Beowulf Essay

  Courage and excellence are two things that are demanded from the people who defend our land. Beowulf is the poster child for the Norse in regards to protecting them but he does it for glory and recognition. Our country is guarded by average americans who mainly volunteer their services to defend our liberties with out any fame. Although both do their duties for different purposes they stand up to "evil forces" for the same reasons. 

  When Beowulf first heard about Grendel terrorizing the townspeople of Herot he doesn't think about helping them but rather how much glory this could bring him. That's the opposite view of a modern soldier, their first thought is for the general welfare of the people. Nevertheless both go out into dangers way to stop "terrorists" and occasionally reaping the benefits. Beowulf died a king but was not satisfied which killed him. Once in a while you'll hear about a soldier in the news that save someone so they get a medal but that's it. But both of the "soldiers" go out into unknown places to seek out the villains; Beowulf heads to an enchanted lake and soldiers head into foreign countries to protect the indigenous people. 

  When a warrior dies they both receive a memorial at their funeral. Beowulf is killed in action and has a huge monument built in his honor along with his kinsmen speaking highly about him at a memorial. Today in our culture when a soldier dies, in action or after his tour, they receive a memorial at their funeral procession where other soldiers salute their fallen comrade. 

  Beowulf was the symbol for what the Norse people looked up to but he also had traits that were not highly regarded by the people as well. Beowulf was what every child wanted to be : cunning, handsome, courageous and witty. But Beowulf had tragic flaws such as greed and his hubris. His excessive pride and intense desire for more got him killed. A modern day soldier is praised by many and disregarded by some as well. They do things that most people aren't willing to do but are called murders for it at the same time. Both of these "heroes" are praised but face scrutiny for different reasons. 

Vocab #4

• Accolade- a honor or award/ praise; For wrestlers the highest accolade is being a national champion.
• Acerbity- harshness of severity, with regards to temper; He acted out in acerbity after being dumped.
• Attrition- decrease in numbers, size, or strength but can also be wearing down; Our wrestling faced severe attrition after graduating 12 varsity members.
• Bromide- dull or boring person; Most lectures in math are filled with bromide?
• Chauvinist- person who believes one gender is superior to the other; Men were looked at as chauvinists before women gained equal rights.
• Chronic- constant and habitual; At the age of 70 most people have some sort of chronic pain.
• Expound- to explain, to state in detail; In gov't i had to expound the entire meaning of the constitution.
• Factionalism- factional dissension; The church has had a lot of factionalism through out the years of existence. 
• Immaculate- someone free from sin, w/o and pure of sin; Jesus was a prime example of someone who was immaculate. 
• Imprecation- a curse, calling for evil; One imprecation can be wishing for an ex to be harmed. 
• Ineluctable- certain, inevitable; The sun rising or my grandma cooking are both things that are ineluctable.
• Mercurial- eloquent, quick, shrewd; Daniel Rucker was very mercurial when answering chemistry answers.
• Palliate- to make something less painful or unpleasant; Advil helps palliate pain with many different ingredients. 
• Protocol- standard procedure, rules/regulations; There's strict protocol when working with fire and gasoline.
• Resplendent- dazzling, full of splendor; The diamond on her hand was resplendent and looked like it could weigh her hand down.
• Stigmatize- to make something seem bad; To me sex seems to be stigmatized . 
• Sub Rosa- secretly, privately, confidential; The gov't acts in a sub rosa way keeping things on the hush hush.
• Vainglory- extreme pride and excessive vanity; Kim Kardashian seems like she is filled with vainglory.
• Vestige- a trace of something that once existed; Dinosaur bones are vestiges of the great creatures that once roamed.
• Volition- using will to make a conscious decision; Did you make that decision out of your volition?

Invisible Man- Ralph Ellison

I chose this novel because I have heard some interesting things about the story both good and bad so I wanted to see for myself. So far I am not disappointed at all. It has turned out to be a great story.

