Yellow Man is seen sitting against a wall, depressed, and hugging himself. Already, the film is portraying him as mentally inferior to the white man by having him in a feminized position, since it is culturally understood that the woman becomes sad and depressed, not the male. The Yellow Man is also shown to be an opium smoking drug addicted gambler, again feeding into the Anglo Saxon stereotype of the Asian male as depraved and morally suspect. Then we meet the white male, Battling Burrow, who is a literal symbol of the raw strength of the Anglo Saxon male. The contrast between the two males is startling; the Asian male is morally corrupt and feminized while the Anglo Saxon male is a physical powerhouse of raw brute strength. When the white female, Lucy, goes shopping and stops before the Yellow Man's store, he becomes infatuated with her and begins to follow her around town. This is biggest threat to the white patriarchal society; having an inferior male mating with a white woman. When Lucy comes home, she is beaten by her father for serving his tea late, but the symbolic message is that she must be punished for attracting the attentions of the Yellow Man. The Yellow Man takes Lucy into his apartment to nurse her after her beating. The Yellow Man is further feminized in the eyes of the audience by participating in the female practice of nursing and by showering Lucy with flowers and silk. That he owns such things as silk fabric shows again how the Asian male is not

Environmental Legislation of the European Union Essay

Environmental Legislation of the European Union - Essay Example The essay "Environmental Legislation of the European Union" talks about the EU Environmental legislation which addresses issues like water and wastes pollution, noise pollution, air quality, thinning of the ozone layer and acid rain. The institution for European Environmental Policy approximates the body of EU environmental legislation totals to over 500 Decisions, Regulations, and Directives. According to the Commission and Document, environmental legislation comes into power as soon as it is printed in the approved Journal of the European Union. The main aim of this legislation is that it will set out the environmental policies or goals that are needed to be attained by the member states. Major areas of this environmental policy include the Water Framework Directive is a type of a water policy, aiming for coastal and ground waters, lakes, and rivers to be of good quality, the Habitat Directive entails the protection of natural habitats and biodiversity, and lastly the Birds Directi ve. The environmental legislation of the European Union should be centered on a particular agreement article or articles which are placed in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) or the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) that is denoted as its legitimate base. The legitimate or legal base recommends the legislative process and the type of directive that can be implemented. The main purpose of the environmental policy of the European Union is to make sure that the environment is taken care of efficiently.

APP5HintonN Epi2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

APP5HintonN Epi2 - Essay Example If the margin of error, for instance, is pegged at minus five in the high exposure areas, that will be twenty one units less five units. The result will be a low exposure at sixteen units. Upon the other hand, if the margin of error is assumed at plus five units in the areas with low exposure to pesticide, the result will be a classification of high exposure at twenty four or nineteen plus five. It will therefore be a case of a high becoming a low and a low becoming a high. The allowance for error given here cannot render validity to the result of the sampling. Margins of error can affect the validity of statistical researches. In the afore-stated situation, the given margin of error seems to be high at plus or minus twelve. Bigger margins such as this one here will more likely be unreliable. (Fontaine, Beth. How to Calculate Margin of Error. eHow. [internet]) The error though will not change the measure of association because the margin is either a plus or a minus. In the study of association between patients diagnosed for HIV and the number of their lifetime sexual partners, a confounding factor can result into an error.

HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

HR - Essay Example As they see perceive via the general operating conditions of the TWTC, some managers confessed that their company occurs to have no clear career â€Å"road map† and this is not suitable especially for starting workers who aspire to yield growth and promotion at a time in the future. With less opportunities toward professional advancement and incomes that barely hit the average, it is plain to imagine how easily TWTC could lose employees by mass resignation if only there exist several other alternatives in which to spot greener pastures for employment and internship alike. Despite the negative observations the managing staff, however, expressed hopes about the impacting contributions of the Human Resources stating â€Å"HR is part of all process developments and is not merely supportive of the processes.† By exploring analysis of this area, the company is able to convey how people are greatly valued in terms of healthy working relations and quality training. Besides recruitment and staffing, the HR is said to demonstrate expert potential in evaluating employees and thereby determining the benefit packages that grant employees the satisfying monetary worth for the equivalent skills and efforts shown. Majority had agreed with the way HR is claimed to exhibit a character of readiness and availability in supporting most aspects of operations as well as responding to requests in a timely manner. A manager admitted that, being an asset to the company in different ways, TWTC HR receives good compensation in exchange of excelling in the field where personnel go beyond their fundamental duties, keeping a balanced aid between the employer advocate or executives and the workforce. Moreover, the interviewees further stressed that â€Å"HR is engaged in every part of the firm’s structure† and on this ground, the processes and

European Colonists and Their Viciousness Essay Example for Free

European Colonists and Their Viciousness Essay William Penn was one example of a leading colonist that maintained good relations with the Native Americans. There were other leaders that did likewise. However, most of the European colonists didn’t follow this pattern as John Winthrop or Hernando Cortez. These leaders mistreated the Native Americans and used them like objects. One of the reasons that made some Europeans abuse of the Native Americans was that they didn’t think of the Native Americans as humans but more as animals or savages. Therefore, they thought they could do anything of them and even kill them if they needed to. That was true for the English colonists who saw the Native Americans the same way they saw the Irish. For this reason, they would exploit them and use them as slaves. They even destroyed their villages and kidnapped their children for vengeance. One thing that the English colonists didn’t do that differentiated them from the Spaniards was that they didn’t reproduce with the Native Americans because they saw it as reproducing with an animal. Yet, this wasn’t the only reason of this behavior among the Native Americans. Another reason for which the colonists took advantage of the Native Americans was power. At this time, power was very important for everybody. The amount of power you had leaded your life. Of course, when someone had power, he always wanted more and that was so for the kings and queens. When Christopher Columbus told Queen Isabella that the Tainos were weak, innocent and that it would be easy to control them, the queen saw a good opportunity of expanding her power in America and improving her wealth. She decided that she would make slaves out of the Native Americans and that she would impose them her religion. Of course anyone who would resist would be killed. This is how slavery started in America. Another cause of this behavior was gold. Multiple trips to America had for goal to find gold. The European colonists thought that, now that they found this new land, they would be able to reap the benefits of the gold resting on it. However, when the colonists arrived, the Native Americans were already there with the gold. But the colonists had evil interests; once they saw gold, they would be able to do anything to get it. That is what happened with the â€Å"conquistador† Hernando Cortez and his army when they arrived to Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs’ capital. When they saw this city, they got bewitched by the gold used to build it. This obsession led to the revolution of the Aztecs against the â€Å"conquistadores†. The battle ended with most of the Aztecs killed including their chief. The last source of the colonists’ viciousness was their territories. When America was first discovered by Christopher Columbus, all the European countries fought to extend their lands. However, the Native Americans were an obstacle for the expansion of their colonization. The countries thought that the lands belonged to all different tribes of Native Americans. Therefore, the only way to get the lands was to take over the Native Americans and take possessions of their lands. This is again an example of Hernando Cortez’s conquest of America for Spain. When he arrived in America, Hernando killed every Native American tribe he found on his way to then claim their lands to Spain. The only reason he didn’t kill some of them was to have better chances to defeat the Aztecs. But Cortez wasn’t the only colonist to do this to Native Americans and some might have been even crueler than he had. In conclusion, the Europeans didn’t follow the pattern of good relations with Native Americans as William Penn and other European leaders because of dehumanization, power, gold and land. These are the four facts that most of the European colonists thought were worth killing a very important amount of innocent people and that caused them to offer viciousness instead of kindness to the Native Americans who hadn’t done anything wrong to them.