Beowulf Attacks the Dragon Essay -- English Literature Essays

Beowulf Attacks the Dragon. Beowulf makes his final boast. He says that, even though he is old, he shall â€Å"still seek battle, perform a deed of fame† by killing the dragon. (Norton59) He doesn't know how to grapple with the dragon, like he did with Grendel, so he will use a sword and shield. He tells his men that the outcome will be â€Å"with us at the wall as fate allots, the ruler of every man.† (59) He tells them to let him fight the monster alone, â€Å"By my courage I will get gold, or war will take your king, dire life-evil.† (60) *These three quotations indicate pagan elements of glory, not Christian.* eowulf approaches the barrow. From the stone arch, he feels the dragon’s fire emanating from within. He shouts at the dragon. The dragon knows he is there and breathes fire. Beowulf hits the dragon with his shield and draws his sword, â€Å"the old heirloom.† (60) The dragon comes forward, â€Å"hastening to his fate,† (60) and breathes fire, but Beowulf is protected by his iron shield. But, â€Å"for the first time, the first day in his life, he might not prevail, since fate did not assign him such glory in battle.† (60) Beowulf strikes the dragon so hard with his sword, that the â€Å"edge failed.† (60) The â€Å"war blade had failed, naked at need, as it ought not to have done, iron good from old times.† (60) *The sword is given living qualities* The poet reminds the reader that â€Å"every man must give up the days that are lent him† (60), an elegaic theme that runs throughout the poem. Beowulf and the dragon come together again. The dragon breathes fire again and, for the first time in the poem, â€Å"he who before had ruled a folk felt harsh pain.† (60) Meanwhile his men flee to the woods, except for one. Wiglaf, s... ... writes; a draughtsman; a writer for another; especially, an offical or public writer; an amanuensis or secretary; a notary; a copyist. 2. (Jewish Hist.) A writer and doctor of the law; one skilled in the law and traditions; one who read and explained the law to the people. The most famous Old English scribe was a monk named Bede Scylfing: 1: the member of a Swedish Links: British Library Board: www.bl.uk Pace University Grendel Site: csis.pace.edu/grendel Beowulf Site: www.lone-star.net/literature/beowulf/index.html Beowulf Book: www.alcyone.com/max/lit/beowulf Bibliography: Dictionary: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary1913, C. & G. Merriam Co. Internet: http://www.dictionary.com Text Source: "Beowulf" The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth Edition. Vol. 1. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: Norton 1993

