Two essay questions on Hamlet - Final #2

"Evil Step-mother" is a common term for children all over the world. Although some children claim that they like their step parents, It is much more common for kids to have intolerance towards newly adopted parents. There have been many movies and plays throughout history that deal with rotten stepparents, and many times rotten stepchildren. They seem to be depicted in many different ways, at many different times in history.

Firstly, Cinderella is a fairy tale that is based completely around the abuse she recieves from her "Evil Step-mother and Step-sisters." Her step-mom is shown as downright horrible with acts ranging from making her do all the chores to not allowing her to go to a ball that all women in the town are required to go to. She is so hated, that in the film-adaptation of the story, Her and the stepsisters are all ugly, and their cat is named "Lucifer." As many people know, Lucifer was Satan's name before he was cast down to hell in the Bible.

Although my parents recently divorced, I haven't had much experience with Step Parents. My mother does have a boyfriend, and he seems to be a very nice guy. My mother has talked about when she was a child, she had a step mother her treated her terribly. In my opinion, the reason why Step parents have such a bad reptuation is because of the psychological effects of a divorce on a child. No child handles divorce exceptionally well, and many children have a terrible problem with change. Whether the newcomer is rude or not, a child still has a preset for where their mommy or daddy used to be, and all they really seem to understand is that the situation has changed.

The hardest barrier for many children to overcome is the change. Facing and accepting the change is such a challenge, especially if their real mommy or daddy has no idea how to deal with a divorce. Its very hard for parents to be compassionate with their children when they're so wrapped up in trying to finalize something as big as a divorce, no matter how long they've been together. Step Parents have it tough too, because all they did was fall in love with someone, and sometimes dealing with a child isn't an adult's strong point.

Alternatively, Sometimes a step realtionship works out for the better. I've known people whose dad's or mom's have walked out before they were even out of the womb. They adopt a new parent as their own, no questions asked. Sometimes the people that father the children aren't necissarily the ones who should be their "dad." If i've noticed anything, it is that children dealing with unkind step parents may be scarred, but they are always stronger because of it. My mother had gone through 3 divorces as a child, Which means there was alot of change and instability. So when she decided that she couldn't be with my dad anymore, she had the compassion and caring that her mother and my own father couldn't seem to give.

As much as history depicts unkind and mean stepparents and even step children, there is a reality to having these people that shows true caring also. As much as I wouldn't want to have a step-dad or step-mom, I would truly want to see my own parents happy.

Two Essay Questions on Hamlet - Final #1

"Madness in Great ones must not unwatched go." There is plenty of truth in that one simple statement. When one observes the world from a quiet standpoint, it is easy to see the people that could very easily end up ruining a society, and corrupting good hearts. Of course the way one is viewed by anyone is a matter of opinion, for instance, Neo-Nazis and the KKK still exist, and they believe with every inkling of their being that they're fighting for a great cause.

A perfect example to validate this statement would be the Holocaust. Hitler had many followers at first, he was viewed as a great leader and had the support of many. People trusted him and thought him to be someone who could greatly help out the world. But after awhile, his true colors began to show through, his cause was revealed to the world, and those trusting followers began to be his fearing followers. His plan was literally to slaughter millions of innocent people for reasons that made sense to him, and really no one else. What makes this piece of history even worse is that there are still people who support his cause. Before the 2008 elections, two Neo-Nazis were arrested for conspiring to asassinate Obama before votes were even in. Although many do no support Obama, there is no reason to end his life because of the color of his skin.

Although World Leaders and Politicians are usually the prime candidates for issues of morality, there is another kind of morally indecent people that are loved by the hearts of many: Movie stars and Musicians. Hollywood seems to be the breeding ground for indecency, crudeness, and exploitation. America has watched as many innocent young girls have been put up on the silver screen in cute Disney movies, only to expose themselves in a nude magazine 2 or 3 years later. The worst part about hollywood is that it accepts actors and musicians at any age. For instance, Britney Spears was merely 16 when she released her first single, and now in her late twenties, she's battling the paparazzi and exposing herself on camera. It's funny how America has no tolerance for sex-offenders and pedophiles, and yet many underage actresses flaunt themselves to males everywhere, young or old. Many young girls look up to these actresses, and their lifestyles become more "acceptable" every day.

