BEOWULF AS A CHRIST-LIKE FIGURE The epic poem, Beowulf, recounts the tale of a man named Beowulf who sacrifices his own safety to save the Danes from two evil dragons. Then, years later, Beowulf risks his life yet again to save his own people from a dragon. Throughout the story, Beowulf is presented as a Christ-like figure. This is manifested in the events that take place, the way that Beowulf speaks about himself, and the way the people treat him. The first way Beowulf's likeness to Christ is revealed, is through the events that take place. After Beowulf tells Hrothgar that he will fight Grendel, there is a celebration. During the celebration, Welthow, the queen "raised a flowing cup" (615) and poured "a portion from the jeweled cup/ For each" (621-622). When she got to Beowulf, she "thanked God for answering her prayers" (625). This event is strikingly similar to the Last Supper when Jesus passed around a cup of wine and gave thanks to God. Then, the crucifixion is portrayed when Beowulf fights Grendel's mother. During the stuggle, other monsters come to watch and beat at "His mail shirt, stabbing with tusks and teeth/ As they followed along" (1510-1511). Similarly, when Jesus was crucified, crowds drew near laughing at him, hurling insults, and spitting on him. Finally, Beowulf is said to have "Gone to a glorious death" (3037) and his soul "Left his flesh, flew to glory" (2820). This is similar to the resurrection of Jesus. All of these events clearly parallel the events of Jesus' day. What Beowulf says also shows his similarity to Christ. Beowulf says "I already knew that all/ My purpose was this: to win the good will/ Of your people" (633-635). Jesus also knew that it was his mission to come down to earth to save his people from their sins. Later, Beowulf says: . . . No one else could do What I mean to, here, no man but me Could hope to defeat this monster. No one Could try . . . (2532-2535) Likewise, Jesus was the only man who could do his job. Thus, no man could defeat evil without the help of God. Many of Beowulf's statements are true to what Jesus said and felt. One other way Beowulf is linked to Christ is through the way the people act towards him and speak of him.
Beowulf's character is very much similar to that of Jesus' in many ways. To the Danes he is recognized as a saviour, releasing them from the bonds of fear and death that Grendel had placed on Hrothgar's people. Friederich Klaeber writes that the poet raised Beowulf, "To the rank of a singularly spotless hero, a defending, protecting, redeeming being, a truly ideal character. In fact we need not hesitate to recognize features of the Christian Saviour in the destroyer of hellish fiends, the warrior brave and gentle, blameless in thought and deed, the king that dies for his people." (Klaeber 11). The battle with Grendel is a direct conflict between the powers of good and evil. Grendel is perceived as nothing short of an incarnation of the Christian devil. Many of his characteristics resemble those of Satan; he belongs to the lineage of Cain, the first murderer, and his home stirs up visions of hell (Norton 45-48). The dragon also resembles that of Satan. Lusting over gold and riches, the dragon protects his hoard with fire and fear. In Revelation 12:9, Satan is revealed as "the great dragon...the serpent of old". In the events including the battle with the dragon, one might notice a striking similarity with that of Jesus' experience in the garden of Gethsemane (Mathew 26:36-56). It is here that Jesus ventured with His 11 disciples (minus Judas) and was willingly seized to be later crucified and killed. The disciples had done nothing to help Him while Jesus accepted His own death for the benefit of His people. Beowulf, escorted by eleven lords also confronts his own death while his men abandon him in fear. It is only one, Wiglaf, who chooses to stand bravely beside his liege-lord in battle (Norton 60-62). In likeness, Peter follows Jesus and His captors from a distance to see the outcome of the trial. In contrast, Peter denies Jesus in fear rather than help Him (Mathew 26:58-75). The Christian elements in the poem are almost clearly without question so deeply ingrained within the poem that one cannot explain it away as mere coincidence.
The theology which appears in the Christian allusions in Beowulf is very vague and indefinete: there is no mention of Christ, the saints, miracles, Mary His Mother, specific doctrines of the church, martyrs of the church, the New Tes...
The southern economy was largely dependent on slaves, who worked on the numerous plantations of the South. Moreover, the main purpose of slavery in the South was for the cultivation of these cotton plantations. (Doc 4) For this reason, southerners believed
At the early stages of slavery, both the south and the north embraced slavery but differences in resource endowments, needs and interests lead to varying view of slavery. The north developed a modern money economy that required little inputs from slaves thus the economic importance of slavery diminished. Eventually, slavery was abolished. On the other hand, the southern states were reaping huge returns from agriculture (a labor intensive industry) therefore slavery was critical to the economic well-being. Slavery was only outlawed in the southern states after the civil war after the confederates (southern states), who wanted to secede from the federal republic, were defeated by the union (north states).
The Eddie Eagle GunSafe program was created in 1988 and has reached more than 26 million children in all of the fifty states. The program was created by clinical psychologists, reading specialists, teachers, curriculum specialists, urban housing safety officials, and law enforcement personnel. This program is mostly for kids in kindergarten to 3rd grade. The mascot eagle helps keep their attention and gives them something to remember the information with. The program can also be taught by any one so it could be taught by the same teacher as other subjects. What the program tells the kids to do is to stop, don’t touch, leave the area, and tell and adult (Eddie Eagle GunSafe). The program does not teach how to handle a gun and should only be taught to younger children. There are other programs that do teach gun safety t...
In the USA, more than 135,000 guns are brought to school by pupils, some children as young as nine years old. But this is not a good idea because some children use it seriously and just shoot their friends because they are annoyed at them.
