Monday, March 3, 2014

Talking back to Grendel: What are your beliefs?



Read the following and be prepared to discuss each of these passages, beliefs, and questions in class.
Talking back to Grendel: What are your beliefs?

After the discussion, add additional thoughts and support in the comment box below. You can address one issue or multiple issues. You can stick to a topic we discussed in class or you can write about a topic we didn't get to. 300 words or so. Be thoughtful. Deal with complexity. Take a position. Support your thoughts with examples and reasons. Do this tonight. If for some reason you can't post your response on the blog, write it out by hand, bring it to class, and post it later. [Note to C-block: I was supposed to introduce a grammar assignment that you'll be completing over the next several weeks. Read the directions here. Then ask questions tomorrow.

Chapter 6 (Virgo, the virgin):
Heroism
“A hero is not afraid to face cruel truth…. [Grendel,] you talk of heroism as noble language, dignity. It’s more than that, as my coming here has proved. No man above us will ever know whether Unferth died here or fled to the hills like a coward. Only you and I and God will know the truth. That’s inner heroism.”
“…I didn’t know how deep the pool was,” [Unferth] said. “I had a chance. I knew I had no more than that. It’s all a hero asks for.”
                “I sighed. The word “hero” was beginning to grate. He was an idiot. I could crush him like a fly, but I held back.
                “Go ahead, scoff,” he said, petulant. “Except in the life of a hero, the whole world’s meaningless. The hero sees values beyond what’s possible. That’s the nature of a hero. It kills him, of course, ultimately. But it makes the whole struggle of humanity worthwhile.”
                I nodded in the darkness. “And breaks up the boredom,” I said.
What is inner heroism? Is it important to you to strive for inner heroism? Or, is inner heroism a form of foolishness and stupidity?

Chapter 7 (Libra, the scales/balance)
Beauty and Kindness
When drunken men argued, pitting theory against theory, bludgeoning each other’s absurdities, she came between them, wordless, uncondemning, pouring out mead like a mother’s love, and they were softened, reminded of their humanness, exactly as they might have been softened by the cry of a child in danger, or an old man’s suffering, or spring. The Shaper sang things that had never crossed his mind before: comfort, beauty, a wisdom softer, more permanent, than Hrothgar’s.
The queen smiled. Impossibly, like roses blooming in the heart of December, she said, “That’s past.” And it was. The demon was exorcised. I saw his hands unclench, relax, and—torn between tears and a bellow of scorn—I crept back to my cave.
I slammed into the bedroom. She sat up screaming, and I laughed. I snatched her foot, and now her unqueenly shrieks were deafening, exactly like the squeals of a pig. No one would defend her, not even suicidal Unferth at the door….
Do you believe in beauty—in all forms—as a way to inspire people to be better?
Do you believe in the importance of kindness, empathy, and sacrifice for the good of others?

Chapter 8 (Scorpio, the scorpion)
Government and Political Change

[Hrothulf] said angrily… “Nobody in his right mind would praise violence for its own sake, regardless of its ends!”
                The old man shrugged and put on a childish smile. “But I’m a simple man, you see,” he said, “and that’s exactly what I do. All systems are evil. All governments are evil. Not just a trifle evil. Monstrously evil.” Though he still smiled, he was shaking, only half controlling it. “If you want me to help you destroy a government, I’m here to serve. But as for Universal Justice—“ He laughed.
Do you believe in the necessity of government and law—even when you disagree with them?
Do you believe that through political change the world can be improved?

Chapter 9 (Sagittarius, the centaurian archer)
God and Religion
 [The Chief God] is the eternal urge of desire establishing the purposes of all creatures. He is an infinite patience, a tender care that nothing in the universe be vain.”
“The ultimate evil is that Time is perpetual perishing, and being actual involves elimination…. Such is His mystery: that beauty requires contrast, and that discord is fundamental to the creation of new intensities of feeling. Ultimate wisdom…lies in the perception that the solemnity and grandeur of the universe rise through the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost.”

The Fourth Priest: … Now I see, I see! The will of the gods! The rhythm is re-established! Merely rational thought—forgive me for preaching, but I must, I must!—merely rational thought leaves the mind incurably crippled in a closed and ossified system, it can only extrapolate from the past. But now at last, sweet fantasy has found root in your blessed soul! The absurd, the inspiring, the uncanny, the awesome, the terrifying, the ecstatic—none of these had a place, for you, before. But I should have seen it coming. O I kick myself for not seeing it coming! A vision of the Destroyer! Of course, of course! Before we know it, you’ll be kissing girls! Can’t grasp it, brothers? Both blood and sperm are explosive, irregular, feeling-pitched, mess—and inexplicably fascinating! They transcend! They leap the gap! O blessed Ork! I believe your vision proves there is hope for us all!
Do you believe in a supernatural power (God) that gives purpose to all things? What is the nature of the supernatural power you believe in?