Societies seem to have many problems when it comes to keeping up with their great ones. In times of hardship, people look to anyone for some kind of solace, which is precisely the time that greedy hearts take the stand. Rulers and "Great Ones" before would suck the hope out of their societies when their people would find out something terrible about them. People would feel betrayed and let down, depressed and even angry. Now finding dirt on someone with power is considered fascinating, and exciting. Citizens can't wait to find some kind of corruption or scandal that these higher-ups get involved in. And that is how America has evolved.

One can never trust a politician, never trust a doctor, never trust their big screen heroes. All these psychological problems are beginning to develop in America, and no one can understand why. It's because no one listens to their gut instincts. America, and every other country in the world listens with their eyes and ears, because no one trusts their hearts anymore.

Are you a thinker or a doer?

While i ponder things and sometimes dwell, i do try my hardest to get things done.
As an introvert, i tend to think about things quite a bit, think about different scenarios and
situations, and act according to what i think will work out. Sometimes I get impulsive, just because i get tired of thinking about things. I usually tend to observe things around me and act according to what i've seen. For exmaple, if someone i know has gotten a ticket around the cottonwood area for something stupid like tinted windows, I would then drive slower, watch my speed, stop at the stop signs for a bit longer, and try and make sure there is no reason for a CHP to pull me over. I guess you could call it paranoia, but the way i see it, getting pulled over too would just be my luck.
Personally sometimes I wish that I were different when it came to taking risks. As an observer, I constantly calculate what would happen if something were to go wrong, or what could go wrong. The funny thing is, when it comes to life situations, most of the time I'm an optimistic and hopeful soul. But when it comes to myself, many times i assume that the world is out to get me. If i could change the way i am, i would also try to find reason to be more motivated. All my life i feel like i've been in denial of growing up, and ive seen the world for what it is, which is most of the time quite cruel. I dont want to let my fears get the best of me, because the biggest risk you ever take is to not take any risks at all.

Spying on your Kids

In all honesty, i think that spying on your children is alot more okay than it was back in the day.
Back in the day, there was no Myspace or Facebook, no public chatrooms or MMORPGs that
allowed your children to communicate with perverts and pedophiles. I still think that invading your kid's privacy behind their backs is wrong, invading personal space is traumatizing, whether your'e 6 or 25 years old.
I think that theres a lot of kids out there that get treated quite badly because their parents are paranoid. It's different when kids are visibly problematic, looking stoned all the time or starting to wear less than appropriate attire. Or If you're worried about their self-esteem, like they may have suicidal tendencies.
Kids are very impressionable, and yet they're all different. I think the steps that parents take to protect their children need to be out of love and not out of anger. If you're worried about your kid, then thats one thing, but invading their personal space is not a good reward for achievement and effort, especially if your kid is already on the sensitive side.
If a parent truly cares about their kid, then they should be able to find the courage to confront them. Spying on them and going through their personal things is taking just as big of a risk as confronting them, if not bigger. Kids may be impressionable, but they also have feelings and need to be able to understand why parents have to know about certain things. Building a relationship is hundreds of times more important then trying to find out whether or not they're smoking dope or having sex.

Polonious's Advice

My parents have always told me that keeping your friends and family close is
what keeps you sane. That even though alot of people will come and go,
there are always those few that will stay with you forever.
The funny thing i've noticed is that they're never who you think they'll be.
For instance, i have a friend i've known since 2nd grade, she's always been someone
i can have fun with. As of freshman year, i got a boyfriend whom i still love very dearly.
The funniest thing was that she, being my "best" friend, decided that after my parents got a divorce and my grandmother died in the same year, would not speak to me or even really try to make contact anymore because i wasn't trying hard enough.
You know who was there though? Yep, you bet, my boyfriend. He's been here for me, through good times and bad, and has always been my shoulder to lean on. He treats me so well and he tries so hard to make me happy. Which is already easy enough for him.

I've realized that he is my best friend, and thats okay :)

It hurts knowing that the people you think are the greatest end up showing their true colors when times are hard.
It's nice knowing that there are people who will actually talk to you at the same level you ponder life. That people will get into conversation deeply with you and all it does is bring you closer.
Ive kept Dustin close because sometimes i feel like he's all i have, but i also understand that the only thing constant in the world is change. I'm trying to get my relationship with my family strong again, its just been hard trying to adjust to all these changes.

