Sonnets

Differences between the young and old

Other things for fun were did and done

many times this story was sold and retold

it’s over when your lives’ web is spun

Time flies by and you never ask why

Seasons rise and fall but you don’t grow tall

You tried to reach up and touch the sky

But you lost your way and began to fall

Found your feet when the ground met you

You shook the it up and felt unwound

Stopped clowning around and looking for a clue

And as soon as you did you stopped to frown

About all the times you passed by for nothing

And all the people who you thought meant something

Critical Analysis Essay of Novel

A large amount of culture in the sixties “counter-culture” movement period was derived from the piece of literature “The Doors to Perception” written by Aldus Huxley. His book recounts his experiences with the chemical substance of mescaline. His recordings influenced the culture of the sixties in the sense that along with many other authors of the time period he supported and described the use of psychedelic drugs. This book was bound to make a serious impact on the readers when it was first published considering the radicalized culture.

“He feels that previous investigators of mescaline have stopped at a point 'well this side of idolatry'. Whether he himself has, is open to question. It is not enough” was a written review of the Huxley essay posted on the web posted by H.E.W. Hardenberg. This comment if read by the readers of the birth generation of the essay could easily relate to the idea of opening one’s mind to alternative answers for meaning to everyday activities. This type of mindset to controlled substances is not as negative as government may consider it to be. The idea of opening ones mind to alternative ways of life with or without the use of mescaline or any drug. Unfortunately this book was promoting this mindset with the use of drugs, one of the reasons it was not highly accepted among main stream authors and literature critics.

This book in some ways was a predecessor to the style of literature that developed in the sixties called “gonzo” journalism. This was mainly made famous by Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe. This style incorporates authors first person perspectives on their life experiences and the affect they have on the environment around them. It is very much a first person based perspective of writing that was a highly effective for users of drugs such as Huxley, Thompson, and Wolfe. The style of “gonzo” was not deemed a style until Thompson was suggested nick naming his style of writing. Despite this later actually development of a style Huxley had written in this style almost twelve years before Thompson’s books began to be published. In a sense Huxley was a predecessor to the birth of “gonzo.” This shows his impact on the culture by experimenting with literature styles that became popular at his time of being highly noted as an author.

Huxley’s ideas and writings about the use of mind altering substances were not without a reason. “Huxley sometimes publicly claimed that LSD, for some people, is a drug that can bring out the creativity in people.” This quote is derived from a biography of Huxley posted by an anonymous entity on the internet. He was just not a hippie burn out product of the era, he was merely a novelist in this certain time period with the opportunity to study life from a new perspective. He felt as though the use of mescaline and lysergic acid could actually open a person’s mind to more of a creative instinct that was naturally there and just waiting to be untapped. He was of the opinion that a person would not have a change or burst of creativity while under the influence of the substance but instead after the effects have dwelled away and a new sense of perception is laid onto the world viewed by an individual. These feelings of creativity were probably a very easily related to topic by the love generation who were seeking to open doors to new ways of life.

The Renaissance

King Henry the eighth was a very self indulgient man. He believed that he should be able to rule in whatever way was possible, even if contradicting the word of God. He was so self trusting that he felt he had the right to change the word of God so that it may further suit his ruling time of England. This was his most outstanding feature of his rule, he created an entirely new church for his nation so that the Pope in Rome who was a puppet for Austria at the time had less political sway on his rule. This dramatic historical event was mostly spawned by Henry's unability to produce a male heir other than a few sons who died at young ages, the oldest being sixteen.
The reign of Henry the eighth was filled with turmoil and conflict in all ranks of soceity. He dispensed six wives before dying, non of which produced a male heir good enough to make it to reign as a true king. One of his sons was crowned when he was nine but his older sisters were ruling for him, and he died at a young age. His eldest sister Mary became known as "Bloody Mary" due to her persecution of protestants which involved public executions in the form of burning protestants alive. When she died her younger sister Elizabeth took over and reigned for forty five years. She gave further power to the church of England her farther had started.

