Beowulf: The Qualities of a King
The story of Beowulf is one of courage, nobility, and heroism. Beowulf possesses each of these attributes both as a young prince and an elder king.
These qualities allow him to become an honored king, yet they also lead to his death. His actions are to be viewed as a precedent for young princes and future kings.
Clearly every young prince inspires to earn enough respect to become king in their latter years. Beowulf first earns this respect when he sails to
Herot to kill Grendel, the monster that has been keeping the soldiers out of their home. Upon arrival in Herot, Beowulf brags of his past accomplishments, in order to earn some respect from Hrothgar and his men.
In my youth I have set about many brave deeds.I had bound five, destroyed a family of giants, and at night in the waves slain water-monsters, suffered great pain, avenged an affliction of the Weater-Geats on those who had asked for trouble- ground enemies to bits. And now alone I shall settle affairs with Grendel, the monster, the demon. (Page 32)
While this beast has killed many of Hrothgar's men, Beowulf vows to destroy him with his bare hands.
Even after doing as he so promised, Beowulf has still not finished his duties. The following day, he is faced with another challenge; killing
Grendel's angry mother. When Beowulf is asked to perform this task, he accepts whole heatedly , as he sees it as another chance to gain fame, "Let him who may get glory before death: that is best for the warrior after he has gone from life."(page 45) Once again, Beowulf returns successful in his battle with the monster, only to increase his popularity within his people.
These courageous and heroic deeds are expected of any young or aging prince.
Clearly Beowulf's brave encounters with these monsters show his king and followers that he is worthy of becoming a fearless leader. However, his ability to rule goes beyond those feats in battle. Beowulf was showered with gifts of gold and riches for his tremendous achievements of killing the monsters. This is where his manner is shown to be one of strong moral.
While he could have easily kept them all for himself, Beowulf gives his rewards to his king, Higlac; as he was instructed to do. In addition,
Beowulf declined his first offering at the throne. His sense of morality and loyalty to Higlac tells him that it is only right for Higlac's son to take the throne before himself. These decent acts should be wisely followed
...er him as the hero is was and not the man he was accused of becoming.
sick man of the curse. Tony’s father also tells him that “no greater magic can exist...but
Throughout the novel Bless Me,Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio’s Parents had an adamant ideal of how they wanted their children to live their lives. Maria, his mother, wanted her children to follow the way of her Luna family. Gabriel, his father, wanted his children to travel to California with him. Maria wanted Antonio to become a priest. “Her own dream was that I should grow up and become a priest” (Anaya 5). His father had a dream to move to California. “My father’s dream was to gather his sons around him and move westward to the land of the the setting sun, to the vineyards of California”(Anaya 14). His parents had two different ideas on what they wanted their children to do which stirred up the pot in the house because of it. As a young child growing up he was very conflicted on how he wanted to live his life especially because he didn't want to disappoint his parents. This made a confliction within Antonio’s Identity. Another dream of his mother is that Antonio gets
Ultima also teaches Antonio to appreciate nature and helps him develop a spiritual relationship with the plants of the llano. It is this growing harmony with the earth that will later help Antonio connect with his heritage and the ancient ways of his ancestors. Ultima teaches him the magic of nature, “even the plants had a spirit, and before I dug she made me speak to the plant and tell it why we pulled it from its home in the earth”. Antonio learns which plants are good for healing but more importantly he learns of Ultima’s nobility and grace as they wonder the llano together. Ultima teaches Antonio that one must give back to the earth what has been taken away. It is this spirit...
reveals the concept that those dying at the peak of their glory or youth are
Was the story of Beowulf’s battle between good and evil a reflection of Christ battling Satan? There are 3 major battles within Seamus Heaney's edition of the epic poem Beowulf all of which earn Beowulf some heroic status for saving the town from the evil antagonists that lurk, but is there a deeper meaning behind these battles than just an old tale? Is there some metaphor we are supposed to perceive? Throughout Beowulf there are a lot of different themes to pick and choose from, some interesting and more prevailing ones are that of pride vs. humility and sacrifice vs. selfishness. Beowulf for example is very proud but at the same time humbles himself and offers his credit to the Lord. The bible states in Jeremiah 29:11 ‘“I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”’ Seamus Heaney portrays Beowulf as a Christ-like figure to spread the ideals and values of Christianity and God’s Love to the audience.