Revenge

In our family, there is a woman who we consider a terror. She is selfish,
spineless, and treats so many people with disrespect it's disgusting.
She tries so hard to get into everyone's business, and continually hurts other people
because of her own lack of self-esteem.
A few years ago when my grandmother was still alive, this woman (who we will call "Bertha" for privacy's sake) decided to harass my grandma about a subject that she had no reason to get into. My grandmother was one of the sweetest, kindest people you would ever talk to, and she would do anything for anyone. Bertha, one day, decided that there was a family heirloom that belonged to her and only her, that my grandmother happened to give to my aunt.
My great grandmother had given my grandmother a string of pearls that meant very much to her, and said directly to her "Now helen, give these to the granddaughters to wear on their wedding day." So my grandmother passed them on to my aunt, who was to pass them down to her daughter. Bertha decided that they were her pearls, and that she would take my sweet grandmother to court just to get them back. My grandmother was on a respirator, about 68, and
could barely get out of the house without an oxygen pack. Needless to say my father was downright furious. As revenge, he took the string of pearls to a jeweler and had them split into
bracelets, which he passed out to Bertha, my aunt, and my other aunt.
Bertha was furious, and refused to speak to my father after that. He was called a few choice words, which didnt really mean a thing to him, and then kicked out of their house.
To this day, the pearls are distributed to everyone evenly, just to shut dear Bertha up.

The big one?

The idea of our 3 major american automakers merging makes me downright sick.
There's so many different factors you have to take in for the civilians when considering
that kind of a merge. Firstly, them merging is pretty much a monopoly of sorts, and
that means they can charge whatever they want, treat customers however they want,
and not having competition means that there's no drive for better, faster and more efficient vehicles. I feel like this kind of a merge will take away from the American spirit, as much
as that may already be dissipating.
What annoys me about this recession is that no one realizes that this is part
of our economic cycle. No one understands that things prosper for awhile and then either
very quickly or very subtly decline. I disagree with this guy, i think that he's missed major points
about the idea of an auto merger.

Getting kids intrested in college

I firmly believe that Rob Rogers and his program should be honored for
the effort he is making in high schooler's lives. Attending college is so much more
crucial in our age than it was 50 years ago. Its harder to make a living with only a high
school diploma, and downright impossible with anything under that. If its true that
" more students (are) becoming eligible to attend a CSU or UC and more students (are) filling out the FAFSA," then his efforts are not only helping these individuals, but statistically making
our state look amazing. I've heard so many of my friends here at west valley talk about how they can't afford a college education, and how they might as well just join the military or do something
that doesn't require one. I feel like this program is not only making a difference for the students themselves, but for the parents that want to give their kids everything and can't.
If it's true that 18.8% of Shasta county has a post-high school degree, in comparison to the state wide 29.5%, then I would say there is alot of work to be done. That's most likely the reason why Rogers started the program in the first place. The most depressing thing about that, to me, is that our north state high schools put forth alot of effort to make sure that we meet state and national standards, that the kids are ready and willing to try their hardest, and that they have the tools they need to get far in life. So why wouldn't our students be going off and becoming millionaires or making a difference? Why wouldn't they want to do that?
I have two theories to that; The first one being that we have community colleges that distract us. Instead of aiming higher and trying to find a college that, although expensive, will
give us a key to a very successful future, we decide that a community college is the easier route. We make promises to ourselves that we'll figure something out after we go to shasta, after we get some general education out of the way. In all reality, kids go to a community college, having no idea in mind as to what they want, thinking that it will come to them naturally. After 3 years of fiddling around, failing and passing, switching and dropping out, kids realize that their best bet would have been to have a plan. So in the long run, money is wasted anyway.
My second theory is that kids dont feel that they are good enough. People seem to glorify college as a resource only available for the extremely intelligent, gifted, and rich. But what isn't shown to them is that they CAN apply, and its okay if they don't get accepted. Its okay to put yourself out there and see if any colleges will take you, because sometimes they do.
I believe that if this program really is making a difference, it deserves more funding and more cooperation with even more colleges. This program should try and advertise more, try and aim not only at the students, but at the parents. Also, to help the kids try and understand themselves better, so they know the attributes they have that will help them to be successful.

"Bridge to Nowhere"

The bridge was supposed to be built to get the residents of
ketchikan, alaska to their airport. The government promised it
over 30 years ago, in the form of an earmark. But
the governer there, who is now a running mate for McCain,
stopped it before it had even begun to be built. I believe
that the reason it's so famous is because Sarah downplayed the
demand for the bridge, like it was a pointless waste of taxpayer's money.
The writer is angry because it wasn't like the state of Alaska was
asking for something completely pointless. The resident's needed the
bridge to get to their airport. I'm sure that if they didnt have a way to get to the airport
in LA, the government would make a huge deal, and not take 30 years to do it.
I agree that the writer of this article had plenty of evidence to change anyone's opinion
on the issue. He had statistics about the population of their city that proved how needed the bridge was. For instance, i'm sure 1 million visitors deserve a bridge to get across to the city they came to see.

