The Unity of the Unknown and the Eternal Security: The Anglo-Saxon Belief
in Christianity and Fate Imagine a life in which one is simply a pawn at the
hands of a mysterious higher force stumbling and meandering through life's
tribulations. Until Pope Gregory the Great was sent to spread Christianity
throughout England, the Anglo- Saxons believed solely in this passive,
victimizing philosophy. These pagans still clung to much of their heathen
culture after the wave of Christianity swept through England leaving no one
behind. Literature derived from this period (including Beowulf, "The Seafarer,"
and "The Wanderer") directly reflects the maintaining of Christian ideals, as
well as the belief in fate's unknown and often grim path. For example, the epic
poem, Beowulf , declares, "...Fate will unwind as it must!" (line 284).
Meanwhile, the same work implies God has the authority in this great world
by stating, "And all his glorious band of Geats/Thanked God their leader had
come back unharmed," (598-599) as if God was the deciding factor in the
great protector's health. The joining convincedness in God and fate influences
the culture, outlook on life, and the various independent life paths of Anglo-
Saxons. These early Germanic people believe "fate"- an anonymous power -
controls the present, future and past; yet, they also believe the power of God
is a resolute supremecy not to be denounced. Our earliest warriors put aside
their heroic independence and let wyrd's foreign agency control their views
and their lives' paths time and time again. These pagans even allow destiny to
influence their view of life which was fatalistic and desolate. "The Wanderer"
proves the Anglo-Saxons had little to live for and much to fear as it tells the
tale of an anonymous man stripped from his gold-lord. This literary work
illustrates stoic solitude and grim hopelessness by using phrases like, "...what a
bitter companion/Shoulder to shoulder sorrow can be,"(lines 26-27) and
"Wretchedness fills the realm of earth," (98). Along with their outlook on life
as a whole, fate controls the pagans decisions and lack there of. "The
Seafarer" shows an example of the Anglo-Saxons submissive role by voicing
the story of a sailor suffering through hardships because he was meant to be a
sailor and is drawn to the familiar sea. The sailor explains his painful lifestyle
by stating, "...my soul/Called me eagerly out..." (lines 36-37) implying this
harrowing lifestlye is not a conscious choice, but more of an obligation to
something other than his mind and heart. Even the bravest warrior fell victim to
this unsafe and unpredictable fortress. Beowulf, who is "...-greater/And
stronger than anyone anywhere in this world, " (110-111), explained on his
The choices people make lead them to where they end up, which may be interpreted as the opposite of fate. However, when some people believe something is meant to be, they are determined not to stray from where they think they should end up, even if it means throwing away their principles and values in the process. Through Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth’s original character and values are destroyed because of the influence from the witches' prophecies, Lady Macbeth's greed, and his own hidden ambition.
In Dante’s Inferno hell is divided into nine “circles” of hell; the higher the number correlates to the grimmer the sin and the pain you will endure. However, I do not completely agree with Dante’s version of hell, perhaps due to the difference in time periods. In this essay I will be pointing out my concerns with Dante’s description of hell and how I would recreate hell if I were Dante.
The Great Depression was one of the most important historical events that has happened within the last century that impacted every Americans life one way or another. There were many factors that could be an explanation of why The Great Depression happened, but there is no one definitive list of the reasons of what caused The Great Depression. It was a mixture of events in the United States and outside of it that probably led to this period of time to happen. The main reason that everyone could agree on was the event of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Because of The Crash, it made people go on a bank run which made thousands of banks to close because they simply did not have all the money for all the people wanting to withdraw their savings. Because everyone was trying to take their savings out, most people were turned down by the bank and essentially lost of their savings in the bank. The banks were failing and because they had no more money left, this stopped the banks from having available credit for people to use which made matters even worse for the people. This leads people to poverty and were left with nothing. Because people were poor and were scared of spending their money now, it made people stop buying extra things that weren't essential to live. This was the cause of the unemployment rates during this time period because if no one was buying anything, then there was no reason to keep extra workers for things people are not buying.