Essay --

In the eyes of society, every great leader has flaws, but one to many can lead to failure. â€Å"I have lived long enough, both in years and in accomplishment.† In the long run, Julius Caesar was a great leader and came extremely close to success but died at the hand of his supporters. The biography â€Å"Caesar† by Adrian Goldsworthy accurately explains Caesar's life in the Mediterranean world. This work brings all aspects of Caesar's character into a single novel. Julius, born in July 100 BC, was a Roman general as well as a statesman. He played a critical role in the events which led to the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. Julius was deemed to be one of the greatest military minds in history. The quote â€Å"I came, I saw, I conquered† is not only commonly know, but it accurately explains Julius' life. Caesars was born into a family of patricians, which was a ruling class in ancient Rome. Little of Caesar's childhood is recorded. His father, also of the name Gaius Julius Caesar, governed the province of Asia. His aunt, Julia, married Gaius Marius, a prominent figure in the Roman Republic and his mother Aurelia Cotta, came from a very influential family. It is said that Julius always had a fire burning in his heart to lead like his father, so after his father died in 85 BC and when he reached the age, he became what he was. Julius was an ambitious man. He came to be leader of the Roman Republic. He worked all the time to become a dictator trying to change the Roman Republic into an empire, as it was deteriorating as a Republic. This is admirable. Caesar's son, Augustus, had ended what Caesar began. An empire. Even though sources claim that over a million enemies were killed during his campaign, Julius was never ... ...it. If I was not able to find evidence of the conspiracy, then I would make sure he would understand to deploy dozens of guards to stop the assassination from ever occurring. Caesar's life was an interesting one. Not yet at age twenty, he avoided execution, he was decorated for valor in battle, and he was captured by pirates. His affairs were frequent and his magnetism allowed him to seduce many of his political opponents' wives, including the lovely Cleopatra. He was the most interesting man in the world, and the autobiography â€Å"Caesar† depicts his life in the Mediterranean world accurately. I loved reading about Caesar's life and although the book was from my perspective, boring, as a form of entertainment, I found it to be a great source for learning about Julius Caesar, as it is a biography. Though, Julius always said, â€Å"Experience is the teacher of all things†. Essay -- In the eyes of society, every great leader has flaws, but one to many can lead to failure. â€Å"I have lived long enough, both in years and in accomplishment.† In the long run, Julius Caesar was a great leader and came extremely close to success but died at the hand of his supporters. The biography â€Å"Caesar† by Adrian Goldsworthy accurately explains Caesar's life in the Mediterranean world. This work brings all aspects of Caesar's character into a single novel. Julius, born in July 100 BC, was a Roman general as well as a statesman. He played a critical role in the events which led to the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. Julius was deemed to be one of the greatest military minds in history. The quote â€Å"I came, I saw, I conquered† is not only commonly know, but it accurately explains Julius' life. Caesars was born into a family of patricians, which was a ruling class in ancient Rome. Little of Caesar's childhood is recorded. His father, also of the name Gaius Julius Caesar, governed the province of Asia. His aunt, Julia, married Gaius Marius, a prominent figure in the Roman Republic and his mother Aurelia Cotta, came from a very influential family. It is said that Julius always had a fire burning in his heart to lead like his father, so after his father died in 85 BC and when he reached the age, he became what he was. Julius was an ambitious man. He came to be leader of the Roman Republic. He worked all the time to become a dictator trying to change the Roman Republic into an empire, as it was deteriorating as a Republic. This is admirable. Caesar's son, Augustus, had ended what Caesar began. An empire. Even though sources claim that over a million enemies were killed during his campaign, Julius was never ... ...it. If I was not able to find evidence of the conspiracy, then I would make sure he would understand to deploy dozens of guards to stop the assassination from ever occurring. Caesar's life was an interesting one. Not yet at age twenty, he avoided execution, he was decorated for valor in battle, and he was captured by pirates. His affairs were frequent and his magnetism allowed him to seduce many of his political opponents' wives, including the lovely Cleopatra. He was the most interesting man in the world, and the autobiography â€Å"Caesar† depicts his life in the Mediterranean world accurately. I loved reading about Caesar's life and although the book was from my perspective, boring, as a form of entertainment, I found it to be a great source for learning about Julius Caesar, as it is a biography. Though, Julius always said, â€Å"Experience is the teacher of all things†.

