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Heroism definition essay
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Chivalry is Yet, Not Dead
In some select stories of old/middle english, we can see that people have been fascinated by ideals of heroism, chivalry, and what we now refer to as romance for a very long time. I will argue in this document, that our fascination with such imaginary laws has never ceased, and in some ways is even more fantastic. Every further mention of romance will refer to all of these ideas, the way it did when the term was introduced into english. If all things are to be considered this short essay would turn into a book. I would like to compare and contrast Beowulf, Lanval, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with some of the modern day creations especially in looking at the values, and belief systems in all of the three “classic” stories. I will apologize in advance to those who will read this and are not familiar to the texts that are mentioned, due to restrictions in size I must mention all of my topics without specific description of how the stories are told, please at least read “Beowulf” before considering this essay. Beowulf has and will live in the hearts of many people today, whether they have actually read and studied the text itself or they have merely been exposed to modern movies, books, and music that idealize a classical heroic ideal.
We might consider in this topic the modern police officer, soldier, paramedic, FBI/CIA agent, and any who take on with their livelihood the motto “to protect and to serve.” I believe we will most likely see and inherent desire for honor, and for glory. These in certain individuals seem to overpower the desire and will to help other people. A scholar by the name of George P. Fletcher states when looking at romanticism and its opposites, “On the one hand, we have stability, order, universality, and the boredom of the predictable and domestic. On the other hand, we have revolt, disorder, partiality, and the intense flames of lust and creativity. This is, of course, the way Romantics might describe the sentiments that move them” (p. 17). He even goes on to hint that the reason we have waged war on Iraq was because of romantic
ideas. We'll stay away from that debate in this essay and just say that the idea of glory and honor is summed up completely in “Beowulf” by the line ”Heaven swallowed the smoke” (L. 3155), in Lanval when he will not lie, despite the costs, despa...
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...ork: Norton. 2000.
Alexander, Michael, trans. Beowulf. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973.
Bradley, S. A. J., trans. “Beowulf.” Anglo-Saxon Poetry: An Anthology of Old English Poems in Prose Translation with Introduction and Headnotes by S. A. J. Bradley. Everyman's Library. London and Melbourne: Dent, 1982.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Canterbury Tales.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature: 6th edition New York: Norton. 1996
Donaldson, E. Talbot. “Beowulf: A New Prose Translation.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature: 6th edition. New York: Norton. 1996.
Fletcher, George P. Romantics at War. Princeton: Princeton UP. 2002
Laven, David, and Lucy Riall. Napoleon's Legacy: Problems of Government in Restoration Europe. Berg. 2000
Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. Print.
Bloom, Harold. “Introduction.” In Modern Critical Interpretations: Beowulf, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Clark, Gorge. “The Hero and the Theme.” In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.
Hammurabi’s Code provides evidence for early documents that signify law and order. For instance, Hammurabi’s says in his code if a man wrongs another with his false accusations, he shall be subjected to death (1, 3). His laws illustrate a judicial system in which someone has to pay someone that they wronged in either the same way that they wronged him or through money depending on the person’s social status. It is also said in his code of law that there were penalties for those who disobeyed his laws. For example, Hammurabi says, “If that man do not pay attention to my words…may the great god, the father of the gods, ...
The code of Hammurabi was the first set of written laws to have been created. There were a collection of 282 laws which were recorded. Hammurabi states in his codes the reason for his laws. As stated in The Making of the West by Hunt, "to show Shamash that he had fulfilled the social responsibility imposed on him as a divinely installed monarch" (p.16). This meant that Hammurabi clearly felt that he was accountable for the justice and morals of his people, and that they should abide by them. One of the major points of the moral code included equal punishment under the same class. Code 196 states "If a noble man puts out the eye of another noble man, his eyes shall be put out." This clearly implies that the equal punishment law was severely followed by the Babylonians. Another important point was how woman were of lesser importance compared to men. Code 132 states how if a woman is not caught sleeping with another man she should jump in the water for the sake of her husband. This shows how woman were expected to be faithful and follow by their husbands side. While, if a man was to create adultery with his daughter he would only be exiled. The making of the West by Hunt states "A wife could divorce her husband for cruelty; a husband could divorce his wife for any reason" (p.16). This evidently shows how indisputably biased Hammurabi was towards woman in that society. Slaves' conducts and rules were also listed in the codes. They had absolutely no rights at all, even if they were to be killed by another being.
