St. George
Saint George is both man and myth. He is considered “The Great Martyr” by the Greek Orthodox Church. He, in fact, did exist, and his chivalric character led to the allegorical fable of his slaying of the great dragon.
There are no known birth or death dates for Saint George, but it is known that he was born in Cappadocia in Asia Minor, which is now Turkey, into a Christian family of noble lineage. In Asia Minor, it was the reign of Emperor Diocletian, who, in 302 AD, took it upon himself to persecute the believers of Christianity. Saint George opposed the mistreatment and annihilation of these Christians. Upon speaking out against the harshness of Diocletian’s decrees against the Christians, Saint George was imprisoned and tortured, dragged through the streets and beheaded in Nicoimedia, which is presently Palestine, which makes him one of the earliest martyrs. The emperor's wife was so impressed by Saint George's unfaltering faith, she converted to Christianity and was put to death. Saint George was canonized in 494 AD by Pope Gelasius.
The legend and myth of Saint George was believed to have begun at some point in the twelfth century and was continually passed down, especially in the form of song by troubadours in the fourteenth century. The story is believed to have been derived from that of Virgin Andromeda and Perseus. In Silene, Libya, there was a dragon doing his part to terrorize that portion of the country. The town of Silene had fed it the majority of their livestock in order to try and acquiesce the dragon, and had moved on to people. They were about to sacrifice Cleolinda, the resident princess. At this precise moment, Saint George appeared in Silene, killed the dragon and ...
... middle of paper ...
...ll. He has been a Saint for over 1500 years and his fame will continue on into the next century.
Bibliography
Cornish, F. Wallace. Chivalry. New York: The MacMillan Co., 1911.
Vale, Juliet. Edward III and Chivalry. Suffolk: Boydell Press, 1982.
Porter, J. R., ed. And Russell, W.M.S., ed. Animals in Folklore. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer Ltd, 1978.
Groiler Multimedia Encyclopedia. Computer Software. Groiler, Inc. 1995. Mac. 968K. CD-ROM.
Saint George Patron Saint of Scouting
http://www.oln.com/scouts/st_george.htm
Artisan Publishers St. George by E.O. Gordon
http://www.artisanpublishers.com/bk_st_george.html
Saint George Patron Saint of England
http://www.innotts.co.uk/~asperges/george2.html
The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Washington D.C.
http://www.stjohndc.org/saints/9505a.htm
The immigrants of the twentieth century faced many hardships and shockingly inhumane treatment. They came to America in pursuit of a better life and to see the famous "land of opportunity." However, what they saw was discrimination, isolation, poverty, and unfriendly competition. The protagonist in each of the novels convey the dispiriting side of the America that the immigrants unknowingly fell into. The stereotypes and classifications placed upon the ex-colored man, the Filipino immigrant, or Mexican-American boy were unfortunate but true representations of the time. The American Dream was not attainable by all, as it claimed to be.
Nick’s naïveté and innocence leads to continual judgement of the deceiving upper class community he surrounds himself with; however, he realises Gatsby is the most genuine and optimistic man he has ever met. Gatsby’s never ending confidence in his dream of a future with Daisy represents blind faith of an unattainable dream, yet Gatsby never ceases to reach for his goals. Gatsby even believes that he can fix every mistake he has made in the past (Fitzgerald 128). His naive and ignorant outlook on his future influences many vindictive decisions he has made in his past. Nick’s admiration of Gatsby’s ambitions compels him to recognize Gatsby’s efforts. Nick exclaims that Gatsby is “worth the whole damn bunch put together” (Fitzgerald 126). Nick idolizes Gatsby because his questionable actions were driven by his immense passion for Daisy. Believing that the elite, upper class society is corrupt, Nick found that Gatsby was the only wealthy individual he had met who is pure of
The constant battle of love and a sense of tension between all of the father and son pairs is extremely apparent throughout all of The Kite Runner. It always seems as though one character is trying to make something up to another character. Feelings of guilt, the need to redeem themselves, and extreme jealousy between Amir, Baba, Hassan, and Ali are the primary factors that keep the plot moving. Whether it is Baba to Hassan or Amir to Baba, there is always a sense of the need for redemption going on. This sense of redemption can be found not only within characters, but also incorporates a bit of polical view in to the novel by giving a glimpse in to the various lives of different ethnicities and how they interact with one another.