Consequences of Syrian Conflict Essay

*Syria is now mired in an armed conflict between forces loyal to President Bashar al Asad and rebel fighters opposed to his rule. -Since major unrest began in March 2011, various reports suggest that between 22,000 and 25,000 Syrians have been killed. -U.S. officials and many analysts believe that President Bashar al Asad, his family members, and his other supporters will ultimately be forced from power, but few offer specific, credible timetables for a resolution to Syria’s ongoing crisis. -In the face of intense domestic and international pressure calling for political change and for an end to violence against civilians, the Asad government offered limited reforms while also meeting protests and armed attacks with overwhelming force. -Nonviolent protests continued, but their apparent futility created frustration and anger within the opposition ranks. -An increasing number of Syrian civilians have taken up arms in self-defense, although armed rebel attacks alienate some potential supporters. -The government accuses the opposition of carrying out bombings and assassinations targeting security infrastructure, security personnel, and civilians in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, and other areas. -Accounts of human rights abuses by both sides persist, with the majority attributed to security forces and military units. Backgrounds *Syrians have long struggled with many of the same challenges that have bred deep dissatisfaction in other Arab autocracies, including high unemployment, high inflation, limited upward mobility, rampant corruption, lack of political freedoms, and repressive security forces. -These factors have fueled opposition to Syria’s authoritarian government, which has been dominated by the Baath (Renaissance) Party since 1963, and the Al Asad family since 1970. -President Bashar al Asad’s father—Hafiz al Asad—ruled the country from 1970 until his death in 2000. *Since taking office in 2000, President Asad has offered and retracted the prospect of limited political reform, while aligning his government with Iran and non-state actors such as Hamas and Hezbollah in a complex rivalry with the United States and its Arab and non-Arab allies (including Israel). -Syria’s long-standing partnership with Russia has remained intact and is now the focus of intense diplomatic attention because Russia is one of the regime’s only remaining defenders. -As unrest emerged in other Arab countries in early 2011, Asad and many observers mistakenly believed that Syria’s pervasive police state and the population’s fear of sectarian violence would serve as a bulwark against the outbreak of turmoil. -Limited calls in February 2011 to organize reform protests failed, but the government’s torture of children involved in an isolated incident in the southern town of Dara’a in March provided a decisive spark for the emergence of demonstrations. -The use of force against demonstrators in Dara’a and later in other cities created a corresponding swell in public anger and public participation in protests. -The government organized large counterdemonstrations. -For much of 2011 and early 2012, a cycle of tension and violence intensified, as President Asad and his government paired limited reform gestures with the use of military force against protestors and armed opposition groups. -Violence was initially limited to certain locations but now has affected most major cities, including Damascus and Aleppo. -Members of different elites may seek compromise with the opposition, but there has been little public dissent from top regime figures. -Defections from the armed forces and from the political and business elites continue, and international sanctions and the disruptions of the conflict are creating hardship for ordinary Syrians. -As the conflict has dragged on, protestors and opposition fighters have defiantly resisted government crackdowns, in spite of the arrest of thousands of citizens and documented cases of torture and regime-instigated massacres. -The regime argues that opposition violence and abuses make a negotiated solution impossible, and President Asad refuses to leave power. -In an August 2012 report, the United Nations Human Rights Council commission of inquiry on Syria found: 2 reasonable grounds to believe that Government forces and the Shabbiha( is a term used in the context of the Syrian civil war to describe armed men in civilian clothing who assault protesters against the government of President Bashar Al-Assad.) had committed the crimes against humanity of murder and of torture, war crimes and gross violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including unlawful killing, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, sexual violence, indiscriminate attack, pillaging and destruction of property . -The commission found reasonable grounds to believe that war crimes, including murder, extrajudicial execution and torture, had been perpetrated by organized anti-Government armed groups. Consequences *Latest news from Syria shows that the West is not going to stop, continuing efforts to consolidate the â€Å"opposition† and give the military resistance more centralized character, with the division into districts and Action Front of the rebel army. *At the same time, the regular army of Syria increasingly showing signs of weakening. *Actually,the consequences of the fall of the Syrian regime are significantly differentiated for Russia, China and Iran but more vulnerable to such threats is the Islamic Republic, however a detailed consideration of these issues is beyond the scope of this article. -One can only assume that at the critical point, these countries are more prefer to engage in a post-conflict settlement of fragmented Syria, which will allow them to maintain a semblance of respect for their interests and lost regional role and influence, rather than spending more resources to preserve the regime. *Meanwhile, the consequences of military action in Syria, regardless of the outcome, can have an impact on the situation in Central Asia and in particular in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and then create the conditions for the tension in Xinjiang along the entire borders of these countries. *Now in Syria, according to public information, in addition to the Free Syrian Army and various local rebel groups there are several number of groups of jihadist orientation, fighting in the ranks of the representatives of the Arab countries, as well as immigrants from Europe and other regions of the world, representing essentially gang mercenaries, under the auspices of the West, Turkey and the Arab monarchies. -But, for the countries of Central Asia, as well as Russia and China, should be of particular concern the so-called group of â€Å"Dzhebat al Nusra† (Jabhat al-Nusra=(â€Å"The Support Front for the People of Syria†), is a militant group operating in Syria.) or â€Å"Al-Nusra front to protect the Levant.† *According to the latest information, in the ranks of this group, which is considered by many experts as branch of al-Qaeda, involved citizens of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia (natives of the North Caucasus), as well as citizens of the China (ethnic Uighurs). (Rim(8090))