Chapter 10 (Capricorn, horned goat)
Memory, History, Storytelling
I think of the pastness of the past: how the moment I am alive in, prisoned in, moves like a slowly tumbling form through darkness, the underground river. Not only ancient history—the mythical age of the brothers’ feud—but my own history one second ago, has vanished utterly, dropped out of existence. King Scyld’s great deeds do not exist “back there in Time”…They do not exist at all. My wickedness five years ago, or six, or twelve, has no existence except as now, mumbling, mumbling, … I strain my memory to regain it.
Are memory, history, and storytelling about the past important to you? Are they necessary for our culture? Or, is the past gone, irretrievable, irrelevant, and meaningless?

Chapters 11 and 12 The rest of the book (Aquarius, water bearer; Pisces, fishes):

Finally, do you believe in the power of hoping for and imagining a better world here on earth? Or, is it foolish and naïve to hope for anything beyond personal pleasure? (In other words, do you agree with the dragon: “seek out gold and sit on it”?)

30 comments:

  1. Are memory, history, and storytelling about the past important to you? Are they necessary for our culture? Or, is the past gone, irretrievable, irrelevant, and meaningless?
    It is not an uncommon saying that “the past will be rewritten”. As the dragon suggests in Chapter five humans are creatures of habit and, whether consciously or subconsciously, we tend to follow in the footsteps of generations past. Our reasoning behind studying history is not for the fun of memorizing tedious facts but instead to recognize the patterns that shape humankind. Both the dragon and Ork agree with the notion that all will be forgotten and a similar pattern will ensue but the dragon’s stance on the matter is that trying to change is meaningless. I disagree. By learning about the past, by keeping alive the memories of trial and tribulation we can help to prevent them. Only by learning what we do wrong can we hope to change our society. As Grendel notices, war is a pattern. It is not a desirable circumstance with the casualties and the loss of dignity but it continues. War existed in the past and exists now so solutions to wars past become relevant to meeting agreements in wars present. Our culture is shaped by the actions of those previous and we can learn from them. If you look at the past and life itself as never changing, it never will. Give up the dragon says, sit on your pot of gold he says. What good will come of that? We may be a speck on the grand scheme of the universe but if you don’t make the best of your situation then who will? We forget the past when we resume a pattern like way of life and make the same mistakes already made. Make your own purpose and learn about the past, or live life waiting for the mind-numbing repetition of the future.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do you believe in the necessity of government and law—even when you disagree with them?
    Do you believe that through political change the world can be improved?

    I believe that government and law is necessary for a stable society to exist and flourish. Government provides a structure, and a set of rules to a group of people, which are expected to be followed, and if they are not, there are consequences through some form of punishment. Along with the structure and the punishment provided by a government, protection and growth of the society is ensured. A society without a government, or any set of rules, may be able to exist, but will be unable to function or be productive in any way, because the people in society would not be united under one governing body, and interests may conflict, leading to constant fighting and conflict between individuals. This is evident from the behavior of the bands of people mentioned in chapter two of Grendel, who fought for land and to build their own meadhall. Hrothgar, who had established a secure meadhall using strategy, and his influence over his army, led his men to victory until the point that he controlled the most successful meadhall. The government that Hrothgar established, allowed for his society to fight under one cause and for one purpose, because everyone in the society had shared the similar interest of expanding Hrothgar’s kingdom. The smaller bands of fighting men did not have such a government, and as a result, were unable to compete with Hrothgar. For a society to prosper, a government that provides law is required to establish order and assemble the society to complete a desired goal.
    I suppose that it would be possible to improve the world if everyone believed in the same thing and worked to complete it, bypassing any form of government, but that possibility seems unlikely, since it requires everyone agreeing on one thing. Governments play the most influential role of its society’s way of living, through enforcing its established laws. If a government passed a law that improved the world in some way, that government would enforce that law, at least partly ensuring that particular improvement. Although it may be possible that a government is unable to enforce a law that improves the world, political change seems to be the easiest and most reasonable way to go about world improvement, since governments are what control countries, everyone in them, and the laws that the citizens are expected to obey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's why we need government; no one will have to all agree to the same terms. We have representatives who collect the peoples' ideas and passions and bring them to the meetings that they go to to discuss how the people feel and what to do about it. Of course it isn't foolproof, but nothing is.