In The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald written during the 1920’s, Fitzgerald presents a classic tale of infinite love and betrayal. The story is told by one of the main characters Nick Carraway. Back in the war days a young Jay Gatsby meets Daisy, he left for the war and vowed to never stop loving her. Years later of out coincidence Nick (Daisy’s cousin) ,moves right next door to Mr. Gatsby. Gatsby soon realizes the kinship between Nick and Daisy and becomes very close friends to Nick. Gatsby himself is a very mysterious man,with so many rumors about him going around nobody really knows how Gatsby became rich or where exactly he even came from. One thing is for certain though, the extravagant house and the expensive cars he drives
In Sir Gawain, the Pentangle is also a reference to the virgin Mary and her five stages with Jesus. “There is great significance in the fact that the events in this poem occur in multiples of three. Three times Gawain is tempted by the lovely lady,…The Green Knight swings at Gawain three times…The significance of all these threes is that Christianity teaches the trilogy: the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost…The fact that the events unfold in counts of threes explains the … poet trying to connect this story and this passage to the bible and biblical events” (Parkins). In Beowulf, the kingdom of the Geats was Christian, and they prayed to God during the difficult and constant battle with the demon. Beowulf also mentioned that Jesus is Lord and
The Emperor, John VIII Palaeologos, knew they were going to face some of the finest minds in the Roman Church on their own soil; he therefore wanted the best minds available in support of the Byzantine cause to accompany him. Consequently, the Emperor appointed George Gemistos as part of the delegation. Despite the fact that he was a secular philosopher — a rare creature at this time in the West — Gemistos was renowned both for his wisdom and his moral rectitude. Among ...
Just so you know that we all come to and end in death none of us is spared. So in the Heorot Hall the kings praise their noble knights by awarding them gold treasures, and big feasts of beer and lots of food. In the poem, that it was a transcending time because it was the introduction of Christianity. Paganism was a worship of different Gods and lineage, chivalry, and reputation was extremely important. It showed the ranks of families based on a heroic deed. Here was a deity that entered in their belief system. He was portrayed heroic warrior, in which was stronger than any other paganistic God. Beowulf couldn’t understand having an eternal life with peace. He wanted to keep on getting the gold treasure, the women, the fighting of demons or monsters that no on else can kill. In the end, when Beowulf was older in the poem he knew Hrothgar was right, and Beowulf knew his time was going to end when the dragon came and attacked. He surrrenderred himself where death was next and he no longer can protect his people. In the next section it shows how “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” was also conflicted between being godly or being
“Hosseini’s life mirrors Amir’s life in so many respects that the novel is considered by many to be quasi autobiographical.” (Khaled Hosseini’s Personal Connection to The Kite Runner. 1) The novel is quasi autobiographical in the sense that not only did he just write this novel through Amir’s point of view but from his own. In doing so, he creates the story to be an effortless yet effective read but believable to the reader because of the parallels and connections from Hosseini’s life to Amir’s. We often watch television shows or read novels and become so engaged with the characters that we feel as if we are in the story or that we are those characters. At the time the novel was released, after 9/11, Hosseini is trying to connect his childhood upbringing of fleeing his home country because of being under attack to the upbringing of many of America’s children at the time, though they did not have to flee. He is not only comparing the periodical situations but himself and Amir because in doing so, the readers make that connection and can begin to make their own in one way or another throughout the
This shows that Hassan and Lennie both are preyed on by the society not only because of their social status but of the supposedly lack of capability that is gone unseen by other individuals because of the social norms that are implied in everyday life. Both the settings in the two films are also very similar as both films are set on during the time where their countries were at their weakest. This is seen in ‘The Kite Runner’ through the uprising of the Taliban and the invasion of the Soviets which in comparison the novel takes place in the time era of the Great Depression and Great Dustbowl where two migrant workers George and Lennie have arrived in Soledad to find ranch work. In both the texts there is an overlap of lifestyles. For example in the novel ‘The Kite Runner’, Amir and his father both live very educated, liberal western lives which is often a major contradiction to how the Afghan Culture is perceived today. Likewise in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ the setting is very discriminative and secretive such as the inequality women face. Both the relationships in the texts all show in fact how weak we as individuals become as we are corrupted by the power we attain, and through this power we forget the promises and integrity we stood by at our
