The Fight for Freedom
Most of the time, when thinking back to the sixties, people remember
hearing about things such as sex, drugs, and racism. However, what they
often tend to overlook is the large emphasis "freedoms" had on the era.
This does not just refer to the freedoms already possessed by every
American of the time. This focuses on the youth's fight to gain freedom or
break away from the values and ideas left behind by the older generation.
While some authors when writing about the sixties give serious accounts of
the youths' fights to obtain these freedoms, others tend to take a
different and more dramatic approach to showing the struggles involved in
these fights. Yet, all of the authors have the same basic values and
messages in mind. They all, more or less, aim to show the many freedoms
which their generation was fighting for. These fights were used to help
push for freedoms from areas such as society's rules and values,
competition, living for others first, and the older generation's beliefs as
a whole including the freedom to use drugs. The younger generation just
wanted a chance to express their own views rather than having to constantly
succumb to the values and rules left behind by the older generation.
The two different approaches used by authors to express these views
are often representative of the two main systems used by youths to help
gain their freedoms. The first approach, taken by the Port Huron Statement
and authors such as Gerzon, Reich, Revel and Gitlin, follows the ideals of
the New Left. The New Left represents youths striving for political change
through cultural means. People are encouraged to work for their ideal...
... middle of paper ...
... The freedoms
may not be fully there, but many of the beliefs and values behind the
struggle to acquire those freedoms are still there.
WORKS CITED
"The Port Huron Statement." The New Left: A Documentary
History. Ed. Massimo Teodori. New York: The Bobbs-
Merrill Co, 1969.
Reich, Charles A. "The New Generation." American Values in
Transition. Ed. Robert C. Bannister. New York:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1972.
Rubin Jerry. "Our Leaders Are Seven- Year Olds." American
Values in Transition. Ed. Robert C. Bannister. New
York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1972.
Rubin, Jerry. "We Are All Human Be-ins." American Values in
Transition. Ed. Robert C. Bannister. New York: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1972.
In the beginning of the story, a mythical monster named Grendel who is attacking King Hrothgar’s mead hall Herot. When Beowulf hears of this tragedy, he volunteers to go and fight the mythical beast. The author wrote, “So Beowulf chose the mightiest men he could find the bravest and the best of the Geats, fourteen In all.” Once Beowulf arrives, he is given a feast and then decides to stay in Herot overnight to confront Grendel. Grendel then arrives and kills one of the Geats before Beowulf can get into the battle. Beowulf then goes hand-to-hand against Grendel and ends up tearing off Grendel’s shoulder. Grendel then retreats to his lair to die. This is only a mere example of why Beowulf is a hero.
Beowulf is an epic poem that explores many themes and motifs within the Anglo-Saxon society. The Author, who remains anonymous, composed the epic around 1000 A.D. The literature focuses mainly on a Scandinavian warrior named Beowulf, who comes to the aid of Herot, a small town ran by King Hrothgar. Beowulf arises to rid the town of evil forces, such as the demon monster Grendel, and his savage mother who seeks revenge for the death of her son. As he ages, Beowulf presumes his title as king of Geatland, still eager to protect his loyal followers from danger. Though he is viewed as a godly force, the situations and the behaviors that Beowulf expressed, sometimes deviate how the Anglo-Saxons viewed his character. From this, the theme of "Good vs. Evil", which can be easily depicted in the literature piece, was constantly contradicted throughout the entire poem.
To Prove this, let 's pretend that Beowulf is evil and see how different this epic poem would become. Beowulf never goes to Herot to defeat Grendel. Therefore he never saves all of those men, and gains the honor and glory he desires. Without Beowulf being pushed to do what he believes is good, the legend behind his name ceases to exist. Beowulf wouldn’t have earned all of the honor and respect that he had, and he would not be a hero or a
Beowulf, the heroic figure in the poem, is known throughout the land as a courageous man who performs great deeds of valor. He is a Geat, who later becomes the king of the Geats. Beowulf’s strength seems to be a gift from God. As a noble and kind man, Beowulf comes to Herot to save them from God’s foe. Before Beowulf initiates battle with Grendal he exhibits a sense of fairness in not using a weapon against the monster.