      Delete
  3. Heroism really should be about selflessness. Not for the purpose of looking selfless or brave, but to actually want to be those things and then become them. Not trying and not putting real effort into things gets you nowhere. If the effort isn't your best, it isn't really effort at all. Doing something because it's right and not putting your name on that plaque or telling everyone you did it is heroic. Heroic because you didn't do it to make others feel good about you, you did it to make YOU feel good about yourself. And if you help yourself, then you can help others.
    I do not believe in the words pretty or beautiful, because today they are understood in a vain way. People think pretty face or beautiful hair or something physical. No one thinks about what makes a soul beautiful. The world doesn't normally use those adjectives to describe someone on the inside. They would argue this, but if they listen to themselves talk they would see it's true. I believe that empathy and kindness are able to be recognized by others, which is why they exist. Yet sacrifice isn't something most people can do because they can't let go of themselves enough to think of another person.
    I believe that the absence of government would lead to trouble beyond what I can imagine, whether I agree with the politics of it all or not. I do believe that if done for the right reasons someday, politics can better the world rather than deceive it.
    I believe in God. But I don't really believe in fearing God. Fearing Him doesn't make any sense to me. I do believe that He has a plan for my life however, and fearing Him isn't a part of it.
    As for memory of the past, I believe using the past to overcome obstacles in the past is great. History of the past is important to learn from also, but storytelling should not be prevalent to personal history, memory, or experiences. Sometimes if you have been through something before and try to help someone else. they don't appreciate it. The messenger always gets shot.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Heroism is the bravery it takes to overcome a situation in the physical world or in one’s mind. It is not limited to doing things that elicit acclamation from the general public, but it involves overcoming a struggle. When the struggle is in one’s mind, and one rises above that struggle, that is inner heroism. Charles Shultz, acclaimed cartoonist of Peanuts was an ordinary child, a less than average student, whom everyone thought was a loser. However, he decided to rise above what others thought of him (which wasn’t much), and that lead him to become the cartoonist of the acclaimed comic strip Peanuts. Peanuts features the character, Charlie Brown, who is often ridiculed by his classmates. Charles Shultz made the decision that he wouldn’t allow what others thought of him, to dictate the course of his life. He was his own hero, for he had inner heroism. Anyone who has recovered from suicidal thoughts, depression, feelings of inadequacy, has inner heroism, because they have won battles in their minds. Psychological battles are the hardest to conquer, because it involves changing how you view yourself, the world, and your future. Counsel and encouragement from others, can help overcome the inner struggles associated with human existence. However, ultimately it’s up to us to decide on living life more abundantly with less struggles in our minds, and to be all that we know we can be. I understand that life is difficult, and that there will always be struggles within us, be it feelings of inadequacy, failures, lack of purpose in life, and many more struggles, but once we decide not to let those struggles hold back our lives, we become our own heroes. This courage it takes to do that is the very essence of what a hero is, and most of us don’t even wear capes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Are memory, history, and storytelling about the past important to you? Are they necessary for our culture? Or, is the past gone, irretrievable, irrelevant, and meaningless?

    The past is meaningless to me. People who live in the past tend to be left behind. Things change, people change so the past is not an accurate representation it's outdated. The past can be useful so that we as humans can learn from our mistakes. Whats done is done there is no changing the past so why focus on it. The past is a big component to who we have become but everybody changes and you have the power to control who you become. Studying the past is the best way to figure out why things are as they are but things change quick and a new past is created every day. Judging someone or something from the past is foolish. Sometimes the "past" has been twisted. People change so judging someone on their past is illogical. Take Germany for example they have had a rough past with the genocide but we don't judge the country and it's people based on that. Nothing remains the same forever and people including myself have to accept that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I would like to make some comments on the history, memory, and storytelling section even though we had not yet gotten to it yet in class. The way I see it, history is what makes our society what it is. Knowing our history is critical to understanding ourselves. Including how our society has arrived to the place it is, and how decisions in the past have affected the present. Additionally, it has become quite evident that those who fail to understand the patterns and repetitions of history will make similar mistakes to those in the past. If we see the past as irrelevant or meaningless, we will lose the events that makes us who we are. The past is almost more important than the future, as past events directly shape how our society views the goals and expectations of the future. Society expected that the calvariy units of old would be effective during the first world war, and why shouldnt they the calvary unit had been the unflapping force at the head of every charge for almost 5 centuries. How could they have compared them to the chemical weapons and tanks of the future if they could not see them. They could see what worked in the past and so developed their plans accordingly. Then, when the world was faced with another conflict, it prepared with new tanks and airplanes, and left the horses out. The main point is that society creates it's future by examining the faults and successes of the past. Understanding the past is essential to keeping up with the present, and preparing for the future.

    ReplyDelete
  7. When we were talking about inner-heroism in class today, I didn’t get a chance to make a point. It sounded to me that those who spoke thought obvious inner-heroism is bad. I think we forgot about the aspect of inner-heroism that children tend to see, aspiring to be a better person. I think that it is a good thing when a child says to me that they want to be a superhero when they grow up because it means that they want to help people. And, maybe they also want the recognition but I also do not think that wanting to be proud of yourself is a bad thing. Having healthy respect for yourself helps you be a more productive member of society because you are not always questioning your actions. it is definitely important to teach the kids that dream of being a superhero to not brag about it but that is usually a normal lesson of childhood. Having pride in myself helps me to feel like what I am doing is worth something.I think this feeling depends on what type of inner-heroism we are talking about. I think inner-heroism is the feeling that you are doing something to better others or the world and that you can take pride in that. I do not think that inner-heroism is planning your actions so that you can gain the recognition, after all it is inner- heroism.