Zackaria's Premise

I would have to agree that Zackaria's premise, that we should save more and consume less.
Although the recession we're going through is hard and will only get harder from here,
we as a nation should have thought of the consequences of the way we used our money.
What i dont understand is why there was never a complete revamp of the entire economy after all of the minor recessions we faced before. Our economy has always been an unstable one, and
yet we just let it stay like that, with our all-american blind optimism.
I think when Zakaria said that this is better for us in the long run, he really got me. Because it is true, the only way we learned how to deal with our economy better was through experiences like the Great Depression. That was a mistake that our country paid for greatly, and although we changed things around quite a bit after the depression, we haven't changed them enough.
My greatest concern is that we get a president that is smart enough to make the right financial decisions for our country. I'm tired of america getting these power-hungry idiots in office, only waiting for their next big public appearence and hoping that the problems they face in office will lay dormant until the next idiot gets elected. What our country needs is another FDR to pull us through. Someone with the country's combined love and respect, with intelligence and wisdom, and someone who isn't backwards like the rest of our public officials.
I hope that our country learns a lesson and changes enough to not put our citizens through another great depression, because although it was a learning experience, we suffered a great loss over it, one that our country shouldn't have to face again.

Stephen King's Article on Prescription drugs

In all honesty i think that Stephen King has a major point. It's sad to me that
drug companies spend more time worrying about marketing than they do about
the side effects of their medications and how to make them any better. Nowadays,
many companies have no problem being crooked, backward, two-faced, or anything
you'd like to call it. As long as they make bank on their products, they dont care about
what it does to the consumers, as long as it goes unnoticed.
What bothers me is that people who watch these ads start turning into
hypochondriacs, assuming that they have that exact disorder, or illness,
and need that medication. Especially if it's a "quick fix" like Stephen King mentioned.
As Americans, our tolerance for pain and suffering has gone down to pretty much nothing.
I think that if anything, the Federal Government should start monitoring what these drug companies put in their medications a bit more closely.
What i dont understand is how they put some of these chemicals into these
drugs without considering the long term consequences. They're trying to get
rid of herbal remedies, when herbal remedies are so much better for you than
the lab-created crap they put in their pills. I think that drug companies are just like
oil companies, they'll stop at nothing to get as much money as they can, even if it means
screwing over all Americans in the process.

Sammuelson's Point

I think his point is that we need to be careful and take more action.
What i dont understand is how come we've dropped into so many recessions
and yet we've never done anything drastic to prevent another depression.
What i hope happens is that we get anothe president like roosevelt to pull us out
of this possible depression we may be having.
I think he feels this way because of all of the times he's mentioned
the differences and similarities between the problem we're having now
and the depression in '29.
I think he feels that although we're dangerously close, we are not in a depression
yet, and that there is still hope for us to pull out of this.

College Plan

Well the plan that i have now is to go to shasta to get my prerequisites done
for court reporting. Then possibly a Legal arts school, most likely somewhere in california.
I've heard there are many good schools, and i'm hoping chico will have some classes
to offer too. But after that i plan to get settled as a court reporter for awhile, save up some
money and then go back to a school i can afford and become a psychologist.
Although it sounds a bit far-fetched, i realize that this is my life and i really only get one
chance to do it right. It's been hard getting my butt in gear, considering high school has
flown by for me.
I chose court reporting as a base because i had to have a solid career path before i go
into something that takes so much time and money. Court reporting doesn't take very long,
and i'm also a very quick typist. I type 85 to 90 on average, and i can hyperfocus on listening to people very well. So i thought it fit. I'm going to job shadow eventually and see whether or not
i would like it. Court reporting earns decent wages, and its something i feel i would be good at.
They start out at about $50,000 a year and can go all the way up to $140,000, which Isn't bad.


I really like Oregon:
http://www.collegeoflegalarts.edu/court_reporting.htm

so i'm considering portland.

http://www.humphreys.edu/divisions/ug/cr/
I think this one would really fit, its in stockton which isn't
far away from cottonwood at all

http://www.sagecollege.edu/contactus.htm
this one looks good

http://www.westvalley.edu/
i really like this one!!!

