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Beowulf

1. How can the role of religion have such an impact on the characters and the way it is used to characterize them in the novel?

In the novel Beowulf, the use of religion has a major impact on the story. In the novel we know that the role of Christianity is important to the characters in the novel and we can tell that Christianity influenced the way the book was written. In the novel the use of “Almighty God” and the reference of “Cain” and how God is seen as the “Savior” of mankind. In a way Beowulf takes advantage of them by using faith. The Danes truly believe that Beowulf can help them escape and protect them from evil, when in reality Beowulf himself can’t. In the novel there is a lot of examples that go hand in hand with the Bible. Jesus was said to be brought to this world in order to save and cleanse it from sins that has been created ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and when Cain killed his brother Abel over jealousy. The use of religion in this Old English story in a way brings the story together. It brings it together because we know that unlike today, religion was very important to them. Religion shaped the way a person thought and acted and that they found it necessary to thank God and trust in him the way the Danes did with Beowulf. Beowulf was made out to look like he was chosen by the Gods above to save the people.

2. How was killing Grendel such a big task that only Beowulf could do? What made the Beowulf decide to help kill Grendel knowing that many has died trying to slay him?

In the novel Beowulf is described as the heroic of the story. He is considered to be hero with super strength. Beowulf decides to help Hrothgar to kill Grendel who seems to be scarring the people in other words the Danes. Those who went before Beowulf to kill Grendel always seemed to fail and die in the process. The people for a while lost hope. There was even a time where Beowulf’s people decided to set a trap and Grendel ended up killing some of the soldiers but in the process, Beowulf was able to injure Grendel. During the battle Beowulf was able to kill Grendel and the mother but in the process Beowulf himself ended up getting injured and later on dying from it. Since the moment Grendel died the torment he had caused the people stopped and they recognized Beowulf as their savior.

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Assignment #1

Question 1: In what ways does family lineage have an impact in the story of “Beowulf?”

- Family lineage plays a huge role in the story of Beowulf as it sets a precedent upon certain characters. In the prologue, the author introduces a character known as Shild. Shild was a great Danish king who started out as a lonesome child and grew up to become the brave and powerful king of Danes. The author introduces Shild due to the fact that king Hrothgar, who is the current king of Danes, is a descendant of Shild. This establishes the connection between the previous king of Danes and the current. The author does this in order for the audience to understand why king Hrothgar is the way that he is. King Hrothgar is a brave king, respected by all of his followers due to his family roots. Family lineage also has an impact of the character of Beowulf as he is the descendant of Edgetho, who was once a king and respected by many. Family lineage in the story of Beowulf creates a certain persona for many of the characters involved.

Question 2: In the scene where Grendel first encounters Beowulf, why did the author kill off one of Beowulf’s soldiers?

- The scene begins with Grendel sneaking from the shadows and lurking through the night as he attempts to make his way to the hall of Herot. There Grendel encounters 30 men and among them, one of them is Beowulf. Grendel launches into an attack and is able to kill one of Beowulf’s men before Beowulf proceeds to grab Grendel. The author allows the killing of one soldier in order to reiterate how powerful Grendel actually is. In the recent attacks by Grendel, he attacked king Hrothgar’s men and left a bloodbath. When Grendel attacked Beowulf’s men, only one goes down in order to show to how powerful Beowulf was compared to king Hrothgar’s men. This scene is a show of strength for the mighty Beowulf.

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Assignment #1

How is it that in the novel, “Beowulf”, Beowulf is shown as this heroic individual, but when shown in movies he is a bad guy?