    ReplyDelete
  8. When arguing this common question, I can completely see both sides. Although I myself, am religious, I can see where human kind can doubt all super natural powers. What proof do we have? If someone's up there then why do bad things happen to people we love? However, I believe that it is necessary for us to believe in some kind of God, no matter which religion, we need to believe in something because believing is the key to hope which leads to change. If we can have a greater good to believe in then our choices are modified and hopefully, made with more attention. Where the dragon decided there was no hope in changing our complicated universe, Ork also saw those challenges in being considered insignificant. However he believed in the powers of greater good and a way to look at the same philosophy in a more positive light. When people say they don't believe in "the fear of God" I disagree. I think we interpret that "almighty commandment" wrong. We are not to fear him as in to be afraid but to be in awe of his abilities. Religion can compel people to do good things for others. Believing in a God gives the chance for people to recreate themselves as a hero without doing it for others. I believe in a greater good and a god not because I want to "make it to heaven" but because I think any type of religion gives us something to believe in and a way to distinguish the good from the bad. Things happen in our lives that we don't have the capacity to process and explain and sometimes looking to a supernatural power can give us the reassurance we need to remind ourselves that we matter. We, small, insignificant, speck-of-dust humans matter. Our pasts, our decisions, our qualities, our ability to recognize beauty and heroism are the things that distinguish us from one another and also allow us to work together to change our futures. Without a reason to do all of these things, we lose sight of our beliefs. So whether it's a physical God watching us from above, or just the belief of a greater good leading us through our lives, I think it's important to maintain our beliefs in order for us to function.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you believe in a supernatural power (God) that gives purpose to all things? What is the nature of the supernatural power you believe in?

      Delete
  9. I believe that all forms of beauty are important, however inner beauty is more important than outer beauty. The thoughts and actions of a person are what can make their personality pretty or ugly, which ultimately defines a person. Although inner beauty is important, I think that outer beauty plays a significant role in our society because people are drawn to what they think is more attractive, rather than someone or something that isn’t as beautiful. I also believe that beauty can inspire people to be better. Acts of kindness, in our modern society, can be rare and when experiencing another person do something good, it can inspire many others to do so as well. Kindness, empathy and sacrifice for the good of others also reflects beauty because you are proving that it is important to put the needs of others before your own good and satisfaction. This also leads back to heroism. If a person is defined as a "hero" then they have done something to deserve it, something that proves that they can put others before themselves. It shows that that person has the kindness and respect for others, which I think of as is inner beauty.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The future of humanity as e know it is impossible to determine. one person or even one nation's actions are not likely to affect the entire world's future. Some people strive to change the world, like stalin and *cough* some other dictators, and we all know how that turned out. Frankly, the effect that one person can enact on the world as a whole is very very slim. Therefore, the true worth of a person lies in what they do on a local level, volunteering in their comuniy, making themselves the best they can be, and giving back to a community of people that may not even be appreciative, because you expect nothing in return anyway. Eventally, if eough people work hard enough, the world can change not because that was their original goal, but because so many different good deeds were dont all in a similar time frame, so the world as a whole is improved. It is indeed foolish and naive to say that you will wake up one day and figure out the cure for world hunger, but adopting a child from an impoverished family that cannot provide for them will be doing more thn society as a whole epects out of you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Do you believe in beauty—in all forms—as a way to inspire people to be better?
    Do you believe in the importance of kindness, empathy, and sacrifice for the good of others?


    All beauty has one form or another. Physical beauty and inner beauty both have purposes. The original purpose of physical beauty was to find someone health, if someone was “beautiful” that meant they were healthy. As the years went on companies have been trying to quantify beauty into something that can be sold. This has greatly skewed the idea that beauty is only physical but there is a lot of beauty in the non physical.You can see and hear this at our own school. Kids caring more about going to sunbank than the well being of others and even their own friends. If their selfishness was replaced with selflessness than our school would be more beautiful. The random acts of kindness you can sometimes see at schools and workplaces are true beauty, they show the truth behind people. The kindness and empathy people show to others is awesome, they can make people's day. Kindness makes people better, it makes their lives better overall. Sadly people die and their physical beauty with them, but for some their ideals and philosophy can last forever. MLK’s speech about equality is still influential to people today. His inner beauty created some of the best speeches and letters ever written. If more people cared about their inner beauty more than their outward beauty our society would be much better. There wouldn’t be bullies or rasicist or sexsists, our lives would be more productive and just overall better if people believes more in kindness, empathy and selflessness.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What is inner heroism? Is it important to you to strive for inner heroism? Or, is inner heroism a form of foolishness and stupidity?

    Inner heroism, to me, isn't much more than putting the needs of others above those of yourself. When we can shed the layer of selfish and egotistic thoughts, that's when we have the opportunity to do good for others. It's facing evil, and opposing it not for personal reasons, but in the defense of all things good. A common misconception of heroism is that a heroic act, has to be some grandiose spectacle. To "save a damsel in distress". In all reality, heroism is practiced all over the world, every single day. It doesn't have to make headlines. In fact, most often it's the quieter heroes that I find most incredible and influential. For example, hospice workers are some of the people I admire the most. These heroes aren't thinking about themselves when they spend hours upon hours bedside with someone they've just met. They don't consider what being a friend to someone on their last leg will reflect upon their image. They do it because they want to help. They do it because it's embedded in their DNA. This is what true heroism is. And these are the type of people that inspire me to try to be a hero myself.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Are memory, history, and storytelling about the past important to you? Are they necessary for our culture? Or, is the past gone, irretrievable, irrelevant, and meaningless?