An epic is a long narrative poem on a serious subject. It usually is about
In Beowulf, the protagonist Beowulf is shown as a hero with extrodinary strength. This is not what makes him a hero. By definition, a hero is a man of exceptional quality. However this term does not do Beowulf justice. His self-imposed purpose in life is to help others, and eventually sacrifices his own life in doing so. Beowulf’s battle with the dragon serves as a critique of the notion that Beowulf is a hero. The Dragon section displays many of Beowulf’s heoric characteristics. Beowulf establishes himself as a hero by fighting the dragon, exemplifing strength and courage when fighting the dragon, and sacrificing himself so that others can live.
The poem Beowulf is a renowned story that displays many different surroundings and religious beliefs. Some may believe the story of Beowulf portrays pagan beliefs or customs and others believe that the poem is more in agreement with Christian ethnicity. The author of Beowulf uses both Christian and pagan elements in the poem to define the heroic warrior, Beowulf, and the evil dragons. After reading Beowulf the author clearly shows how Beowulf is a man who is filled with Christian customs and is willing to die and defend the world against evil using the help of God.
School shootings have altered American history greatly over the past two decades. From 1997 to 2007, there have been more than 40 school shootings, resulting in over 70 deaths and many more injuries. School shoot-outs have been increasing in number dramatically in the past 20 years. There are no boundaries as to how old the child would be, or how many people they may kill or injure. At Mount Morris Township, Michigan, on February 29th, 2000, there was a 6 year old boy who shot and killed another 6 year old girl at the Buell Elementary School with a .32 caliber pistol. And although many shootings have occurred at High Schools or Middle Schools, having more guns on those campuses would not be a good environment for children to grow up in. However, on a college campus, the pupils attending are not children anymore; the age range is from 17 to mid 20’s. Therefore they understand the consequences associated to the use of weapons and have gained more maturity. In April 16th, 2007, at Blacksburg, Virginia, there was a shooting rampage enacted by Sung-Hui Cho (23 years, from Centreville, VA) who fired over 170 rounds, killing 32 victims, before taking his own life at the Virginia Tech campus. Colleges and Universities would be a much safer place, for student and teacher, if guns were permitted on campus for self-defense purposes.
The development of slavery in the Americas began as early as 1500, after the arrival of the Spanish, and first centered around the Caribbean. However, a lucrative triangle trading system between England, Africa and North America greatly increased the slave trade during the 1600’s (Foner, 38). At the time, slavery was driven by market forces, and largely defined by geographical necessity. Landowners had large plantations, located in areas with small populations and did not have access to the cheap labor necessary to cultivate lucrative crops like tobacco and sugar. They needed slaves to economically survive and prosper. Later, in the American colonies of the south, the entire economic and social structure
“Although the perpetrators of the school shootings at Littleton and other campuses have been surrounded by dangerous influences, such as television and the Internet, to which they do not know how to respond, they are responsible for their own behavior. The way to improve society is to improve individuals. Society, in particular parents, must take steps to ensure that children know the difference between right and wrong” (The Absence of Public Morality Causes School Shootings). While knowing the majority of shooters are strongly influenced by their surroundings, parents should be wise as to monitor what their children read, watch and view on the internet. The ability and ease to access a firearm should be sustained as well. Although guns will not directly harm anyone, if the weapon falls into the hands of an adolescent – whom has never handled a gun before – a very serious problem may arise. Parents need to learn to respect the age and development of their child and peach about gun safety, what is right and what is wrong, should their child start showing interest in
Slavery in the eighteenth century grew due to increased labor force that was needed in the plantations with increased knowledge of farming and industrialization in the plantations. After the colonization of North America by the Europeans, large tracts of land were available for farming and plantations. A number of white plantation owners brought in slaves to work since they were cheaper to use in providing labor. As a result, other plantations owners saw the advantage of using slaves as laborers (Litwack, 2009). A large number of slaves brought into America were Africans captured and transported to slave owners who submitted them to hard labor in the plantations. With no or small amount used as expenditure ad salaries, most plantations farmers opted to use slaves to provide them with labor. These slaves were made to work in the tobacco, rice and indigo plantations with harsh living conditions since they were either immigrants or unable to return to their countries. This paper compares and contrasts slavery in the North and South America.
In the years 1800-1850 the North and South of the United States were very different but they clashed head on as people expanded west. As people from both sides of the US moved Westward they took there beliefs, traditions and attitudes with them. Due to the West being nearly empty it was a blank slate for the people moving there to paint with their own beliefs, economies and ways of life. However this was not easy, because there was such a deep riff in the lives of people from clashing sides of the US. Both the North and South of the Early United States had different economies, social structures, ways of life and ideas on the issue of Slavery.
Beowulf’s first accomplishment as an epic hero was his battle with Grendel. Grendel was a huge beast, a descendent of Cain, who ruthlessly murdered innocent Danes because he felt pity for himself. Upon hearing of the Dane’s problem, Beowulf set off to help the Danish without having been called upon. Even though Beowulf had men backing him, He drew battle with Grendel alone and without armor or weapons. Yet, Beowulf emerged victorious with the arm of Grendel as his trophy. Beowulf then went on to kill Grendel’s vengeful mother and a huge fire-breathing dragon who thought it had been done wrong by the Geats. Alas, the killing of the dragon would be Beowulf’s last great battle for the dragon took Beowulf’s life in the struggle for his own.