Friday
Every Monday at work, I hear people complaining that they wish it would be Friday already. Everyone waits for this last day of the working week with excitement and eagerness. Friday represents the completion of the week, and at the same time, the beginning of the weekend. The origins of the word "Friday" take their roots from Norse mythology, when this day signified rejuvenation, and at the same time loss, death or completion. In various cultures, this day has numerous meanings and is perceived both positively and with anxiety. The meaning of Friday was preserved through centuries, and today we still use the pagan name of Friday as well as pagan names for other days of the week in the English language.
Friday has come a long way from the Anglo-Saxon frigedaeg or from the Old High German Freyja, a goddess of love and fertility. In Germanic mythology Freyja was portrayed as the goddess of youth, beauty, and sexual love. She was married to Odur, but he left her to travel around the world. Afterward, Freyja was depicted weeping, and her tears were drops of gold. Freyja's most famous possession was her necklace, Brising ("necklace of the dwarfs"), given to her by the dwarfs in exchange for her having sexual intercourse with them. Often in myths Freyja is accused of having sexual intercourse with many men and gods. Also Freyja is known as a patron of married couples and "is very fond of love ditties, and all lovers would do well to invoke her," according to the Prose Edda (Mercatante 264). However, besides being the patron of marriage and goddess of fertility, Freyja is portrayed as the goddess of battle and death. She claimed half of the dead warriors killed in battles and received them in her realm of Folkvang. Odur, her husband, received the other half of warriors at Valhalla. The fact that Friday was held sacred to this goddess of fertility and death signifies that inhabitants of ancient England perceived this day as the beginning and at the same time as the completion of their weekly activities, or possibly life.
Although in various cultures the meaning of Friday differs, there are numerous similarities, which can be traced down to the common source. In Norse mythology, where paganism dominated religious and cultural settings, Friday was considered to be the day of love and a good day to put a beginning to various activities such as farming or a conception of a child.
Upon accepting a position to work for the New York Transit Authority, Mary Myers was forthright in informing her supervisor(s) know that she was unable to work any sundown Fridays to sundown Saturdays. (Feazell, 2003) As it relates to keeping “the Sabbath”, sundown Friday to sundown Saturday adherence to set aside this time period for rest and worship. (Feazell, 2003) Consequently, after Ms. Myer begin working for Transit Authority, her scheduled hours were involuntary changed, and she was then required to work on the Sabbath. (Feazell, 2003)
Stout, Martha. “When I Woke Up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday,” in The Myth of Sanity:
A main theme in John Gardner’s Grendel, is the constant competition of the ideas of meaning in life versus existentialism. Throughout the novel, Grendel makes a steady spiritual decay to the point of denying any value or significance in life itself. He believes the world is nothing more than “a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears”(16). This progression starts at a young age, and through out the twelve years of Grendel’s life, he grows closer to a total commitment to this theory. Because of the actions of his mother, the dragon, and man in general, Grendel ultimately dies in the misery that has been created by this belief of his life being nothing but programming, machinery, and random chance.
The general definition of a hero is, “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Although, the interpretation of a hero is always dependant on the society in which the hero resides. The “hero”, Beowulf, is not depicted the same way as he is in the self-titled poem “Beowulf” as he is in Grendel. The poem “Beowulf” is said to emerge from the Anglo-Saxon period or the 5th-6th century. It was later translated by Burton Raffel. The “hero” of the poem, Beowulf, is a glorified Geatish warrior whose hunger for fame and wealth drives him to the land of the Danes to rid of the evil monster, Grendel. He is depicted as a strong, brave, and courageous man and admired by the Danes. On the other hand,
In the epic poem Beowulf, the monster Grendel is depicted as a villainous beast with an unquenchable thirst for human flesh and blood. Grendel, written by John Gardner, though, offers a more nuanced depiction of the beast by describing the events in Beowulf through Grendel's narration. Throughout the story, Grendel adopts various romantic characteristics and beliefs including isolation, individualism, and mysticism. These romantic characteristics, though, foster Grendel's murderous intentions and in turn gives him an anti-hero persona. Nearing the end of the novel, his romantic antihero trends transforms his life into a never ending limbo. His only salvation comes in the form of death. Grendel's' inevitable demise represents inescapable fate.
...n and misunderstanding, drawing parallels and undermining one’s hunger for the littlest bit of truth in a world swallowed by absurdity. Grendel is an illustration of a monster whose self-inflicted pain and alienation causes him to lose himself in mystery, and thus prevents him from seeing any truth.
