Beowulf vs grendel Essays - Beowulf, English-language Films, Geats

Beowulf vs. Grendel The epic poem, Beowulf, is infused with the forces of darkness and the forces of light, heaven and hell. These forces symbolize the forces of good and evil, between two of the main characters, Beowulf, and his rival, Grendel. Grendel's watery lair is dark, and he only hunts at night? darkness. The heroic warriors halls were they rejoice is illuminated? light. These two examples are just one of the many differences portrayed in the epic. Along with differences, there are also similarities. For example, during Beowulf?s and Grendel?s fight scene, the characters appear to be the reincarnation of ancient Mithraic twins, Cautes and Cautopates, who represent life and death. Grendel and Beowulf are completely different beings, when one detail brings out a comparable change in the other. Grendel is a descendant of Cain and a man-eater who is feared by the Danes. Living with his mother at the bottom of a foul lake, which hence his name, ?grenja? meaning ?to bellow,? or ?bottom of a body of water.? Grendel comes out at night, leaving his watery den in search for food. His prey, drunken warriors who slumber in Hrothgar?s golden halls, slaughtering them as they sleep, and then dragging their bloody corpse back to his lair for a feast of his own. Legendary warrior from Geatland and Edgetho?s son, Beowulf, is human, but seems super-human, having the strength of thirty men. Beowulf is also a monster in some ways, but not in the sense as Grendel. Beowulf arrives at King Hrothgar?s kingdom with thirteen of his warriors, to assist King Hrothgar with Grendel, with King Hrothgar accepting Beowulfs pledge to kill Grendel. Beowulf plans to rest at King Hrothgar?s castle, and wait for Grendels arrival. Later that night, Grendel comes to the castle, devours some of the men, and then confronted by Beowulf. Grendel is immune to human weapons, so Beowulf confronts Grendel with his bare hands, and with his super-human strength, rips off Grendel?s arm. Grendel?s death and his evil nature are directly connected with darkness. The connection between evil and darkness are repetitive throughout the text, and is strongest with the physical description of Grendel?s den, where his dead corpse rests. As hell receives Grendel?s body, a sense of peace and relief is present. Beowulf?s primal desire for blood and violence and his tales of his killings do no differ much from Grendel?s bloody night massacres at Herot. Beowulf and Grendel neither need weapons to fight, Grendel being immune to man-made weapons, bewitched blades, and can not be wounded by them, but Beowulf, human, defeats Grendel without the aid of man-made weapons. This elevates Beowulf above the human standards, revealing more monstrous qualities. Beowulf and Grendel not only contradict each other, but they also compliment each other. They both symbolize heaven and hell, light and dark, life and death with each characteristic they each hold. Both characters take on ?non-human? attributes, Grendel being a monstrous being and Beowulf having superhuman abilities.

The Galapagos Island Tortoise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Galapagos Island Tortoise - Essay Example The Galapagos Tortoise are the largest living breed of tortoises in the world. They inhabit the nine islands of the Galapagos archipelago. While Charles Darwin was the first to research these animals, they were actually discovered by a Spanish explorer in the 1500’s. â€Å"Galapago† means tortoise in Spanish and most likely derives from the word saddle. The Galapagos turtles have a distinctive shell that is in the shape of a saddle. The size of these creatures is what sets them apart from other species. The adults can weigh over 660 lbs while they are approximately 4 feet long. Scientists have not figured out a maximum life expectancy for the tortoise however they are expected to live around 200 years. They are believed to belong to one species called Geochelone elephantopus, with approximately 14 different sub speciesThe arrival of the Galapagos tortoises is thought to be descended from a common ancestor that arrived from the mainland. They are capable floating quite e asily on the water. Scientists believe that the original colonist of tortoise washed aboard one island then its descendants were dispersed around the other islands-floating on the ocean currents. In the 1600’s buccaneers used the Galapagos Islands as a home port to repair their boats before attacking Spanish colonies on the South American mainland. They collected the tortoises and stored them aboard their ships because they lived for a long while. They were eaten as a source of food as well as killed for their turtle oil. The early settlers hunted them for their meat up through the 1800’s. ... If they feel threatened by another animal, they withdraw its head, neck and forelimbs into its shell for protection. Sometimes this is not enough as the top of their shell opening can leave a gap. Originally, this was never an issue because there were no native predators on the Galapagos Islands. It is only when settlers introduced domesticated animals that went wild that they became susceptible. And of course, they were hunted by the settlers for food. The conservation efforts of the tortoise populations still face challenges today. Rats, dogs, and pigs eat the eggs and young tortoises. Goats are in direct competition with them when acquiring food so many of them devastate the vegetation. Also, cattle, donkeys, and horses trample the ground squashing the tortoises nests. Efforts have been made to safeguard tortoises nests. One such example is that eggs are collected in the wild and incubated at the Charles Darwin Research Station. After they hatched, they would remain under vigil until they were large enough to fend off attacks from rats, dogs, and pigs. There have also been campaigns to eradicate the wild animals that pose a threat to the tortoise. These methods of preserving the giant tortoises have worked really well as it is predicted that only 120 turtles have been killed over the last 17 years. With all the work that has been put into the effort to keep the main attraction of the Galapagos islands from becoming extinct, there is still more work to be done. Many of the animals that are not native to the island should be removed in the effort to keep the these fascinating turtles alive and well. When Charles Darwin made a trip to the Galapagos Islands, he found a huge

Transforming the balanced scorecard Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Transforming the balanced scorecard - Coursework Example tion view intangible assets as a source of competitive advantage as opposed to the view of the 19th century and early 20th-century firms (Kaplan and Norton 88). The Balanced Scorecard was introduced to provide a new framework for describing value-creating strategies that link tangible and intangible assets. It describes how to mobilize and combine intangible and tangible assets to develop differentiating customer-value offering and superior financial results. The program has helped over 200 executive teams. It allows the strategy to emerge from meetings and consultations with the senior executives. Then a general framework for describing and implementing the strategy known as the strategy map is developed. It creates a common and comprehensible point of reference for the company (Kaplan and Norton 92). Apart from its industrial application, Balanced Scorecard has also been adopted by non-profit and government organizations (NPGOs), however, it faces the challenge of a strategy that has not been clearly defined. It is important for the class to note that the Balance Scorecard is not just about performance measurement. It has evolved to become the organizing framework, for a new strategic management system. Its adoption has been observed to deliver good result. The Balanced Scorecard provides a recipe to combine with what exists in the organization for long-term value creation. The following points will be in class; strategic maps, other forms of performance measurement, Balanced Scorecard and NPGOs and beyond performance management (Kaplan and Norton