Wall Street Bail Out

In all honesty, i think that theres seriously something wrong with our country.
Its so easy for our government to make decisions like those, especially when the
civilians are going to be paying for it. Our taxes are going to go through the roof and
its because we have a leader who doesnt know how to handle an economy,
whether it's in shambles or running fine.
It makes me sick to think that all these decisions are easily made by government officials,
i haven't trusted the government for the longest time. How is this decision going to help?
Sure 700 billion dollars will help, but not when it's all borrowed money.
I mostly disagree, but on the same token, what will happen if we don't do anything?
What will happen to our economy if we dont take action now?
I guess what i want to say is that I think i'm glad we took action but i think we might have taken the wrong action.

Drinking Age to 18

I'm a bit confused with this. I have two seperate sides to this,
i think its both okay, and not okay.
Firstly, If we lower the drinking age to 18, there will most likely be alot more drunk driving accidents, and more immature people getting priviledges that they will most likely take advantage of. Possibly more instances of date rape, with more people being introduced to drinking legally, being able to get into night clubs and bars. Also, the lower the drinking age,
the younger the kids that try drinking illegally. Since many high school students already
drink despite the laws, what's to say for our Middle schoolers?
If you think about it, that will most likely add to the already high number of alcoholics we have in our country. There will be immature people trying things that they're not ready mentally to handle, let alone physically. I think all in all, we're really just asking if we want to add to more deaths due to liver cancer.
Not only that, but it would make high school very confusing, considering that alot of high schoolers turn 18 before they graduate. It would lower the drinking standard down to cigarette standards, and thats something we can't afford to do.
Cigarettes only relax you, whereas Alcochol actually distorts your state of mind.
My other reasoning though, is that since 18 year olds are allowed to serve in the military,
who's keeping them from being able to have a beer once in awhile? If an 18 year old can fight and die for our country, they should be able to have a shot of tequila after a hard day too.
Maybe it should be only 18 year olds in the military should get the priviledge of drinking at a younger age, considering that by the time they get out, usually they're old enough to drink anyway. I dont really know, i have two different points of view for this.

Crude Oil Article

I dont believe that anyone has tried anything for an alternate energy plan.
There are many who talk about it, especially politicians, but most of them wont take
action unless they're elected, and even then it really seems to just be a ploy to get them
elected. I think that America is filled with optimists, who are furiously trying to ignore
our economic problems, especially something like oil.
Our number one plan has always been to just take as much as we can, like
going to war with other countires pretty much for their oil, although the media
tries to make it look like the "bad guys" had it comin' to 'em anyway.
I really hope we figure out something before the government starts turning nasty
on us, and uses our oil crisis as an excuse to inflict more control. There's so many brilliant people
that have so many good ideas, and yet it seems since we're so self-centered, we dont really care about our country until it starts affecting us.
It makes me sad that good old hot rods and big pickup trucks really have lost all of their value
over something like this. My dad has a 1 ton dodge diesel and it costs him SO much money every week to fill it up. We usually use a diesel stove but now thats even somewhat quesitionable.
I think the best alternative would be all kinds of different things. Instead of focusing on one alternate fuel source, lets focus on many and make them all available, instead of having to just use one. That way if we somehow have to get rid of one of our energy sources, we'll have alternatives that we produce more of instead.
I think that drilling for oil here in the US for awhile wont hurt, just as long as we make sure we're
trying our hardest to find other resources, and that we can slowly let go of our addiction.
After we find alternates, i dont think the oil should ever be touched again.

LHC Risks

Is the potential downside worth the risk with the LHC?
Should scientists contniue with turning it on?

I honestly wonder who gave these people the right to do this.
How fair is it for any country, including the Swiss and French, to risk
being sucked into a black hole and all life as we know it to end?
Although i think the adavancement of science is vital to our existence on earth,
shouldn't these scientists be looking at the big picture with the risks they're taking?
So we find out about anti-matter, so what? As much as there may be a very small chance
of anything happening, there still is a CHANCE and i dont think that we should be taking risks like that. I dont believe scientists should be continuing.
Because by experimenting you are learning new information, which means
you aren't prepared for any of the consequences of your actions.
This experiment isn't like anything we've ever done before,
so how do we know the chances and percentages?
How do we know everything and everyone will be safe?
It makes me very angry that everyone is just "okay" with us being in danger like this.
I guess that there are risks in everything, for god's sake they say you can get Cancer by eating pretty much anything. But the only person you're risking is yourself when you do things like that.
You're not endangering other countries and even the entire world.
All i can say is that i enjoy my existence on earth, and i dont feel that it is the right of ANYONE to have a say in whether or not i get to live to be 40.
Something about this reminds me of the teenagers that have gotten in car accidents in our area.
Although sad, it is true that they had no idea their lives would end. Part of that is because most
people have no real idea of mortality. No one seems to realize that yes, we can die at any moment. Any given second there could be something that could kill us, and that doesn't register until we're faced with it. My dad told me the first day i started driving that i was driving a loaded weapon, and he's 100% right.