His refusal to change his mind on the subhect is what eventually led Emperor Leo to force him out of office. His replacement, of course, was an Iconoclast named Anastasius. Seeking help, Germanus made an appeal to the West, which was accepted by Pope Gregory II. Even after Pope Gregory II’s death, his successor Pope Gregory III continued to support Germanus. As a Way to punish the West for their support, Emperor Leo took away land that was under the control of the Pope, which made tensions between the East and the West stronger. John of Damascus, came to the defense of idols, and was responsible for writing three treaties in its defense. He claimed that since God became visible in the incarnation, that it was no longer idolatry because they were not representing the invisible God. He also claimed that the feelings of unworthiness towards idols and images would eventually spread to the matter of Christ. Eventually Constantine’s mother Irene with the help of Pope Hadrian, won over the member of the Council and they ruled that icons have a legitimate role in worship, but this victory was short lived because Emperor Leo II
Elephants'." Studies in Short Fiction. 17.1 (Winter 1980): 75-77. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 75-77. Literature Resource Center. Gale.
Building an opinion about it. Gatsby uses Nick to show that people are not yet treated equally, and that social discrimination still exists. Nick on the other hand is also striving for something. He is a pragmatic man who comes from the middle west and does not share the American dream. Unlike Gatsby he wants to be himself, tolerant, objective, and reliable. The money of the upper class is just a tiny bit of the American dream together with his admiration for the rich east Eggers. Mainly nick’s dream of a pursuit of honesty. In chapter 9 he explains that the American dream originally was about discovery, the pursuit of happiness, and individualism. Nick believes that the ability to create an important symbol constitutes a vital component of the dream which is the way early Americans invested their new nation with their own ideas and values. However easy money or relaxed social values have corrupted this ideal dream, mostly on the east coast. As he often says to himself “I am one of the few, honest people that I have ever known.” Throughout the novel Nick finds himself surrounded by lavish mansions, fancy cars, and an endless supply of material possessions. A drawback to the seemingly limitless excess Nick sees in the Buchanans. This for instance, is a throwaway mentality extending past material goods. Nick explains in the great Gatsby, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy— They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made. This quote shows how both Tom and Daisy is frown upon by Nick because of their social status. He began to have a mix of strong reactions to the life on the east coast, which ultimately creates a powerful internal conflict him. This does not get resolved until the end of the novel. Nick
Overall, the similarities and differences of these two books written during a period of social turmoil can be seen in the themes of innocence, fighting prejudice, and gender discrimination. These pieces of literature provided a much needed example for the community of the mid twentieth century of how life really was. They opened the eyes of many people through touching sensitive topics like racism and equality for all. Without these pieces of literature and the themes found within, the transition to equality may have taken a lot longer.
When Nick heard of the events, he was disgusted by the manner of which these men of the upper class acted. He planned a funeral for Gatsby, then returned back to his home to flee from then revulsion he felt for the people in Gatsby’s life and their lack of morals. He looked back at Jay’s love for Daisy and compared it to the downfall of the American Dream. Both the American Dream and Gatsby’s love were corrupted by money and dishonesty. He decided that the dreaming era was over, for Gatsby, and for
The American dream is an ideal that has been present since the onset of American Literature. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is a critical theme throughout the novel. Fitzgerald, in an obvious way, makes a mockery of the American dream. From the novel, one can conclude that Fitzgerald believes in the idea that the American dream is a hoax, and one must be born into money in order to reap the benefits. Fitzgerald makes use of Gatsby’s dream of being with Daisy and his hunger for wealth and Daisy’s dream of having both financial security and love to portray the death of the American Dream.