Beowulf A Hero Essays - Beowulf, Geats, Anglo-Saxon Paganism

Beowulf A Hero By definition, a hero is a man of exceptional quality. Exceptional quality does not begin to describe the hero that is Beowulf. Of the tale of the same name, Beowulf could be described better as a saint, or a savior. His self-imposed purpose in life is to help others, and eventually sacrifices his own life in doing so. In the short time period in which we have joined Beowulf, more heroic acts are presented than any normal man can have accomplished in his entire being. Beowulf's motive for crossing the sea to visit Hrothgar was to repay a favor that was owed by his father, Scyld Scefing. Known to Beowulf was the chaos that which had been implemented by the demon, Grendel, on the kingdom. His plans were to rid the people of this nuisance. But this feat would not be as simple as first thought. Beowulf was able to overcome Grendel with minimal effort, but this was only the beginning of his quest. Next, the demon's mother had to be rid, and the battle was not as simple. Finally, Beowulf was to face the Dragon, who not only was the hardest battle, but also would be the end of Beowulf. The combined efforts brought peace to the kingdom once again. Destroying the presence of evil in the kingdom of Hrothgar is an exceptional feet, but what makes Beowulf stand out is his purpose. He fought, neither for the glory nor riches, but for his father and the sake of the people. Beowulf sought no compensation for his services; the mere satisfaction of helping others was well enough. This quality alone is exceptional enough to make Beowulf a hero among heroes.

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Classical Readings on Cultural Anthropology By Gary Ferraro What do we have to learn through the study of different cultures? I was hoping for some wonderful revelation in the collection of writings. I may have found one. This book was a difficult read for me. I am not sure whether it’s my age or my inexperience with classical readings. I also found it difficult to formulate a report on a collection of readings, the last report I did was on Laura Ingall’s Little House on the Prairie. This reading was a little more challenging. The main point that seemed to jump out at me is that perceptions change, our theory of reality changes with every viewpoint. Every culture can seem primitive, self destructive, nonsensical, immoral or just wrong, depending on who is doing the observation and what perspective they are observing from. In the first reading, Narcirema, points very clearly to the fact that our own culture could seem very odd, irrational, and ritualistic to an outsider. But aren’t we all outsiders to everyone else? Don’t we see ourselves as â€Å"normal† and everyone else as â€Å"abnormal†? I think it is human nature more than ethnocentrism. My daily rituals would seem very irrational to another woman of my age in different circumstances. That’s where the saying comes from that you don’t really know a person till you walk a mile in their shoes. The second reading of â€Å"Queer Customs† gets right to my point that culture is an abstraction; therefore each person doing the viewing views it differently. Culture is pointed out as being a â€Å"way of thinking, feeling, and believing† and since I have never met anyone who thought exactly the way I did about everything, one would have to conclude that we each have our own culture and our own views of other cultures. I wasn’t really sure that the next reading really fit in with the others in the book. Rapport-talk versus Report-talk seemed insignificant to... Free Essays on Classical Readings Free Essays on Classical Readings Classical Readings on Cultural Anthropology By Gary Ferraro What do we have to learn through the study of different cultures? I was hoping for some wonderful revelation in the collection of writings. I may have found one. This book was a difficult read for me. I am not sure whether it’s my age or my inexperience with classical readings. I also found it difficult to formulate a report on a collection of readings, the last report I did was on Laura Ingall’s Little House on the Prairie. This reading was a little more challenging. The main point that seemed to jump out at me is that perceptions change, our theory of reality changes with every viewpoint. Every culture can seem primitive, self destructive, nonsensical, immoral or just wrong, depending on who is doing the observation and what perspective they are observing from. In the first reading, Narcirema, points very clearly to the fact that our own culture could seem very odd, irrational, and ritualistic to an outsider. But aren’t we all outsiders to everyone else? Don’t we see ourselves as â€Å"normal† and everyone else as â€Å"abnormal†? I think it is human nature more than ethnocentrism. My daily rituals would seem very irrational to another woman of my age in different circumstances. That’s where the saying comes from that you don’t really know a person till you walk a mile in their shoes. The second reading of â€Å"Queer Customs† gets right to my point that culture is an abstraction; therefore each person doing the viewing views it differently. Culture is pointed out as being a â€Å"way of thinking, feeling, and believing† and since I have never met anyone who thought exactly the way I did about everything, one would have to conclude that we each have our own culture and our own views of other cultures. I wasn’t really sure that the next reading really fit in with the others in the book. Rapport-talk versus Report-talk seemed insignificant to...