An Analysis of the Epic Poem, Beowulf - Beowulf and His Pride :: Epic Beowulf essays

Beowulf and His Pride      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of Beowulf's main characteristics is his ever present pride.   To most protagonists their pride is usually explained by a friend or narrator. However,   Beowulf is one who likes to show the whole world how important and valuable he is to them.   Through out the chapters which we have read it seems as though the whole point in the book is to show off his strength.   He presents himself before a fight with boasting and an ostentatious manner of fighting.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Beowulf was a little boy he wanted to show his strength and entered a race with his friend Breeca.   He knew that he would win with no effort at all, but then,   due to a storm, he lost his way.   While Beowulf was trying to return to land he managed to kill nine sea monsters with his bare hands and still caught up to Brecca.   He apparently bragged to such an extent that everyone in Scandinavia knew about this race and the courageous way he cleared the sea of evil.   He,   at this young age,   had no need to think about death.   All he thought about was foolishly having fun and proving himself to the spectators.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Beowulf fought with Grendel,   the demon who was terrorizing Herot Hall,   he came there boasting about how worthy he was to fight for Denmark.   The people accepted him as a deserving warrior and permitted him to do what ever he needed to rid them of Grendel.   Beowulf wanted to fool Grendel into thinking that he was sleeping so that Grendel would try to kill him,   but instead Beowulf would terminate him.   That night Grendel did come and fell right into Beowulf's trap.   Beowulf had Grendel in his hands,   but no matter how strong Beowulf was the demon escaped missing only an arm.   Grendel would soon die in his lair because of blood loss,   but Beowulf was unhappy that he could not stretch Grendel's body on the floor.   However,   he still hung Grendel's arm,   just to show how only he was strong enough to kill the monster.   This time when Beowulf went to fight he told the king that if he would die then the king should give

American Dream In the 1920s Essay

In the 1920s, many Americans were trying to achieve the infamous â€Å"American Dream.† The dream was to be rich, successful, happy, and one of the social elites. However, even though this was the dream for Americans in the 1920s, the general standard has changed over the years into the present time. Since the 1920s, the dream of putting a high emphasis on an individualistic and materialistic life has evolved into a present day dream of working hard, holding a well-paying job, and raising a family. The 1920s was an era of declined social and moral values, as shown by its increased pursuit of pleasure. When World War I ended in 1918, the young Americans who had fought the war became deeply disillusioned, as the battles that they had just fought in made the Victorian social morality of the early 1920s seem like hypocrisy. This caused those that had fought in the war to not care as much about upholding traditional morals. Also, since World War I was the â€Å"war to end all wars,† Americans were quite optimistic during the 1920s. The uncontrolled satisfaction that led to self-indulgent parties and wild jazz music resulted ultimately in the corruption of the American dream, as the uninhibited desire for pleasure exceeded other, less important goals. Americans’ pursuit of pleasure in the 1920s resulted ultimately in a decline in values. Many of the values of today’s dream are similar to those of the 1920s. The dream today does consist of pleasure and happiness. However, the dream of the 1920s was to put a much stronger emphasis on it than today’s dream does. The values and morals today are also more widely accepted by the general public. An example of this is women wearing bathing suits to a public beach. In the 1920s, it was bad enough that those bathing suits were even the l east bit revealing. Today, however, it is perfectly acceptable for women to wear bikinis to a public beach, which are much more revealing than those of the 1920s. This is because the standard has gradually changed over time. Many of the values of the 1920s were extremely new and deviated from the norm greatly. The â€Å"new† values crashed right into the 1920s with the emergence of the flapper, a new generation of women who bobbed their hair, wore short skirts, and listened to jazz music. People had no time to adapt to these values. On the other hand, the values of the modern American dream were gradually incorporated. Americans today have been around these values long enough that they are now accustomed to them. During the 1920s, family life was both similar and different than it is now. Advancements in industrial production and technology enabled ordinary Americans to acquire what once had been unattainable luxuries, such as automobiles. These luxuries that were part of everyday family life in the 1920s are still part of the dream today. There are, however, differences between family life of the 1920s and modern family life. In the 1920s, husbands were the â€Å"breadwinners† for their families. While the men were at work, their wives cooked, cleaned, and looked after the home. Wives also did most of the raising of the children. Women in the 1920s did hold jobs, but that was something more for young, single women. Married women typically did not obtain a job because it would cause them to take their focus off of taking care of their family. The dream today is that both men and women perform equal shares of raising the family. Instead of just the men holding jobs, women also hold jobs today. Instead of just the women caring for the home and children, men also take part. Through these efforts, Americans can hope to achieve the part of the dream of raising a family. Throughout the 1920s, Americans went on a spending spree. The rise of the stock market led to a sudden increase in the national wealth and created a society full of materialism. People began to consume and spend more than ever, and they had the idea that money and popularity would solve everything. A person from any social background could, potentially, strike a fortune. Speculators and industrialists who achieved the American dream in the 1920s of â€Å"getting rich† were labeled the â€Å"new money.† The aristocracy disliked the new money. The so-called â€Å"old money,† families that had always had money that was passed down from generation to generation, felt that the â€Å"get rich quick† ways of earning money were not as fulfilling as the traditional ways. Today, money is valued differently than it was in the 1920s. The dream is not centered so much around money as it used to be. Yes, money is still just as important, but people nowadays keep other goals in mind other than just earning money. The dream today consists of having a job that pays well and that is enjoyable, not just a job that only pays well. Another part of the American dream that women had in the 1920s was equal rights with men. The ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, which allowed women the right to vote, helped them come even closer to having equal rights with men. In the dream today, women seem to not be as concerned about women’s rights as they did in the 1920s. This is due to the fact that most of the work that needed to be done has already been done, such as the women’s rights movement and the ratification of the nineteenth amendment. Today, on average, women earn 77 cents for every dollar that men earn. Women still hold far less ownership, CEO, and other high positions within companies than men. These two facts are evidence that work still remains in the struggle for equal rights for women. However, women definitely came a long way and it is only a matter of time before they are equal with men, for most of the work has already been done. In the 1920s, there seems to have been an American dream that everyone was trying to achieve. Many people looked and some still do look toward this as a model for their own individual American dreams. However, even though this might have been the dream for many Americans in the 1920s, the general standard sure has changed over the years into the present time. Since the 1920s, the dream of putting a high emphasis on â€Å"materialistic† life has evolved into a present day dream of working hard, holding a well-paying job, and raising a family.