- The novel is a heroic poem that displays Beowulf’s heroic endeavors in the regions of Europe. In the movie of, “Beowulf”, it shows backstory of how Grendel came to be this evil brute, in which Grendel had to avenge his father’s death. In the novel they don’t say how Grendel came to be, while the movie clearly displays that an individual from the Danes killed Grendel’s father and Grendel had to witness it. Grendel was affected by his father’s murder that is why he is far the Danes and the actual person that killed his father. Beowulf seemed like the person to attack or kill and ask questions later. Beowulf also kills Grendel’s mother and tries to kill Grendel’s child, but doesn’t do it because that remind him of the incident of Grendel’s father and the Danes. Beowulf is with the person that killed Grendel’s father which makes him an accomplice, so that is why Grendel had no problem with him, but not too long after he notices that Beowulf is a part of their group. The Danes were the people that provoked Grendel to do this type of act, causing havoc across the land of the Danes. The novel doesn’t describe Grendel’s childhood or what made him the villain that he was. At first Beowulf was involved in the feud between Danes and Grendel, but when he appeared everything change, and he got involved. We must place in consideration that Grendel being this hideous monster isn’t accepted by the Danes, Geats, etc., which means he is a freak towards society causing people to be negative about him.

How does the role of religion have an impact on the characters in the novel?

- The influence of religion, especially Christianity does truly have an impact on the characters in the novel. The novel does mention plenty of bible terms such as “Cain” and “Almighty-God”. All these characters have a great amount of faith in Christianity, because they mentioned many times the word, “God”. The Danes believe that Beowulf is the person to set them free from all these evil monsters that is hurting their home, which is like the story of Jesus where he is brought to this earth to save everyone from their sins. Beowulf is an Old-English text novel that was influenced by Christianity. Beowulf believes that by eliminating the evil it will please the gods from above. One of the themes of this novel is Good vs. Evil, which can also relate to the biblical mention of God vs. Satan. For example, in a movie relating to the novel, “Beowulf”, an elder Dane teaches and expresses his faith of God and Christianity to kids and adults. Satanism is also mention in the novel when they talked about Grendel. Grendel is a descendant from Satan himself, which he was brought to this earth to kill all that is good. The Dane and Geats have much respect towards the upper-class individuals like Beowulf and the Kings, and they treat them like God-sent individuals. Religion was a big factor and what made this poem one of the greatest writings out the subject of English. I believe that this poem was passed on for years, so it also makes sense that the religion of Christianity was passed on influencing many people in the novel and generations ahead.

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William Blake Assignment #1

How do both poems of “The Chimney Sweeper” in Songs of Innocence and Experience convey some of the government issues existing in this time being?

The Songs of Innocence and Experience was published in 1794 while the British Industrial Revolution began in 1760 , such event led to a dramatic increase in child labor. In “The Chimney Sweeper” we can see the dark reality of child labor occurring in this time. “There’s little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head, that curl’d like a lamb’s back, was shav’d…” one may wonder why the boy weeps so much for his hair, but the hair itself can represent innocence. When the boy’s hair is shaved it represents the loss of innocence because of the dirty tiring job they must do taking away the joy that a child should have in its childhood. In “The Chimney Sweeper” from Songs of Experience, the somber mood is more direct. We notice that the child seems abandoned by his mother and father, because they “both gone up to the church to pray”. The mother and father doesn’t necessarily represent actual paternal figures, but the government. The government pretending to follow God’s righteous and holy paths while letting the poor suffer more.

Why did William Blake call his work The Marriage of Heaven and Hell?

As humans we have always been taught that in our life spectrum there is good and bad. Many religious individuals have been taught that good people simply go to Heaven while evil people are sent to Hell. Emanuel Swedenborg wrote about this idea in his book Heaven and Hell and for a while William Blake held this same belief but then found himself disagreeing that everything can’t just simply be good and evil. Blake even described Swedenborg as an “Angel sitting at the tomb…”. Could Swedenborg represent the old William Blake whom believed that there was only good and evil in life? Blake believed that there was just more to life than just this simple life spectrum where in one end you have evil and on the other goodness. William Blake believed that this evil and good, both collided and met with each other in some form of energy. William Blake knew that all of us have both evil and good within ourselves which is why he depicted Heaven and Hell, Evil and Good, as an alliance we have within ourselves. An alliance that can be described as a marriage where both heaven and hell (good and evil) come to some type of agreement.

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