Beowulf begins with a history of the Danish kings. Hrothgar is the present king of the Danes. He builds a hall, called Heorot, to house his army. The Danish soldiers gather under its roof to celebrate and have fellowship with each other. Grendel, who lives at the bottom of a nearby swamp, is awakened and disgusted by the singing of Hrothgar's men. He comes to the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. For the next twelve years Grendel stalks the mead hall known as Heorot.
does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give
An epic is a long narrative poem on a serious subject. It usually is about
The narrator participating in a "battle royal" prior to delivering a speech on the progress of the Black people. These are the days during which he is still a hopeful scholar, at this point he is living the life that others have told him that he should live, and defines himself as he believes he is seen through their eyes. The abuse he goes through in the battle royal give him the first feelings that everything is not as it seems, but fail to do anything to change the narrator's perceptions of himself. If given the chance, the narrator may have gone on living the life that society had set for him and never realized his invisibility, but fate had other plans for him.
Over the course of the novel, Anaya places important people, symbols, and moments that define Antonio’s personal religion and show how the novel represents his spiritual growth. At the beginning of Antonio’s life, Ultima has him “choose” the objects that will define his future and he chooses “the pen and paper” (Anaya 54). Since the old Luna priest was a scholar, this key moment represents the beginning of Antonio’s spiritual journey because it shows his initial position: aspiring priest. Antonio assumes the mindset that his family puts on him and believes that he will “hear the confessions” of the people in his town (Anaya 9). These
Power is portrayed through Ultima and her religion of healing. Ultima is a wise old woman who knows how to use herbs and tonics to heal those who are brave enough to use her services. Because of her knowledge, most people highly respect Ultima and her powers. Ultima is a gentle woman in her ways, but full of power to do any deed she may find it necessary to accomplish. One example of Ultima’s power of healing is when Antonio’s uncle Lucas becomes deathly ill. Ultima knows where the source of the evil done to Lucas is coming from, and goes directly to confront Tenorio, the responsible man. In the confrontation with Tenorio and his cohorts, Ultima tells Tenorio, “I do not fear your threats Tenorio, you well know, my powers were given to me by el hombre volador.” In this quote from the book, Ultima refers to her power, and uses it to her advantage. Much to her liking, Tenorio is shocked as well as scared of what Ultima might do to his three daughters with her power. Ultima also teaches her religion to Antonio. When gathering plants with Ultima, Antonio learns that the plants each have a spirit. Before pulling them up, Antonio must explain why he is going to use each herb or root so it will understand and not be angry. Through her knowledge of cures, Ultima uses the power she possess to help others.
In Rodolfo Anaya's novel, Bless Me, Ultima the author uses different settings in order to develop Antonio's sense of good and evil.
In the story, the death of Narciso and Lupito cause Antonio to doubt his religion because he cannot understand why God let them happen. Lupito’s death is significant because it is the first death that Antonio witnesses. The murder of Lupito causes Antonio to wonder about religion, sins, and death. After Lupito dies, Antonio says that “a priest could have saved Lupito” (Anaya 23). Antonio questions his religion and the power of a priest because the priest could not save Lupito. Antonio doubts if he is capable of being a priest and he is unsure of his destiny of becoming a one. When Antonio sees Lupito at the river, he believes that he should have been able to save Lupito’s soul, since he might become a priest. Because Antonio could not save Lupito, he feels regret. Antonio shows that he is feeling guilty when he asks himself, “How would I ever wash away the stain of blood?” (23). Antonio’s guilt implies that his future of being a priest might not be suitable for him because he should not feel guilt in something he is destined to do. In addition, Narciso’s death causes Antonio to lose faith in Cath...
Many of Antonio’s dreams foretell future incidents. In the first dream, the night before the arrival of Ultima, Antonio is born and both sides of his family gather together for the arrival of the baby boy. The two families express their hopes and desires for the newborn’s future, but the calm Lunas and the savage Márez fight over the destiny of Antonio. As “curses and threats filled the air, pistols were drawn, and the opposing sides made ready for battle” (Anaya 6), Ultima steps into his dream, her voice full of authority. “Cease she cried…only I will know his destiny” (6). Everyone falls silent when Ultima speaks. Antonio didn’t meet Ultima but this dream foreshadows that Ultima is a powerful and a well respected figure. The fight not only shows the difference between the two families but also hints that there may be problems between them in the future. Right before Antonio’s brothers come back from the war, he has dream about his brothers. They tell Antonio to “stay and sleep while we cross the River of the Carp to build our father’s castle in the hills” (26). The brothers are telling him to stay behind and let them build their father’s castle, which refers to their father’s longing to be restless and build a family else where. This gives a hint that his ...