    My opinion on this subject would be opposite that of the dragon as past plays an important key in the development of character and culture that surrounds is. For example most cultures today spend at least one day to admire the past deeds of heroism and to recognize the effort life has gone through to get to the current point today. Memorial day is a day in American culture that spends a day to honor such heroes that had shaped the world to they way it is today. By saying this I imply that the past is indeed important, but to a degree, like almost everything on earth, looking back into the past must be taken in small doses. A person should not just merely spend their lives looking back to the past and living there and not here as they themselves as a character would not grow. If I myself were to have spent everyday looking back at when I was younger I would never have had the urge to strive for goals into the future, which are just as important as the past. It is best to look at both perspectives of time because without looking back at the past a character will forget the journey to get to where they are and become cocky. On the other hand a person must look into the future to continue gaining goals and striving for continuation of their tradition and for their footprint to impact societies later in life. As for stories they end up being a required piece of information to humanity's existence as they record values and lessons to cultures so as for the people to never forget. Events and stories tell people of our own mistakes and the points of stories are to make sure that we learn a lesson and not repeat them, or even in the case of Grendel the stories are used as a way to enlighten the mind on alternate perspectives.
    Overall the point of regarding the past is rather important to our own societies and to take in the opinion of the dragon and to ignore all past would cause ignorance and repetition in our own mistakes. Without looking back, and not obsessing, with the past we as humans would lack the culture and identities of our world and earth would not be the same. Earth would be chaotic and a little less unique inthe long run.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Are memory, history, and storytelling about the past important to you? Are they necessary for our culture? Or, is the past gone, irretrievable, irrelevant, and meaningless?

    "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it." This is a phrase that is constantly told and heard around our world today and I agree with it. The past is very important to where we are now, it's the reason things are the way that they are. No one should be stuck in the past, but to look back and learn from mistakes that were made is natural for development in culture, so the same mistakes are not made again. In the past people have done brilliant things and not remembering them and learning from them would greatly affect our culture and how people see the world today. You could almost say that the past gives people hope in life, because so much has been accomplished by human beings it gives hope that more great things can be done. The past shows both the good and bad of humanity and both we can learn from. Without inspiration from the past life would become very meaningless. The past isn't irrelevant it happened for a reason, mistakes were made or good choices influenced each outcome in the past. Without remembering the past the same thing could happen again. While the past itself may be gone the effect is has left behind is not and that is the most important thing. That is what must be remembered.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I believe in the power of hoping for and imagining a better world here on earth. In many ways, people are driven to live and find meaning and pleasure for themselves through the very act of working towards making the world a “better” place. Therefore, I feel that it is a great thing for people to be passionate about imagining a good world, and letting that make them work together to make happiness. This is a far better scenario than simply feeling this is either hopeless or meaningless/useless and deciding to find greedy pleasure for one’s lifetime. But what does “better” mean? Does it mean a “green” environment? A happy, helping one? This is a subjective topic. However, the majority of the world would agree to some extent that “a better world” means a place where we all thrive. Thrive, as in grow and develop with success. To do this, we must want to have a healthy world. This want is the power of hoping for something better. People want a better world, and through doing their part to help it, they are using their power to make change, and, lots of happiness. This is a more gratifying way to create happiness than doing so the easy way - through greed or hopelessness, like the dragon. Of course, the latter part of the prompt does have a point to it. It hints towards the theme of how difficult it is to make a better world - a very legitimate, truthful theme. However, it is far fetched to call hoping, imagining, and working towards a better world “foolish”. Rather, it is “difficult” or “easier said than done” - but it isn’t wrong. A great example of someone who imagines what he sees as a “better world” and works towards it is Hrothgar, in Grendel. He may not be the perfect ruler - possibly too quick to make a decision - however he thinks of his people, and dreams of what he thinks is good - a thriving environment. Hrothgar is by no means a perfect character, however, if you look at his actions, you can see that they’re more commendable and workable for a better life than someone like the Dragon’s perspective and lifestyle. A common way in which we see the power of hoping for a better world in today’s society is through charities. Organizations and charities work to better the lives of the people in the world, and in turn, create happiness for all. This is a simple example of how small change, occurring everywhere, can make bigger differences - and that, in my opinion, is valuable, because, what else is life for, than to make happiness, and create a common “beautiful” world? Working hard to dream and make change for a thriving world is a more pleasing and better way to live than to jump to the conclusion that things are quite “pointless”, and that greed is the answer for a lifetime.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Are memory, history, and storytelling about the past important to you? Are they necessary for our culture? Or, is the past gone, irretrievable, irrelevant, and meaningless?

