The Unusual Protagonist of Grettir's Saga
The decision to make Grettir the protagonist for Grettir's Saga is an interesting if not unusual choice on the part of the author(s). Examination of this atypical choice speaks volumes about the Icelandic society in the 13th century, when it is believed the saga was written down, as well as Icelandic society during the 10th century, when the majority of the action in the saga occurs.
Before we begin an analysis and examination of Grettir, however, it is important to understand what a saga is and the purpose it serves. The author of Grettir's Saga is unknown. In fact, there is actually more than one author. Sagas were not written down until the 13th century at the earliest, yet they cover events that occurred even before the founding of Iceland between 830-950 (Hastrup 150-51). The reason for this discrepancy is that sagas began as oral stories. The sagas were passed down from generation to generation orally until they were written down in the 13th century. This is why there are actually multiple authors to the saga. Each time the saga was told, it was not told exactly the same. As the storytellers changed, so to did some of the events of the saga. While the changes made to the saga by the storytellers were not significant to change it's overall meaning, they do have the ability to enhance certain feats by Grettir, attacking the credibility of the story if dwelled upon. However, while certain events may not be completely true, the message that Grettir portrays and the issues that he represents are true and accurate. It is important to remember that the saga was considered a history, but was not to be used as a primary source for information. It served better when considered a vehicle for transporting traditional wisdom based on historical knowledge (Hastrup 143).
Grettir was an unusual choice as a protagonist because he was an outlaw. He did not possess many heroic qualities and was not the typical protagonist that was liked by many of the characters in the novel or saga. Grettir was actually disliked by many and constantly in trouble with the law. Grettir's exploits were humane at times and bordered on heroic but his misdeeds weighed heavily against him. The author(s) of the saga took a chance by using Grettir as their protagonist.
There are runes and magic in the narratives of the poem Beowulf and The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, an Iceland saga representing 1000 years of oral traditions prior to the 1300’s when it was written.
The role of storytelling is significant since it highlights the personalities and traits specific to important characters. Storytelling can also drive the plot, as seen in Homer’s The Odyssey and Virgil’s The Aeneid. These epics are based on the telling of the protagonist’s journey. However Grendel, written by John Gardner, utilizes storytelling in a different manner. The main character bases his self-understanding off of the storytelling done by the Shaper, a blind bard telling historical tales. The purpose of storytelling in Gardner’s, Homer’s and Virgil’s works is to personify the protagonist in what he does to truly define himself.
What is a Hero? In the Novel Mythology by Edith Hamilton it speaks of many Greek Gods and Goddesses, you get a clear outlook on many of the characters in the novel. Many of these gods fit some criteria on what a hero is. An Epic Hero is a character who is brave and takes risks to accomplish tasks not only for themselves but for the goodness of others. A Hero is someone who doesn't only do things to benefit themselves but benefits the people around them and goes on quests to establish their greatness. Who is also glorified by their community. In the Novel two characters by the name Theseus and Perseus meet many of these characteristics. Perseus is very brave and goes on a quest to capture an item that is very dangerous
Never would I thought that we have a dystopian-like society in our world. Don’t know what a dystopia is? It is a society set in the future, typically portrayed in movies and books in, which everything is unpleasant. The novel Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut is a dystopian story of a fourteen-year-old boy named Harrison who grows up in a society that limits people’s individuality. When he is taken away from his parents, because of his strong idiosyncrasy, his parents do not even recall his presence because of the “mental handicaps” that the government forces onto them. Harrison eventually escapes from his imprisonment and tries to show others that they can get rid of the handicaps and be free. Though the government official, or Handicapper
The Hominidae, or hominids are a group of upright walking primates with relatively large brains. The only existing representative of this family is the Homo sapiens. We can declare that all humans are part of the hominid family, yet not all hominids can be considered humans. However all humans are primates; although humans have developed very distinct traits from its genetically similar primate, the chimpanzees, such as bipedalism, meaning walking on two legs. “Bipedalism seems to be one of the earliest of the major hominine characteristics to have evolved.”(Microsoft Encarta) Bipedalism enabled humans to develop specific physical traits to accommodate their upright posture, such as a specialized pelvis, hip and leg muscles, and an S-shaped vertebral column. These traits, specific to humans, can be detected in fossil records therefore making bipedalism the defining factor in the physica...
In many circles of the world, various groups of people distinguish themselves from one another through religion, language, culture, and sometimes gender. People also develop stereotypes about a particular group of people in order to identify them. However, most of the time, these stereotypes hold true for only some members of a group. Sometimes, these stereotypes are just plain misconceptions that do not even apply to the group it claims to. Stereotypes are placed on people because it is a way to easily identify what type of person or ethnicity an individual is. At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is being perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate. Some hardly even apply to the particular group people it claims to. It is true that how people are perceived has a big impact on how other individuals interact with them; however, people are not perceiving these groups correctly.