Poverty in Africa Essay

Poverty is an unfortunate condition that exists throughout Africa. It is a widespread condition that affects the entire populace, resulting in Africa being the poorest continent. Poverty in Africa is derived from the many existing problems, and continues to cause devastating effects. However, a number of reforms are being implemented to resolve the problem of poverty. There are a number of existing issues in Africa, which leads to the derivation of poverty. Whether there is a civil war or a quarrel among its countries, Africa constantly remains one of the top locations for conflicts (â€Å"Poverty in Africa†). The effects of warfare, including the shifting of the population, the destruction of fields, crops and infrastructures, and the immigration of people from their homelands contribute to the rise of poverty. The destruction of fields and crops weakens the economy, which results in poor agriculture. With poor lands and agriculture, the availability of food and resources are greatly reduced. The infrastructures are crucial to the prospering of a nation. The lack of infrastructure in Africa results to the low availability of potable, clean water. Also, Africa does not have railways and roads that connect in a significant way, hence any transportation to and within Africa is very difficult (â€Å"Poverty in Africa†). Warfare can also result to refugees, which increases the number of people who are living in destitution. A weak government is also a root of poverty, thus an inefficient government will eventually lead the fall of the economy. It is difficult for a corrupt and an unproductive government to obtain the supplies and provide the people with the basic necessities, such as a providing the people with a proper education, building required infrastructures, and providing the people with enough food and water. Without a productive government, the country will not thrive and as a result, more people in the country will live in poverty.

Compare and contrast the 3 basic biology position of the 3 Essay

Compare and contrast the 3 basic biology position of the 3 philosophers Darwin, Dembski and Behe - Essay Example He is an American analytic philosopher who wrote a number of books about intelligent design such as The Design Inference, Intelligent Design: The Bridge between Science and Theology, and the Design Revolution. This concept of intelligent designed promoted by Dembski involves an argument that an overarching intelligence is responsible for the complexity of life that can be detected empirically. His concept of intelligent design is seen by the scientific community as a modern form of creationism, drawn from a traditional Christian set of religious belief attempting to portray itself as a science. . Michael Behe is also an advocate of intelligent design. He is an American biochemist and best known for his argument for irreducible complexity. According to him, some biochemical structures are too complex to be sufficiently explained by known evolutionary mechanisms and thus more of a result of intelligent design. However, his claims about the irreducible complexity of essential cellular s tructures have been discarded by enormous majority of the scientific community. The Theories Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is called natural selection. The theory stated that different species began from shared ancestors. Adaptations to different environments caused the differences in the organisms. The environment will determine which of the species are best fit to live and the traits of these organisms are passed down to new generations. New species are created out these traits. Decades of studies and observations led to the development of this theory. Intelligent Design is the negative argument of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. According to this theory, the forces of nature or something else are not sufficient to result to aspects of life or species. There must be an existing intelligent designer. According to this theory, the intelligent designer brought life and the natural selection have nothing to do with the appearance of the organisms we find today. Acco rding to William Dembski (1998), intelligent design can be formulated as a scientific theory having empirical consequences and devoid of religious commitments. The intelligent design can be discharged as a theory of information. According to him, information is not reducible to natural causes but best sought in intelligent causes (Dembski, 1998). Thus, intelligent design becomes a theory for detecting and measuring information, explaining its origin and tracing its flow (Demski, 1998). Michael Behe on the other hand wrote in his book Darwin’s Black Box that many biological systems are â€Å"irreducibly complex.† According to him, in order for these biological systems to evolve, multiple systems would have to arise simultaneously (Robison, 1996). Behe claims that these systems exist in Biology and the existence of â€Å"irreducible complexity† argues for an intelligent designer. The basic premise of the book is that  "Biochemistry has pushed Darwin's theory to the limit.   It has done so by opening the ultimate black box, the cell, thereby making possible our understanding of how life works† (Ussery, 2010). As Behe claims, life is so complicated, that it must have been created by divine intelligence, or at any rate gradual evolution could not possibly have created such complex systems (Ussery, 2010). Evolution vs. Intelligent Design Creationism and evolution have frequently competed since Darwin first proposed his theories of evolution and natural selection in his book