“The Boat”, narrated by a Mid-western university professor, Alistar MacLeod, is a short story concerning a family and their different perspectives on freedom vs. tradition. The mother pushes the son to embrace more of a traditional lifestyle by taking over the fathers fishing business, while on the other hand the father pushes the son to live more autonomously in an unconstrained manner. “The Boat” focuses on the father and how his personality influences the son’s choice on how to live and how to make decisions that will ultimately affect his life. In Alistair MacLeod’s, “The Boat”, MacLeod suggest that although dreams and desires give people purpose, the nobility of accepting a life of discontentment out weighs the selfishness of following ones own true desires. In the story, the father is obligated to provide for his family as well as to continue the fishing tradition that was inherited from his own father. The mother emphasizes the boat and it’s significance when she consistently asked the father “ How did things go in the boat today” since tradition was paramount to the mother. H...
that the tragedy was not the fault of any one individual - it was fate
The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world. The depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade. Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's, and the extensive stock
The Great Depression was a period from October 29, 1929 to around 1940, close to when the U.S. entered World War II. This period was an economic depression that was started by the Stock Market crash. Such a catastrophic time span has many different causes that can all relate and combine. The Great Depression had many underlying causes that started originated after World War I. A series of events, including the economic boom of the 1920’s were contributors to the Great Depression.
The Great Depression began in October 1929, when the stock market in the United States dropped rapidly. Thousands of investors lost all of their of money and were forced to live on the streets often going without food. This crash led into the Great Depression. The ensuing period of 10 years ranked as the worst period of high unemployment and low business activity in modern times. Banks, stores, and factories were closed and left millions of Americans jobless, homeless, and without food. Many people came to depend on the government or charity to provide them with food. The Depression became a worldwide business slump of the 1930's that affected almost all nations. It led to a sharp decline in world trade as each country tried to protect their own industries. The Depression led to political turmoil in many countries such as Germany where poor economic conditions helped lead to the rise of Hitler. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President in 1932 and his 'new deal' reforms gave the government more power and helped slow the depression. The Great Depression ended as nations increased their production of war materials at the start of World War II. This increased production provided jobs and put large amounts of money back into circulation. Several factors led to the great depression. One being the lack of diversification in the American economy. The prosperity of America had been basically dependent on a few industries like construction and the automobile and in the late 20's these industr...
The 1930s brought the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn of the Western industrial world (http://www.history.com). This economic downturn was known as ‘The Great Depression’ (http://www.history.com). The Great Depression in the United States soon began after the stock market crash of October 1929 (http://www.history.com). Consumer spending and investment dropped which caused a decline in industrial output and led to rising levels of unemployment (http://www.history.com). During this time period money was scarce. People did what they had to do in order to make their lives happy (http://wwwappskc.lonestar.edu). The Great Depression was hard on the economy which in turn affected how people lived their lives and spent their money.
...that fate. Events that lead to other events will eventually lead one to their fate. “Oedipus the King” is a great play that sets an example of what fate is. Oedipus chooses to flee from home, in attempt to avoid the god’s statement of his fate from coming true. However, Oedipus’s decision for fleeing is what was necessary to make his fate come true. Undoubtedly, this is what was meant to happen because Oedipus allowed it to. Perhaps if Oedipus ignored the god and never did a thing then perhaps the outcome could have been different for Oedipus. However it did not turn out that way and the choices that Oedipus made is what led him to his doom.
In conclusion, we can see that Dante presents the reader with a potentially life-altering chance to participate in his journey through Hell. Not only are we allowed to follow Dante's own soul-searching journey, we ourselves are pressed to examine the state of our own souls in relation to the souls in Inferno. It is not just a story to entertain us; it is a display of human decision and the perpetual impact of those decisions.
As their journeys progress, each man is forced to overcome certain obstacles and hardships. At the end
Fate is non-existent as one's future is based upon their own personal decisions. It is believing
...s to avoid fate, a chain of unexpected unfortunate events are unleashed and a divine master plan is fulfilled. Man must simply act according to his own convictions concerning the matter and hope that if Fate is indeed existent, there might be an even balance between her and the freedom of choice.
The Mariner began to see his own sinfulness and change his ways. As the Wedding-Guest listened to the story of the Mariner, the Mariner told him of...