Heaney, Seamus. Introduction. Beowulf: a New Verse Translation. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. Xvii. Print.
From 1805 until the present there have been introduced an abundance of paraphrases, translations, adaptations, summaries, versions and illustrations of Beowulf in modern English and in foreign languages due mostly to two reasons: the desire to make the poem accessible, and the desire to read the exotic (Osborn 341). It is the purpose of this essay to present a brief history of this development of the popularity of the poem and then compare some of the translations with respect to some more difficult passages in the poem Beowulf.
Beowulf. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume A. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. 34-100.
As the welcoming celebration for Beowulf goes on, Unferth begins to ridicule Beowulf about his swimming competition with Breca. Unferth is jealous and feels threatened by Beowulf " for he would not allow that any other man of middle-earth should ever achieve more glory under the heavens than himself." (Norton p. 33) Unferth is a very peculiar character. Although he has committed the horrific crime of killing his brother(s), he is privileged enough to sit at the feet of the king, a very respected position. His sin,an enormous violation of the comitatus, suggests that there is something wrong in Hrothgar's kingdom and perhaps helps to foreshadow its destruction. Ultimately, it will be destroyed, as the text says, by a fire after " sword-hate between son-in-law and father-in-law to awaken after murderous rage." (Norton p. 28).
The Code of Hammurabi was written by King Hammurabi, who began ruling the Babylonian Empire in about 1800 BC. Hammurabi came to power using his strengths as a military leader, conquering many smaller city-states to create his Empire. Hammurabi believed that the gods appointed him to bring justice and order to his people, and he took this duty very seriously. Not long after his ascent to power, he created his Code, 282 laws written to define all relationships and aspects of life in the kingdom. The laws were displayed in a public place so that all the people could have the opportunity to study them. The laws applied to everyone, though application of the laws and punishment differed according to social class. The punishments for disobeying the laws were swift and harsh, further encouraging compliance.
The Hammurabi Code of Law was the original father of our “penal and civil laws” of today. It provided guidance on creating a general code that sought to be just and applicable to all classes of citizens. Hammurabi can be considered as the forefather of the modern justice system; we should be very thankful to past societies and rulers for their contributions.
The Allegory of the Cave has many applications to both Plato’s writing and life in general. It describes the education of a philosopher, as well as how others look on the philosopher after he has gained the knowledge of the Forms. It also describes what it is like to see the forms. After understanding the forms, what once were objects, real things, become merely shadows. One sees everything as it truly exists, as it’s form.
Both the Hammurabi Code and the Mosaic Law were received by their peoples in similar ways. The Hammurabi Code was written by the Babylonian king, Hammurabi. He received these codes through divine intervention. He was given these codes by the sun god, Shamas atop a mountain. Mosaic Law was written by the God of the Hebrews. They received this law when Moses, the leader of the Jewish nation, was led up Mt. Sinai by Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews.
In "Allegory of the Cave" Plato's describes the journey, which individuals must embark on in order to achieve enlightenment. Plato depicts a comprehensive metaphor that aims to outline the disadvantages we face as a result of a lack of education. When analyzing the ‘Allegory of the Cave’ it's imperative to remember that there are two elements to the story. The first element is the fictional metaphor of the prisoners and the second element is the philosophical view in which the story is supposed to portray, therefore presenting us with the allegory itself.
The educational ideology illustrated in The Allegory of the Cave proposes teaching as a process of conversion which can bring about true enlightenment. The allegory introduces two kinds of bewilderments: one is the ascent from the primitive state to a more sophisticated state; the other the descent from the beatific vision to human affairs. We shall call one lucky if he is experiencing the former one and pity those who belong to the latter one. However whichever