The Cooks Tale in Mid Evil Society

The cook's tale is strongly based story on the lowest levels of the system of fuedalism. The apprentice had the chacne to learn how to make a living for himself. He, being at the lowest ranks that society had to offer to decided to turn to beer, a cleaner drink than water in his day.
The apprentice is what is called a serf in the system of feudalism, not allowed to travel freely and confined to his lord's land to work for his life's entirety. The only thing he had to look forward to was the occasional festival and of course the ever night drinking binge. This I imagine was strongly tempting for every serf and the apprentice often found many a friend to drink with every night of the week.
On a much wider view of the apprentice's life is may seem very good. A knight fighting an army of crazed muslims on the middle east for Christaindom might think that his life, though dull and unfulfilling may be seem very peaceful and quaint.

The Cook's Tale Response

The story is based around an apprentice who lives outside of a town. He has lots of spirt, loves to dance, and is a very keen of alcohol. He takes more time in his apprenticeship at the tavern thean his place of learning. This sets his character for his actions in the story.
He neglected his apprencticeship for the tavern, singing merry songs, enjoying "girls of joy" and playing on a guitar more than he did working for his trade. His master eventually ends his apprenticeship and it is suggested that the apprentice leads a live of thievery and wildness after.

The Manciple

This story is one based on mythology I believe. Phobeous (a spirt I think) posses a white crow so that he may find his wife. He locates her in a golden cage and tends to her for a while to make sure she is save and loyal. Despite being in a golden cage she commits adultry.

The Canon & His Yoeman

These two characters are introduced at a later part in the story. The are also traveling to Canterbury and ask to be allowed to join the caravan. They are told they will be but they must first tell a story. The yoeman begins to brag about his master but to his dismay the canon takes off on his horse leaving his yoeman behind. The yoeman then changes his story to the trickery and evil in canons.

The Nun's Priest

The priest is pressured into story telling after many members of the pilgrimage who have told tells refuse to tell another. He tells a brief story of a magnificent rooster who lives in a barn yard. He lives like most roosters around chickens and other barn yard animals.

The Monk

The Monk speaks out for a level of society that represents injustice. He tells tales of world leaders of Rome and Greece and even biblical leaders for being dishonest. He represents to me a strong sense of the good values in religion in the mid evil ages.

Chaucer and Sir Thomas

Chaucer, one of the pilgrims on the journey tells the next story about a knight caleld Sir Thomas. Sir Thomas is in love with a fairy queen and seeks her love in return. Sir Thomas rides out to fairyland to find his love but encounters a three headed giant at the gates of fairyland. At this point chaucner is cut off for not being poetic enough.

The Shipman

The shipman tells a story of husband and his wife who have a constantly visiting monk who claims to be the husbands cousin. This monk calls himself Dan John and visits the family a bit too often. One day the man's wife ask the monk for money secretly. The monk brings it to her and it hints that she trades sex for the money. The moral of this story is don't trust monks.

The Pardoner

The pardoner is obviously a religious man because he takes oaths and vowes before telling his story. He during this story tells of things that often disregard the oaths he took. He tells of young alcoholics who are afraid of death. Together three alcoholics set out to find stop and even try to kill death.

The Physician

The pyhsician's tale is brief and very ominous. It tells of a knight who has a young and very nice daughter. A rude and unlawful judge sees her and demands to have her no matter the price. The knight is over whelmed with dread for the future of his daughter. The story is brief but its message is direct, avoid sin at all cost by not sinning.

The Franklin

The franklin's tale is one about a lady married to a man named Argravious who is abscent at the time. A squire tries to court her in his abscence and to avoid the situation the lady demands an impossible feat. Unfourently the squire performs such a feat and leaves the lady in a dilemma of breaking her promise or staying faithful to her husband.