    I feel like if the past was not important we would not need to take courses like U.S. History and World Cultures and Regions because there would be no need to know what happened inn the past. It's like in the quote: " A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether." (Roy H. Williams). History helps us learn from others in our past; we learn about their mistakes and their success and hopefully learn how to become a better group of people to keep our society growing. Stories are also a powerful way to send messages throughout history and keep our society in check. The Shaper in Grendel helps the people in the story keep their hopes us and constantly remind them of the good things and warn them of the bad things. In our history, stories have the same power. The power to bring people together and to remind people of the deeds done by our society to keep us in check so we don't go astray. Stories and Storytelling are a part of what makes our culture; what makes us the people we are today. I feel like history and stories are extremely important because it not only shapes us but leads us to the right path in life by giving us examples from the past.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Inner heroism comes from selfless acts; acts done for the good of others. Yet, in being a hero, one must not declare themselves a hero or attempt to become one just for the title. Those who claim they possess inner heroism or, like Unferth, seek out ways to gain the title of a "hero", do not truly have it. Instead, inner heroism comes from the goodness and kindness within oneself. You become a hero after using the inner heroism you possess to take actions for others. In the case of Unferth, he went to Grendel to prove to himself that he was the hero he so frequently claimed he was. In doing this though, he was hoping to gain the title of a true hero for himself, he wanted to get self satisfaction. He did not go to help try and save his people, he wasn't attempting to take action for them but for himself. If one treats inner heroism as Unferth did, then they must not truly have a hero within them. They simply with to make self gains and not take selfless action. Inner heroism isn't something you can necessarily strive for, but it is something that you either do or do not have within you. Selfish, egotistic, self centered people are less likely to obtain an inner hero. They will likely only every take a "heroic" action if they expect a benefit for themselves. Whether it be the title or the attention, it is a self gain and that is why it was done. On the other hand, someone who is kind, generous, truly concerned for the well being of others, is almost guaranteed the potential to have a hero in them. At some point they will most likely take an action that will only benefit other people and not them. This action may deem them a hero or it may not; but, even if not, an inner hero is formed by these selfless actions. The only way to possess inner heroism is through taking actions for others and not trying to gain benefits for yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Government and Political Change

    I believe government is absolutely essential for man’s coexistence, for though man has intrinsic beliefs about right and wrong, some choose not to follow them. This is a broad statement to make, when we look at dictatorships that killed millions, like the Mao dynasty in China, or Stalin in Russia; but note that I am not advocating for violent government over, say, a peaceful nation without an authority figure. Government’s primary responsibility is to organize its citizens, and to create laws by which to live. I feel that these responsibilities can effectively be carried across cultures and time periods. While I believe man does have an intrinsic desire for freedom, I believe there is also an intrinsic desire for organization. While one can argue that animals too desire freedom, our need for organization is what separates man and beast. Even in prehistoric times, gender roles (unfortunately) were developed to organize a tribe’s responsibilities. So, government has more or less been around in some form since the stone age.
    Arguments against government today reflect a frustration with what government has become, rather than a legitimate disregard for its necessity. As the world has become more complex, connected, and interdependent, government has taken on a greater role. This greater role is necessary to an extent, but there is a large portion of policy (at least in the United States) that will be disputed for quite some time. Small government versus large government has been a significant political viewpoint in the history of our nation since it’s early years, and is even more pronounced in the present, as evidenced by disputes over gun policy, abortion, and Obamacare. Either way, we want some sort of government.
    When talking with an anarchist, however, that claim would be rejected. I am certainly not an expert on anarchy, but one must wonder… Do they truly want a world without government? Or do they just want a much more lenient, basic institution that hardly interfered in their lives? Or do they actually want to be the one in charge of a government? Say they actually achieved a world without government; would it be peaceful, or would it be an every-man-for-himself free for all? I believe that, if placed into such a lawless land without previous exposure to governmental systems, it would be primarily peaceful. I believe their is no natural desire to kill another man, for we are all brothers and sisters in an ideological world. My theory is that agreements regarding food, shelter, and reproduction would arise naturally, thus a system of verbal (if not written) contracts, the very basis of government.
    Government is an idea ingrained in man’s nature, and thus necessary for his survival. Though we may disagree with a seemingly large facet of government, nothing we find fault with today can overpower the need for some form of government. Government is constantly being improved; I like to think that we will continually alter our current democracy until we find the ideal form that addresses all the issues in this complex world (which will never actually exist, for perfection is undefinable in this respect.). All revolutions take part in this improvement, and are necessary for humanity’s evolution. While there is often blood, there is also opportunity. I am not advocating in favor of “It’s all for the greater good!” but rather that we recognize that at times, we will be forced to take a step back to ultimately take two steps forward. It is an inconvenient truth, but man’s nature makes it so.

    ReplyDelete
  19. What is inner heroism? Is it important to you to strive for inner heroism? Or, is inner heroism a form of foolishness and stupidity?