Beowulf Reading Notes

• Wrath of Grendel- Grendel terrorized the town of Herot and the citizens for 12 years but the king, Hrothgar, was never touched because he was protected by God
• Coming of Beowulf- Beowulf heard of the terror in Herot and chose 14 men to travel with him to kill the beast; Beowulf believed that fate had brought him to Herot to defeat Grendel and bathe in riches
• Battle with Grendel- As Grendel tried to sneak into the village at night he was startled when Beowulf was awaiting him.They fought and Beowulf ended up tearing Grendel's arm off but he escaped only to die of his wounds. Later that night Grendel's mother killed Hrothgar's best friend in an act of revenge
• The Mother's Lair- Grendel's mother lived in a lair that was dark and mysterious.The lair was in an enchanted lake covered by trees.
• The Battle with Grendel's Mother- Beowulf decided to swim down the lake and fight the creature but only because he knew that it would bring him more fame and glory. He vanquished Grendels' mother and took her head as a trophy.
• The Last Battle- Beowulf, years later, was king of his land and heard of a dragon causing trouble so he chose to set out to fight it for MORE FAME. Beowulf soon discovered that his weapons were useless and was about to be killed but one of his kinsmen, Wiglaf, joined in and helped him defeat the dragon. During the course of action though Beowulf was mortally injured.
• The Spoils- Wiglaf ran into the tower where the dragon lived and was met with a more treasure than he could dream of but when he came back his lord was dying. Before Beowulf died he gave Wiglaf his armor, helmet, rings and then he died.
• The Farewell- Beowulf asked for a giant monument to be built for his funeral and so it was done. His twelve closest kinsmen spoke at his funeral offering praise to the fallen king.

1987 AP Exam

1. E C
2. E A
3. C
4. A E
5. A 
6. D
7. D E
8. B 
9. B E
10. C 
11. D
12. B
13. B
14. D C
15. E A
16. A B
17. C 
18. E
19. A
20. B
21. E
22. B E
23. C A
24. A 
25. C
26. E 
27. D
28. A C
29. B A
30. B
31. D
32. D B
33. D E
34. A
35. E B
36. E 
37. B
38. A D
39. C 
40. C
41. B D
42. A
43. B
44. E
45. A
46. B
47. B
48. A
49. B C
50. D
51. B C
52. A B
53. E 
54. B
55. D A
56. B
57. C
58. D E
59. A B
60. C A

I had the answers on hard copy but I though it was about time to post them.

Vocab #1

• Adumbrate: to forshadow, outline; I had to adumbrate the ending of the book with out giving away the end.
• Apotheosis: glorification of a person/thing; A pharaoh in ancient Egypt is an apotheosis on a man.
• Ascetic: a person who's dedicated to pursue ideals and religious morales; The monk at the cathedral acted in an ascetic manner every day.
• Bauble: a cheap, flashy toy usually used by jesters; At the end of the jesters scepter a bauble sat attracting all of the attention.
• Beguile: to mislead or influence by trickery; The man on the corner beguiled everybody by acting like a homeless person.
• Burgeon: to flourish; All of the flowers burgeoned at once.
• Complement: usually a comment that makes perfect; The beautiful woman blushed after I complemented her eyes.
• Contumacious: rebellious or disobedient; A teenager can sometimes act in a contumacious manner for no apparent reason.
• Curmudgeon: ill-tempered/difficult person; I have to act like a curmudgeon for the role in this movie.
• Didactic: used for learning; Dr. Preston is a very didactic person, he has a real passion for teaching.
• Disingenuous: lacking sincerity; I made a disingenuous promise knowing I wouldn't be able to keep it.
• Exculpate: vindicate, free from blame; After a long trial the alleged murderer was exculpated.
• Faux Pas: tactless act, usually very awkward; I was greeted with a faux pas, instead of a handshake I received a lick. 
• Fulminate: to explode or detonate; The soda fulminated after being shaken for two minutes.
• Fustian: a fabric made of cotton and flax; My shirt was very itchy because it was made of fustian. 
• Hauteur: arrogance; Daniel's big question dealt with people acting with hauteur. 
• Inhibit: to restrain, prohibit, forbid; My mother inhibits me to take the car with out permission.
• Jeremiad: complaint; I filed a jeremiad with the owner of Toyota because the car was a jalopy. 
• Opportunist: a person who practices opportunism; I see my self as a real opportunist, looking on the bright side of everything. 
• Unconscionable: not guided by conscious; The act of breathing is unconscionable. 

Poetry Assignment #1

1. The poem that was borrowed for the commercial is The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski.
2. The poem can be considered ironic because the poem has such a strong message being conveyed but it's just an advertisement just to buy pants.
3. The poem reflects Bukowski because he lived through a lot and had a very rough child hood. He never gave up though and the poem reflects that light at the end of the tunnel.
4. I first looked the poem online by Bukowski and then used Poets.org to find out more information on his background.