So what in the world were they thinking when they built this?

King Pellinore - Character Assignment

King Pellinore is the father of Sir Aglovale of the Knights of the Round Table.

He is known to be Arthur's enemy and friend in the tale of King Arthur.

He breaks the sword that Arthur pulled from the sword, and although Pellinore beats

Arthur within an inch of his life, they become friends afterward because of Arthur's respect for his skill. Arthur invited Pellinore to join the Knights of the Round Table, and Pellinore contributed to the search for the Holy Grail.

He constantly is pursuing the "Questing beast" which apparently has the feet of a deer, the haunches of a lion, the body of a leopard and the head of a snake.

Pellinore is eventually dubbed "The Maimed King" after being struck with a Holy Speer after doubting the Grail.

My 3 Heroes

Who are 3 of my Heroes?

My first hero would probably be my mom. For a long time i've always known her as my unhappy, tired, and impatient mom. We always got along, i've always been alot like her,
but the difference was that I was a happy version of her. I've come to realize, after she divorced
my dad and started living out her own life the way that she wanted, She's become more at peace with herself, and the things that bothered me about her really weren't character traits, just
the effects of unhappiness. She took the incentive to change her life, even though she is older and
may have not had the drive to make such a big change. She didn't compromise, and i pray to God that if i am faced with a situation like hers, that I will be wise and make the right choice, without compromising.
Another hero of mine is my grandmother. I lost her in June, she was 72. Before then she probably wouldn't have been one of my choices for an essay such as this one. I probably would have picked someone like John Wayne or JFK or something, but you dont know what you have until you lose it, right? Right. I loved her, and i always will. The things i realized that i had learned from her only help me to go on in this life, only make me feel better with every step i take. She taught me that the most wonderous thing about life is that you will never quit learning, never cease to gain knowledge and wisdom, and that is what makes it so beautiful. She also taught me to find the joy in simplicity. Little things made her laugh and it had nothing to do with her intelligence, for my grandmother was extremely wise, it was just that she knew. She knew that it was okay to laugh at the little things because the big things were just that much more enjoyable.
Last but not least, I'd have to say another hero of mine is my cousin Caleb. Although he is young, and makes mistakes just like me, he seems to not care about messing up. He's extremely talented with a gift that not many people are blessed with. My cousin can pick up almost any instrument and learn to play it beautifully. He has such an appreciation for all music without judgement. He's a skilled artist, I'm sure if he took some college classes he could very easily get an amazing career as a comic book artist, book illustrator, or even just an artist. I think the reason why i appreciate him so much is because we are the closest in our family. I grew up with him, saw him almost every day of my life from the time i was born until about 7th grade. My grandma babysat us after school and when i think about her, i think about the times we used to have together, the three of us. Because no matter how much we argued, we still loved each other, and honestly i see him more as a brother than my cousin. I appreciate how much we're alike and how he seeks me for someone to talk to, despite our 3 year difference.
Those are my 3 heroes.

Beowulf Entry #1

"Beowulf is the first Engilsh hero. What does he learn from his battles with Grendel and Grendel's Mother?"

I believe that Beowulf learned that no amount of gold or treasure could top the qualities added to his character after each battle. I noticed that in both battles, he really didnt care about anything accept proof that he, himself, fought the beasts and put an end to their lives.
That need to add to his already amazing reputation, to grow more respected and trusted
to all of his people, made him a very admirable character.
Beowulf also learned how to utilize all of his resources. He used a sword, like many of
our common fairytale heroes, but also used his bare hands to kill grendel. He tried his hardest
with whatever enchanted weapons he had, and pushed himself to the very limits with all of the strength he could muster.
Another thing I believe Beowulf did well was continuing to fight for his people, not just himself. He analyzed the situations he was given, seeing both advantages of winning and seeming to not care about the costs. He realized that not only would he grow in character and status, but his people and many others around the world would be safe. I think that if anything, he never thought about losing because for Beowulf, it wasn't an option.