Juan Corona, the Machete Murderer

Juan Corona was a labor contractor who hired migrant workers to produce fields in California. In a murder spree lasting six weeks, he raped and murdered 25 men and buried their machete-hacked bodies in the orchards owned by local farmers. Diagnosed With Schizophrenia Juan Corona (born 1934) moved from Mexico to Yuba City, California in the 1950s to work as a produce field-worker. Corona, diagnosed with schizophrenia, managed to work up through the ranks despite his illness. In the early 1970s, he moved from the field into a contractor’s job and hired workers for the local Yuba City Growers. The Hired Help Married with four children, Corona succeeded in providing a comfortable life for his family. He had the reputation of being a tough person in his interactions with the workers he hired. Many of the workers were down-and-out men, homeless alcoholics, old and unemployable. Few had family ties and most lived nomadic lives. Corona in Full Control Corona offered the workers housing on Sullivan Ranch. Here the migrant workers and itinerants worked daily for little pay and lived in a dismal prison-like environment. Corona had control over their basic needs of food and shelter and in 1971, he began to use that power to satisfy his sexually sadistic impulses. Easy Victims For men to vanish without anyone taking notice was common on the Sullivan Ranch. Corona took advantage of this and began to select men to rape and murder. Their sudden absence did not cause concern and went unreported. Knowing this—Corona made little effort to destroy evidence linking him to the murdered men. A Pattern of Murder His pattern was the same. He dug holes—sometimes a few days in advance, picked his victim, sexually assaulted and stabbed them to death. He then hacked at their heads with a machete and buried them. Discovery of a Grave Corona’s carelessness eventually caught up with him. In early May 1971, a ranch owner discovered a seven-foot freshly dug hole on his property. When he returned the following day he found the hole filled. He became suspicious and called authorities. When the hole was uncovered, the mutilated corpse of Kenneth Whitacre was found three feet in the ground. Whitacre had been sexually assaulted, stabbed and his head split opened with a machete. More Graves Uncovered Another farmer reported that he also had a freshly covered hole on his property. The hole contained the body of an elderly drifter, Charles Fleming. He had been sodomized, stabbed and his head was mutilated with a machete. The Machete Murderer The investigation turned up more graves. By June 4, 1971, authorities uncovered 25 graves. All the victims were men found laying on their backs, arms above their heads and shirts pulled over their faces. Each man had been sodomized and murdered in a similar fashion—stabbed and two slashes in the shape of a cross on the back of their heads. A Trail Leads to Corona Receipts with Juan Coronas name on them were found in the victims pockets. The police determined that many of the men had last been seen alive with Corona. A search of his home turned up two bloodstained knives, a ledger with seven of the victim’s names and the date of their murders logged, a machete, pistol, and bloodstained clothing. The Trial Corona was arrested and tried for the 25 murders. He was found guilty and sentenced to 25 consecutive life sentences, leaving him no hope of parole. He immediately appealed the verdict. Many believed an accomplice had been involved in the crimes but no evidence supporting the theory was ever found. In 1978, Coronas appeal was upheld and he set out to try to prove the lawyers during his first trial were inept because they never used his schizophrenia to plead insanity. He also pointed the finger to his brother as being the real killer. Coronas half brother, Natividad, was a cafe owner who lived in a nearby town in 1970. Natividad sexually attacked a patron and left his beaten body in the bathroom of the cafe. He took off to Mexico when he found out the victim was going to sue him. There was no evidence found linking Coronas brother to the crimes. In 1982, the court upheld the original guilty verdicts. Meanwhile, Corona was involved in a prison fight and received 32 razor cuts and lost an eye. Six Weeks of Murder Coronas killing spree lasted six weeks. Why he decided to begin killing is a mystery and one that many psychologists pondered. Most believe he probably had a past of sexual assault and victimizing the helpless individuals who he hired. Some attribute Coronas violence to his need for supreme control of his victims.