    In my opinion, inner heroism is very different to outer heroism. Outer heroism is doing an action to help better others, without any thought. Those who put their lives on the line every day, like policemen, firefighters, Marines, etc are outer heros. Then, in our own mind we have inner heroism. Inner heroism is what we do to better ourselves. We all set goals, goals that we want to crush. We struggle with the goal mentally, and maybe even physically. For those looking to become skinny and fit, or maybe even gain a large amount of muscle, they struggle everyday, because of the length of the goal. When they do finally lose the weight or get to their goal muscle size, they become their own hero. Once you have conquered your goal, you have that time of ecstasy, where you can not believe what you have done. While others may not think of it as heroism, you can, that is what makes it INNER heroism. If you struggled for a long period with your weight, or the long hours put in at the gym, you have every right to be your own hero. You should look up to yourself in the future. Don’t try to be someone else, be yourself. When you finally get there be proud of yourself, be your own hero. Setting goals is what makes us strive to be better, so set goals and crush them. Inner heroism is one of the most important things that allows us to progress as our own person. Inner heros, however are humble, just like most outer heros.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Do you believe in the necessity of government and law—even when you disagree with them?
    Do you believe that through political change the world can be improved?

    I do believe that governments are a necessary component of of life. Governments, even bad ones, create a sort of "safety net" for its citizens. What I mean is that any government has the power and the ability positively affect its populace through its actions. An example of this is the United States of America, a country where Federal laws have been in place that give liberties and freedoms to its citizens. I have the inherent right to free speech, I have the right to face my accuser, the right to due process, etc... In the government that we have now, Obama Administration, I may not completely agree with the choices made, but I still see its importance and how it keeps order. Do I believe that political change can improve the world? Yes and no. I believe that it (political change) can improve the standard set by the current government, but it can also be detrimental. A perfect example is the former Soviet Union. The government took power from a monarchy that ruled with absolute rule, and replaced it with a Communist party that also ruled with absolute power. The U.S.S.R. (Soviet Union) did one good thing though, it brought Russia into the industrialized sphere, but at the cost of the lives of millions of poor Russian citizens.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Do you believe in a supernatural power (God) that gives purpose to all things? What is the nature of the supernatural power you believe in?

    I do not believe in a "God" per say. I do not feel as though there is some entity in the sky that created everything as we believe it, and is our one an only judge to determine how we will spend the eternity of our being after we pass. I respect people who are religious and that is a somewhat good way to set guidelines in which for you to make your life decisions off of, but I feel as though religion is one of the hypocritical ways of making meaning that we have discussed so much in regards to Grendel. Even though I do not believe in God, I do believe in spirits and energies. Humans, ourselves, form meaning in our lives, even if they are in ways that do not make practical sense, such as there is a man in the sky who watches over us. Our spirits are the things that continue on after we pass, and our family members and friends are the ones who watch over us, not a God. They act as guardian angels. I do believe in ghosts, and I do believe something happens to us after we die. Maybe not one specific "heaven", but to each our own version of heaven. Or for some people, their own version of hell. It is hard to believe in religious teachings when much of it is filled with hypocrisies as well as paradoxes. Such as if you commit a very bad sin, such as murder (people believe in different forms on sin), then you will go to hell. But it is taught that when you die, God will wash away all of your sin. So can you go through life murdering and raping and still be accepted to "heaven"? It is not logical. There is something after we die, not necessarily determined by God, but by our own selves. Just as we shape meaning, and chose what we will do with our lives, we can also determine what will happen to as after death. I like to think that what I will do in life will carry over with me, and I will be able to spend the remainder of whatever second "existence" we may have with the people I love, and no one God is going to make that choice for me.

    ReplyDelete
  22. “Finally, do you believe in the power of hoping for and imagining a better world here on earth? Or, is it foolish and naive to hope for anything beyond personal pleasure?(In other words, do you agree with the dragon: “seek out gold and sit on it’”

    Personally, I do not agree with the dragon when he says “seek out gold and sit on it”. I do not think that hoping for anything other than personal pleasure is not foolish or naive. I believe that it is important to hope and imagine a better world on earth, because if we all only focus on personal pleasure, the order of society will eventually disintegrate. If everybody spends their life focusing on themselves, then we will become isolated from each other . Spending one’s entire life “seeking out gold and sitting on it” may be how the dragon occupies his time, but spending one’s entire life focused on one particular thing can isolated one from society, which can be lonely for most people. Humans need interaction and contact with other humans in order to function properly. If everybody spends their life how the dragon decided to spend his, society would digress because of the selfishness of mankind.
    I think that it is important to hope for and imagine a better world. In my opinion, optimism is very important to live a meaningful life. I believe that we should be hopeful for what is to come, because no one (except the dragon perhaps) knows exactly what will happen tomorrow. If no one imagined a better world, then we would never get better. A better world is important so everyone, even after we are gone, can live a meaningful life full of happiness.
    Even though we will all eventually die, I think it we should all work to make the most of whatever time we have on earth, and help others so they can do the same. In the grand scheme of all time, our lives may not be important. However, it does not mean our lives are not important in the moment. It is important to imagine a what a better world will look like, but it is more important to do something to make the world (even if it is only a small portion of the world) better. By helping others, I believe that it gives more people to spend their time on earth doing what they enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Do you believe in beauty--in all forms--as a way to inspire people to be better? Do you believe in the importance of kindness, empathy, and sacrifice for the good of others?

