Beowulf LRJ #2

From reading Beowulf, one can find different values and traditions of the time. The warrior was obviously valued in this period of time. A warrior needed to be valiant and show acts of heroism and to boast his image, and through this he could secure his place in time as a hero. Although there were many warriors, what separated you from any other mead drinking brute were your acts of heroism. Another value that was shown in Beowulf was a strong religious belief. Although there is no specific religion, views of pagans and Christians are shwon, the religious beliefs were still strong. King Hrothgar makes various references to god. " ...to where the king in his wisdom waited, still wondering whether Almighty god would ever turn the tides of his misfortunes"(1313-1316, Haney).

Being fiction Beowulf will obviously show some realistic events, but will have a much larger number of unrealistic events. Beowulf, although a great warrior, is still only human. Some of his feats of strength are ridiculous. In the battle with Grendel's mother, to even reach the lair of Grendel's mother he must swim to the bottom of a lake, then is attacked while on his way down, and is unharmed by Grendel's mother due to his chain mail. A few things here are unrealistic, swimming with a suit of chain mail on would be near impossible. Also a suit of chain mail is not invincible. The story seems to show that because of his chain mail Beowulf cannot be hurt. Grendel's mother's awesome strength cannot defeat a mere suit of chain mail.
"So she lunged and clutched and managed to catch him in her brutal grip: but his body, for all that, remained unscathed: the mesh of his chain mail saved him."(1500-1502)

Beowulf has a host of great quotes to be withdrawn from the text. " Then in furry, he flung his sword away. Then keen, inalid, worm-loop-patterned steel was hurled to the ground: he would have to rely on the strength of his arm"(1533-1536). Once again the awesome strength of Beowulf is shown again. This quote adds to the image of brute first that Beowulf emits. You get to know that Beowulf shows no fear, that he is willing to engage a fierce monster with nothing but his bare fists in hand to hand combat. With his savage determination and his immense strength he is of course victorious against the demonic beast of Grendel's mother.

Journal #1: Turmoil in Thebes

The Ellis Gazette
Turmoil in Thebes
By: Ryan Ellis

Following the epic battle between Polyneices and his brother, a turmoil in Thebes has arrived. The king of Thebes, Creon has declared the brother of Polyneices a hero, and he was buried with honor. It was decided that Polyneices should not receive the same honors of his fallen brother, and shall be treated as a traitor. Polyneices now lays lifeless, and unburied, doomed to be mutilated by dogs and birds. Most will question, is this the right thing? The choice was set in stone by Creon declaring a new law stating that any person who tries to bury Polyneices will face a penalty of execution. The body will be under constant watch by guards to ensure that nobody will tamper with it.

For Polyneices' sister, Antigone, the law was transparent. While the guards where in a state of slumber, Antigone proceeded to sprinkle a thin layer of dust. Due to her stealth, she was not caught. When Creon learned of this news he was enraged, believing that the guards may have been involved in the partial burial. The guards needed an opportunity to redeem them selfs and catch the real culprit. They got their chance when Antigone returned to finish the burial of her beloved brother. The guards immediately seized her and took her to the king. She has openly pleaded guilty to the crime in which she is charged.

Creon was almost in disbelief when he was informed of the perpetrator. His sons wife would dishonor his law, completely disregard it to bury her brother in honor. We have managed to get a few words in with Antigone. We asked her why she disobeyed the king and buried her brother. She simply replied that even though she knew the penalty of her actions would be death, it was necessary that her brother was buried with honor.

As the story unfolds we will continue to keep you, our loyal readers, informed.

First Assingment

From building and programing computers to playing lots of video games, I have had a very large amount of experience with technology. Almost everything we do is influenced by technology. These experiences are both positive and negative. Although our modern society would collapse without technology, the great technology we have today has many faults and is subject to failure.
I have grown up around technology and from a young age have been exposed to computers, even in their primitive state such as the MS DOS. More recently i learned how to build computers and have custom built my own computer for the purpose of gaming. I enjoy many of the current and past generation gaming consoles such as the Xbox 360, and the Play Station 3.
Everything we do is influenced by technology, our entertainment, social interaction and survival is all dependant on technology. As great as technology is today I greatly disapprove of online assignments as their are many obstacles that you may face. Most internet provided is not as stable as it should be and due to this, internet failure is common. Other things such as errors in the websites can make these kinds of things extremely unstable and subject to failure.