Mythology was very important to the men and women of ancient Greece. They worshipped the gods and goddesses, wrote poems about them, and based a great deal of art work off of them. The people of Greece looked to the gods and goddesses for help in all aspects of their lives; including health, agriculture, and war. Reading about Greek mythology can inform people about the society of Greece itself because the Greek gods were created by the people of Greece. Three main goddesses who were worshipped by the Greeks were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. These three goddesses represent three different types of women in Greek society. Sarah Pomeroy, author of Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, believed that “the goddesses are archetypal images of human females, as envisioned by males” (8). Pomeroy understands the significance in the differences between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, and what those differences meant for the women of Greece who were required to follow three important rules. The first rule was for the women to live a life of domesticity and motherhood. This was very important to the men in the society. The women were the only ones able to bear children. Also, if they were forced to stay in the house, men could keep a greater control on their wives, and not have to worry about them having affairs. The second important trait was virginity until marriage. Its importance to the Greek culture lied in the fear of a woman’s power. The men of the society felt it best that a woman remained a virgin until she was married; however this same attribute was not required of a man. Their belief can be explained by this quote written by P. Walcot in the article “Greek Attitudes Towards Women: The Mythological Evidence”: “The Greeks believed women...
Widodo, A. (1995) The stages of the state: The arts of the people and Rites of hegemonisation. Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, 29, pp.1-35.
The dragon is the gateway to this realization of the power he has over the citizens, urging Grendel to continue to torment the people. As he convinces him, he argues, “You improve them...you stimulate them! You make them think and scheme. You drive them to poetry, science, religion, all that makes them what they are for as long as they last. You are, so to speak, the brute existent by which they learn to define themselves”(73). While Grendel argues that his thoughtless attacks have no meaning except for violence, the dragon retaliates that his attacks are the most beneficial thing that Grendel could do for the society. By becoming the antagonist, Grendel is able to provide a point of comparison that the society can move away from, much like the traditional hero provides a basis for personality traits that the society wants to strive for. He becomes a solid part of mankind as a whole, just as necessary as a hero is. But Grendel also knows the extent he can alter them without breaking the society. Just like glass will shatter if one tries to bend it, but once it’s heated it molds with ease. When contemplating his attacks, he thinks, “Balance is everything...I could finish them off in a single night,
Black Friday, in the United States, is the Friday after thanksgiving and one of the most successful days for retailers. It takes place between 23rd and 29th November, varying each year.
I stepped out of the chilly November air and into the warmth of my home. The first snowfall of the year had hit early in the morning, and the soft, powdery snow provided entertainment for hours. As I laid my furry mittens and warm hat on the bench to dry, I was immediately greeted with the rich scent of sweet apple pie, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and the twenty-pound turkey my mother was preparing for our Thanksgiving feast.
From the ever existing tension between “pribumi” and Chinese Indonesians to separatist movements in Aceh, Maluku and Papua. The tension between “pribumi” and Chinese Indonesians was apparent during the latest presidential election. President Joko Widodo at the time was painted as a peon of the Chinese Indonesian business community, who will only prolong the economic domination of the Chinese Indonesian. Regarding separatist movements, these factions dream of independence, to be their own nations which consisted of Acehnese, Moluccans or Papuans. Interesting to note that in Indonesia, the “other” has always been fellow Indonesians of different ethnicity. Only a tiny fraction of the population worries about global flows, what the people have always been asking is their group rights, to be specific, economic. Aceh and Papua, well-endowed with natural resources, are both main contributors to the government’s treasury. Despite this fact, Aceh and Papua lag behind other provinces in terms of basic healthcare, education and infrastructure. Aceh in particular, asked for the right to implement Sharia law, which was granted by the government as part of the peace deal reached in
The humans thought that sacrifice was heroic and therefore Unferth became suicidal, almost dying to make the journey to Grendel’s cave, knowing that a true battle between him and the beast would kill him but, at least it would make him a hero to his people. Grendel refused to kill him and instead, took Unferth back to the Meadhalls.
The origins of the term "Black Friday" has been somewhat masked in the mists of time. However, Black Friday leads people to invent fanciful explanations for how that phrase became attached to the day after Thanksgiving. The term started with a tradition of slave-owners or slave traders using that day as an opportunity for selling their wares. This episode takes place in the U.S. on the day after Thanksgiving Thursday. Millions of consumers who get the day off from work or school crowd into stores for what is traditionally considered the beginning of Christmas
Black Friday is traditionally the day after Thanksgiving where many retailers discount their prices at low prices ,like 50% or 70% or something along that line. They do this because of the holiday, Christmas, where you buy presents for loved ones. It may be the day after Thanksgiving but many stores are opening farther and farther back in the night, pushing into Thanksgiving. I think that this isn’t a good idea, and I’ll show you why.