    Beauty, in my opinion, is in the eye of the beholder. So when asked the question of if beauty is a way to inspire people to be better, I one hundred percent agree. That being said, beauty can be perceived in many different ways. For instance, Wealthow was described to be a beautiful woman, pure, kind, and all around good. However, when Grendel spread her legs to reveal her "ugly hole", he boiled her beauty down to the same mundane ugliness he sees in all women. Women as well as men strive for beauty to make themselves look better, because deep down, we all realize the ugliness inside of us. In my opinion, each of us has a Grendel in us somewhere that lets us realize that we are innately not as beautiful as people are made out to be in magazines, television shows, etc. This fake beauty that is so widely marketed to America's youth is making us strive to be something we know we can not ultimately achieve. Now, schools, parents, teachers, etc. are making it known that no one can achieve perfection. However, we can still strive to be the best we can. The realization that we can't be perfect but we can still try to be the best we can is definitely worth it. Trying to be beautiful definitely inspires people to be better. People want to show that they can still be beautiful but in different ways, which is what Grendel didn't realize. Kindness, empathy, and sacrifice for the good of others is mostly important (as Emily said in class) when were purely doing it to benefit other people and not ourselves. I believe that people should do what makes them happy, whether it be putting on makeup, dressing the way you want to, etc. because in the end, who is there? You.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Do you believe in beauty—in all forms—as a way to inspire people to be better?
    Do you believe in the importance of kindness, empathy, and sacrifice for the good of others?

    Inner beauty is inspiration. Inner beauty is the celebration of the best non-physical qualities you hold, be it self esteem, attitude, or otherwise. The ability to feel the best you possibly can about yourself is a beautiful and inspirational quality. This is what people should strive to be, not for physical beauty but for inner beauty. Physical beauty is too shallow a category to judge a person on; there is so much more to a person than what appears to the eye. For instance, a physically beautiful person may appear stunning and appealing to the eye, but they could have an ugly personality. Physical beauty on the outside is only the outside, and though a person might be physically beautiful, there is no way the outer beauty wins in a choice between it and inner beauty. So for this reason, I believe that inner beauty is what we should all strive for; it is much better to be beautiful on the inside than on the outside. Besides, inner beauty lasts forever and physical beauty fades. Kindness, sacrifice, and empathy for others are what create inner beauty. They are all amazing qualities to have, and with a healthy bit of all three, you will become internally beautiful. The catch though, like heroism, if the kindness, sacrifice, and empathy towards others is hallow and done solely for the attention or recognition, then you can not be considered truly internally beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  25. What is inner heroism? Is it important to you to strive for inner heroism? Or, is inner heroism a form of foolishness and stupidity?

    Heroism is the act of doing something for others without thinking of oneself. I beleive inner heroism is located within everyone but only real heroes throw caution to the wind and release it. A person who strives for heroism is not a hero in my book becaused they are acting for themselves and not others. If a person is involved in heroic deeds for the soul purpose of becoming a hero that person is quite selfish and in fact the opposite of a hero. Inner heroism can indeed be stupid due to the actions that it urges individuals to perform. It is necessary though without inner heroism evil would triumph and the weak would be taken advantage of. Heroism is needed everywhere so that the weak can be protected from the evil. People viewed as heroes more often than not are not real heroes but just simply people who are aiming for personal gain or looking to protect themselves. Real heroes are out there but they are few.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I do believe in the necessity of law based on the fact everybody needs borders. If we didn’t have these lines then people would cross them everyday like by stealing at the grocery store or speeding. The laws are around to protect us from harm, not create more for us to face. I also do believe that political change can be for the best of society but I don’t think that is the only possibility of occurring with political change. All around the world there are societies rebelling against their own governments because they don’t have the peoples best interests in mind. Laws, government, and politics can be a source of renewal for hope but also devastation for others. Rules and laws are created but some don’t have the best interests of the people in mind and that is why they can be changed or erased from today but not the past where they belonged. The United States is a key example of this because of the prohibition it no longer exists today, but we are who we are because of it, and things might have been different if we never had it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you believe in the necessity of government and law—even when you disagree with them?

      Do you believe that through political change the world can be improved?

      Delete
  27. Finally, do you believe in the power of hoping for and imagining a better world here on earth? Or, is it foolish and naïve to hope for anything beyond personal pleasure? (In other words, do you agree with the dragon: “seek out gold and sit on it”?)

    I believe by aspiring to make the world a better place leads to positive changes in our society as a whole. If we as a people would like a better world here on earth we have to hope for it and then get into the mindset about doing something about it. This question can be simplified down to Selflessness vs Selfishness when observing it individually. Obviously us humans are both, although we tend to lead to one side more than the other. The only true way to make improvements to our earth is to improve it yourself along with other people that share your ambition. If we only lived only for pleasure our societies would never develop communally. From an international view, diplomacy would fail and this inability to negotiate could lead to many wars resulting in the physical destruction of society. I myself believe that we all should believe in a better world that we can create communally, but as well I see this being unlikely and I have also lived part of my life only searching for pleasure. We all take the sides of both, currently we live in an era in which we are being pushed to believe that we can make this world better for all of us. Though we all carry both qualities within ourselves I believe in bettering the community for the good of the community.

    ReplyDelete