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Recommended: Society in beowulf
Social Codes in Beowulf
In reading Beowulf, one cannot help noticing the abundance of references to weapons and armor throughout the text. Many passages involving weapons and armor contain important messages that the author is trying to convey. These passages involve the choice to use or refrain from using arms, the practice of disarming oneself upon entering another's home, and the idea of a man's worth being measured by his weapons.
First, the theme of choosing to use, or not to use, weapons against an adversary seems to be a major issue in the work. On three different occasions, when Beowulf fights Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon, the choice of whether or not to use weapons against a foe is brought to the reader's attention. In the events leading up to the fight with Grendel, Beowulf says:
The monster in his recklessness cares not for weapons. Therefore, so that my liege lord Hygelac may be glad of me in his heart, I scorn to bear sword but with my grasp I shall grapple with the enemy ... foe against foe. I claim myself no poorer in war-strength ... than Grendel claims himself. Therefore I will not put him to sleep with a sword . . . though surely I might. (32, 35)
Beowulf knows he is evenly matched with Grendel, and that using a sword would make it an unfair contest because he would surely defeat Grendel. By making the fight fair, Beowulf maintains his honor, which is the main idea of each of the other confrontations as well.
In Beowulf's fight with Grendel's mother, he engages her with Hrunting, Unferth's sword, since she attacks him with a knife. When Beowulf decides to fight the dragon, he comments: "I...
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...est represented by the passage in which Wiglaf, thane of Beowulf, makes the bold statement: "It does not seem right to me for us to bear our shields home again unless we can first fell the foe, defend the life of the prince of the Weather-Geats" (61).
All three of the ideas involving arms are recurring images throughout Beowulf: the choice to use or refrain from using arms, disarming oneself upon entering another's home, and the worth of a man being measured by his weapons,. They all deal with various layers of respect, obviously a very important issue to the person of the early Middle Ages and afford the reader an opportunity to understand an aspect of the medieval mind.
Works Cited
Beowulf. Trans. E. T. Donaldson, 1966. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. 6th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 1993. 2768.
Women in the US Military - Civil War Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.
Hardin fails to admit the ethical problem that the government poses on their people. His focus seems to be of lack of membership in urban or lack of policing those areas. He does not admit that part of the failure is that the policy was not a shared belief by the Chinese. It was imposed from above and with many contradicting and disrespecting the ethics of many generations.
Next, Beowulf decides to fight Grendel with his bare hands. He could have easily obtained some kind of weapon to fight with. Beowulf was the first warrior ever to have enough sheer bravery to go up against such a monster with neither help nor weapon or shield to aid him. he was a warrior that believed somewhat in fate and in God. Believing that God made the decisions and was in control, Beowulf trusted that his life was in good hands. Defeating Grendel with his bare hands, Beowulf not only proved his bravery but also his loyalty.
The pessimism of the poor Danes was palpable. They had even despaired of appealing to the Christian God and had reverted to offering sacrifice to their heathen idols. Grendel had killed 30 warriors the first night and had taken even more the next night. But their pessimism is dispelled by one Beowulf who is ready and willing to sacrifice himself to repay the debt of Ecgtheow, Beowulf’s father, to Hrothgar. This Geat warrior possesses almost miraculous qualities: “He was the strongest of men a...
Becraft, Carolyn J. “ A Case for Women in Combat.” U.S Army Command and General Staff
Historically, women have been excluded from combat roles. On the surface, it is because men, who have always thought of themselves better and stronger than women, believed that females could not handle the responsibility of holding a combat position and women are rupturing the socially constructed gender norms that were set in place. According to Nicole Dombrowski, “no other topic concerning women’s role in war creates as great a debate as the question of women’s active participation in combat units.” The benefits for the expansion of women’s roles in the military advantage not only the women but the military as well. In comparison, the drawbacks of expansion of women’s roles are usually disadvantages to the men within the military.
In every battle Beowulf fights, he fights honorably. When he fights Grendel, he uses no weapons because Grendel fights unarmed. He only uses weapons to fight the dragon and Grendel’s mother because he cannot win otherwise. He does not cheat. He does not use unfair advantages. Beowulf fights with honor. Throughout his life, Beowulf fought many heroic battle...
Understanding the diversity in the U.S. Military is easiest if the numbers are looked at according to this nation’s population. American women account for fifty-one percent of the U.S. population and yet they only make up about sixteen percent of our uniformed officers throughout each branch of the military. The numbers are even fewer when looking at the number of women who have made a general officer rank. In the Army, only four percent of the generals are female, Navy admirals are seven percent, Air Force numbers are only nine percent, and the lowest number is the Marine Corps with three percent. (Sagalyn, 2011). The graph below shows the disparity in the numbers from each branch of the military and covers both active and reserve officers.
The cultivation and utilization of the Central Asia native Cannabis plant dates back over 10,000 years when plants were cultivated for their hemp, a variety of the cannabis plant used for the fibrous content. The first evidence of medicinal use found comes from a Chinese health publication from the reign of Emperor Chen Nung of the Chinese Dynasty over 5000 years ago (Grinspoon & Bakalar, 1997). For thousands of years, the Cannabis plant was widely accepted in various cultures to be not only useful, but for many of those cultures it was a staple crop. Even in American history, hemp had its useful place and was advocated and cultivated by some of our Founding Fathers.
Roulo, Claudette. “Defense Department Expands Women`s Combat Role.” defense.gov. U.S. department, 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014
Marijuana is one of the oldest cultivated plants. (Nahas,1986) The first people to introduce the potential healing properties of marijuana were the Chinese. About five thousand years ago, the people of the plains of Central Asia began cultivating the plant for its oil and fiber. The United States was introduced to marijuana in the 16th century. It was brought over by the Spanish and British and used for its fiber. The plant’s intoxicating properties were only discovered in the late 19th century. It was used for the production of rope and cloth until the 20th century and now it is widely a drug used preferably for pleasure.
This demonstrates a great difference between the two characters. Had Beowulf’s attack not been unexpected, Grendal surely would have used a weapon. Beowulf’s defeat against Grendal sets one of the first stepping stones to his long legacy of heroic deeds.
The most supporting quote from the epic poem Beowulf, is on page 48, lines 264-269. Beowulf says, “My lord Higlac might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were too afraid to, if I hid behind some broad linden shield: my hands alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster.” It is in this moment that Beowulf shows that he doesn’t want Higlac’s respect for him to drop or be any less. He would rather fight by hand than to let someone, especially the lord think any less of him or lose any respect. To Beowulf, it seems that respect from not only highly respected people, but the common people as well, means a lot to him. He earned the respect that he has and to do something to make him seem like a weaker or lesser person is not an option for him. Although Beowulf uses armor and weapons to fight other monsters, this does not lower anyone’s thoughts for him. This is due to the fact that both Grendel’s mother and the dragon are stronger, more difficult battles to face and the people don’t want to see him fail. Simply by being able to defeat these monsters and keep the Dane’s safe earns their respect for him. Although Beowulf may not have known it, he was extremely respected, even in death. So much that they buried him with the silvers, jewels and treasures that were taken once he killed the dragon. It’s quite clear that Beowulf was respected throughout
Women in the Military. Carol Wekesser and Matthew Polesetsky, Eds. Current Controversies Series. Greenhaven Press, 1991. Richard D. Hooker Jr. "Affirmative Action and Combat Exclusion: Gender Roles in the U.S. Army".
Priest, Dana. “Military Study Finds Women Fill Few Jobs Tied to Combat.” Washington Post. 21 Oct. 1997. Vol.