Through his many heroic accomplishments, whether it is fighting Grendel, Grendel’s mother, or the dragon, in Beowulf’s defense of the needy and his enthusiasm to sacrifice his life to benefit others, Beowulf has earned the right to be given the name “hero.” Beowulf can be looked at as a man who demonstrates the knightly morality of his medieval counterparts. Beowulf is not only a hero, but also a model to all warriors of that they should aim to be.
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,
Beowulf is an epic poem from nineteenth century Europe. In the poem, Beowulf is a fierce viking warrior that fights for his people no matter how tough the battle may be. Beowulf fights in countless battles and does not back down. Beowulf possesses heroic qualities that make him a great person. Beowulf is also like great modern day heroes. Beowulf is a great viking warrior and hero.
In today society, beauty in a woman seems to be the measured of her size, or the structure of her nose and lips. Plastic surgery has become a popular procedure for people, mostly for women, to fit in social class, race, or beauty. Most women are insecure about their body or face, wondering if they are perfect enough for the society to call the beautiful; this is when cosmetic surgery comes in. To fix what “needed” to be fixed. To begin with, there is no point in cutting your face or your body to add or remove something most people call ugly. “The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery” explored the desire of human to become beyond perfection by the undergoing plastic surgery. The author, Camille Pagalia, took a look how now days how Americans are so obsessed
September 11, 2001 was the date of one of the worst terrorist attacks ever to this day, this event has drastically change how people live everyday life, and also the course of history. In the morning on September 11th three planes were hijacked, with the intended purpose of killing American civilians. Two of these three planes were flown into the towers of the world trade center, while the third was aimed at the pentagon. Because of this for the last decade the United States, among other countries, has fought a war on terror around the world that has resulted in new laws and policies that have drastically taken away the rights of human beings both in foreign countries and domestically.
According to Discourse and Society “Cosmetic surgery needs to be seen as an important social practice because it merges the attention given to the body by an individual person with the values and priorities of the consumer society.” Younger generations are easily drawn to the hype that is presented by the media, and in turn look at themselves as imperfect, and seek to make changes to their body as a result.
Beowulf outlines turmoil between three opponents: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon. These separate discords each serve to fulfill different metaphoric purposes. Grendel’s character epitomizes the adverse persona of how an Anglo-Saxon warrior should not be. His mother represents everything that a woman during the time era should seldom be. Lastly, the Dragon embodies all the values that an Anglo-Saxon king should not dare retain. Without a doubt, the symbolic implications of the monsters in Beowulf bring the context to a new level of understanding.
The epic poem Beowulf tells the story of a man by the name of Beowulf that goes through events that prove how heroic he is. Throughout the poem, Beowulf endures three battles. In the first, he battles the monster Grendel. In the second, he battles Grendel's mother. In the end he battles an enraged dragon. With each battle, Beowulf finds increasing difficulty in his opponent, but prevails and saves both the Danes and the Geats from all being killed by monsters. In each battle, Beowulf proves that he is worthy of having the title of a hero.
Colins, Joan. N.d..”The Pro’s and Con’s of Plastic Surgery”. Retrieved on January 28th, 2008. From http://cseserv.engr,scu.edu/StudentWebPages/KNguyen/researchpaper.htm
Some people’s obsession with plastic surgery is obviously getting out of control. It starts with only getting one thing fixed or corrected but then quickly escalates and before you know it, a face that once was all-flesh turns into plastic. According to a study conducted by Nigel Mercer (2009), “The number of official cosmetic surgeries has more than tripled to 34,000 since 2003”. The two reasons why plastic surgery should be banned are because of its high health risks, and because of the additional pressure it puts on people to look picture-perfect.
In this world there are many different topics of controversy. With every controversial topic comes different views and arguments explaining why people believe what they do. There are problems that can be just within one country or throughout the entire world. Terrorism affects everyone in the world, specifically us as Americans, which is why it is one of the biggest controversial topics. Of course with a topic as big as terrorism, there are emic and etic perspectives involved. With past history, there are specific countries and religions that we think of when we hear the word terrorism, specifically Afghanistan, located in the Middle East and the Muslim religion in that general area. Being part of the American