Stereotype is a sweeping statement standardized image about a person or group with little or no evidence. The primary purpose is to hurt one’s feelings or to attack one’s character. Have you ever stereotyped someone or felt like you were being stereotyped against? How did being stereotyped affect you, or how did it make you feel once you got to know the person or persons? All kind of people make up our society. Within society, there are a massive amount of groups, most of which have been stereotyped in one way or another. We develop stereotypes when we are reluctant or incapable to obtain all information needed to make fair judgments about people or situations. In the absence of the unknown statistics, stereotyping allow us to “bridge the gaps.” Four of many different groups of people are the prime sources of stereotypes in our society are politicians, tattooed persons, feminists and senior citizens. If the thought of these groups of people mentioned directed some sort of negative icon within you then you are a protagonist of stereotype.
...n” is a great example of an old myth or tale reconstructed and adapted for a modern audience in a new medium. It is a progression on one hand in its use of modern language, setting, and style but it is also the product of the old myths in that it is essentially the same on the thematic level. In addition, the level of self-awareness on the part of the narrator and, by extension, the author marks it out as an illustration of the very notion of evolutionary changes of myths and fairy tales. Adaptation is the solution to the fairy tale, and fairy tales have been endlessly changing themselves throughout history and, by some strange transforming or enchanting power endlessly staying the same.”
Everyone has heard the saying don’t judge a book by a cover. Sadly every minute of the day someone gets judged because of assumptions that are not correct. These assumptions overtime eventually lead to stereotypes. A stereotype is an image or idea of a particular type of person. Stereotyping a person is seen in many differents aspects such as race, groups, beliefs, appearance, etc. An individual may ask why people are stereotyped or stereotype. In reality stereotyping helps people categorize the different type of people. It narrows down the options of who one might want to associate with. Stereotyping can have its negatives, it makes people ignore how others really are. It may lead to a person not wanting to hang out with another person because of the stereotype that persons group has. Everyday the general public use cars for the means of transportation. But what about when people use their car for more than transportation, car enthusiasts often modify their cars to their likings. Enthusiasts often join car clubs to share their common interests with other car enthusiasts. Often the people in car clubs have a stereotype of being juvenile, racing a lot, low-life bums, and ghetto when actually most do not have those characteristics.
During the 19th century, Grimm’s fairytales were strongly disapproved of due to harsh, gruesome details and plots. One American educator from 1885 stated, “The folktales mirror all too loyally the entire medieval worldview and culture with all its stark prejudice, its crudeness and barbarities.” As childre...
The Quality of a child’s education often either limits or opens up a world of opportunities. Those who study the purpose of public education and the way it is distributed throughout society can often identify clear correlations between social class and the type of education a student receives. It is generally known by society that wealthy families obtain the best opportunities money can buy. Education is a tool of intellectual and economical empowerment and since the quality of education is strongly influenced by social class, a smaller portion of the American population obtains the opportunities acquired from a top notch education. Many people believe that educational inequalities are perpetuated from the interests of specific classes, but some researchers like John Gatto believe that there are even stronger social forces in play. In the essay “Against Schools” the author John Gatto presents three arguments: (1) that are educational system is flawed, (2) that the American educational system is purposely designed to create a massive working class that is easy to manipulate, and (3) alternative teaching methods should be applied to teach children to think for themselves. In this essay I will be summarizing and relating each of these arguments to other educational essays. Also, I will be discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument.
The term “stereotype” originally referred to a stamp used in the printing industry to make multiple copies from one single block. The first one to adopt this notion, to describe the way society categorized people, was social psychologist Walter Lippmann in 1922, in his book on media democracy, Public Opinion. He described the term as “the picture (of the world) that a person has in his/her head”. He was convinced that a picture it is definite, and reduces the world to simple characteristics which are represented as permanent by nature (Lippmann, 1997 [1922], p. 233).
You can’t have a good story without a good hero, Fitzgerald did exact opposite of that in “The Great Gatsby”. Oxford dictionary defines hero as “a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities” (Oxford). There are no heroes in “The Great Gatsby”.
In the article “The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher,” written by the teacher John Taylor Gatto, he sarcastically talks about how he secretly teaches his students lessons in life without their knowing. His messages teach important things in life such as patience and organization. Gatto’s lessons like these are important for people to learn in school, but they cannot be taught out of a book or in a lesson. He believes these types of lessons must be taught to children within hidden messages to make it easier to learn. Gatto is speaking the truth when he says that the lesson plans of teachers contain much hidden curriculum. For example, Gatto jokingly says that he teaches confusion as one of these mysterious le...
This article, is arguing about the cultural history on how the poor and the lower class would tell stories. These stories still affect our society today. This article states that fairy tales at first were meant for adults because children could not read. An example is Brothers Grimm, where “Weber argues that fairy tales can tell us a great deal about the real conditions in the world of those who told and those who heard the tales” (344). It also explains how the Grimm’s brother changed society with their stories of cruelty.