National Emergency Communication Plan Research Paper

National Emergency Communication Plan - Research Paper Example Emergency communications is highly depended on by many agencies in United States (Safecom Program, Online). NECP was established by US department of Homeland Security’s Office of Emergency Communication. It was created due to lack of cooperation among the communication systems used by the nation’s first responders. Coordination in terms of passing information was crucial to enhance fire fighting, law enforcement, rescue, and other emergencies. Evidence of lack of proper coordination among systems was witnessed through the occurrence of attacks in the Pentagon, World Trade Centre in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina. NECP aims to provide up to date modes of communication to enhance response to emergency calls. The plan suggests reasonable goals for the federal, state, local, as well as tribal authorities to be achieved by 2013. It does not interfere with the distribution of funds by the Department of Homeland security (Department of Homeland Security, Online). NECP, being the first strategic plan, majorly aims to improve emergency response communications. It also works hand in hand with Homeland securities in its legislations. During the year 2010, it planned to achieve quick response emergency communication within one hour in high risk urban areas. In 2011, it aimed at achieving high level response emergency communication in low risk urban areas. By 2013, it aims to thrust all authorities to demonstrate response-level emergency communications within 3 hours in case of a major event a specified in nation’s planning scenarios (Walker 5). Land mobile radio and related public safety control systems have been put in place to ensure the quality and continuity of communications systems. Principles of chain and unity of command, unified command (for multi- agency incidents), and standardised span of control have also been put in place to clearly explain duties and responsibilities of responders. Shared laws and regulations have been structured to

The seriousness of Military Veteran Homelessness Essay

The seriousness of Military Veteran Homelessness - Essay Example â€Å"Roughly  56 percent  of all homeless veterans are African American or Hispanic, despite only accounting for 12.8 percent and 15.4 percent of the U.S. population respectively† (National Coalition for Homeless Veternas, 2011). The biggest problem of the military veterans in America is homelessness. About 50% of the veterans that had served in the military in the Vietnam era are homeless today. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), most of the homeless veterans of the nation are men while the percentage of women is about 5. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) records a minimum of 131000 homeless veterans every night while the number of military veterans that are found to experience homelessness every year is 262000 (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009). They generally come from urban regions and account for one third of the total population of homeless people in America. The homelessness and lack of employment is just as much a problem for the young veterans who have recently returned from Afghanistan and Iraq as it is for the old veterans that have served in the previous wars. They have their lunches and dinners in the soup kitchens and are desperate for finding jobs even if they have too do menial works (USA Today, 2007). Last, but not the least, the homelessness has led the military veterans to depression. A vast majority of these veterans are single and suffer from physical and psychological illnesses. Many are patients of depression and are addicted to substance abuse. One veteran said, I shed blood for this country and got the Purple Heart after a mortar blast sent shrapnel into my face and leg. But when I came back home from Vietnam I was having problems. I tried to hurt my wife because she was Filipino. Every time I looked at her I thought I was in Vietnam again. So we broke up. (Glantz, 2009, p. 1). Unfortunately, there is no proper system in place to cater for