The Squire

A king host a great gathering and a knight bearing gifts arrives. His gifts are magical and he gives them to the royal family hosting the feast. He gives the daughter of the king a magical ring that allows her to communciate with birds and know vastly about healing properities of various herbs. One day while strolling through the woods she crosses a dying falcon. She heals the falcon and listens to its story about it's unfaithful falcon husband.

The Merchant

The merchant's tell is inspired by the clerks tale about marraige and how society expected a married couple to behave. The merchant recounts his tragicly short lived two month marriage. He provides a better example of marriage in a story about an old knight who decides to marry. All in all the topics dicussed about mid evil society are love, faithfullness, and marriage.

The Clerk

The clerk follows the summoners tale and his advised to try and make it a neutral story so now one would be offended. He tells a story of a Lord named Walter and his quest to create a heir so that his people's furture would be in good hands. He weds a poor girl and the last of the tell is about him testing the girls patience and tells that the moral of his story is based on his ideals that females should be submissive.

The Summoner

The summoner is the next person to tell a story after the firar ironically. He is mad at the friar for insulting people of his trade and decides to tell a story that makes friars look as bad as his profession had been made to look. In his tale he describes a friar that extorts people of his pastor for money for forgivness of their sins. I think in a modern version of the canterbury tales the summoner would also say the friar molested young boys to further disgrace his trade.

The Friar

The Friar represents the voiced religious levels in soceity in the "Canterbury Tales." His story details the trickery of a summoner. This person trys to blackmail an old widow to extort her for money on an order. The widow later curses the summoner to death. During this story, a summoner in the trail of people going to on the pilgramage turns out to be a summoner and is highly offended by the story.

The Wife of Birth

The wife of birth shows the level of women in the society of the middle ages. Her tale consist of her ideas of the laws of marriage and they way husbands should treat their wives. The story she tells is the only one in the "Canterbury Tales" that represents a women in a role in society.

The Man of Law

The story told by the man of law describes a tell of merchants from Syria coming to Rome and seeing the beautiful daughter of the Emperor. They tell their sultan in Syria of her beauty and then he agrees to convert to Christinsanity to avoid the legal problems of marriage between himself and a christain women. The sultan's mother turns the bride away when she arrives, but the daughter of the emperor maintains her dignity and eventually converts the sultan and finds reward in her faith. Textual evidence of the daughter finding rewards from her faith's persistence is best found in, " In vertu and in hooly almus-dede They lyven alle, and never asonder wende Til deeth departed hem; this lyf they lede;-And fareth now weel, my tale is at an ende. Now Jesu Crist, that of his myght may sende Joye after wo, governe us in his grace,
And kepe us alle that been in this place. Amen"

The Cook

The Cook tells a story about an aprentice named Perkyn Revelour. He describes him getting the nick name by his tiddy and neat apperance and fashionable hair. He was also a noted alcoholic and festive person at wedding parties. He was also invovled in riots and this made his master angry with him. "That fond his maister wel in his chaffare; For often tyme he foond his box ful bare. For sikerly a prentys revelour That haunteth dys, riot, or paramour, His maister shal it in his shoppe abye, Al have he no part of the mynstralcye. For thefte and riot, they been convertible Al konne he pleye on gyterne or ribible. Revel and trouthe, as in a lowe degree,
They been ful wrothe al day, as men may see." This direct text best sums up the cook's tale in the best possible way. Chauncer never finished the cook's tale and it is had a subtle and vague ending.

The Reeve

The Reeve tells his story after the Miller's becasue the Millers story was about a carpenter being tricked out of money and this offends the Reeve becasue he is a carpenter. He tells a story about a miller who ran a mill next to a brooke and decieves two students traveling by, but once they relise he tricked them, they trick him in return, the best direct text evidence for the high light of the story would be: " And therfore this proverbe is seyd ful sooth, 'Hym thar nat wene wel that yvele dooth'; A gylour shal hymself bigyled be. And God, that sitteth heighte in magestee, Save al this compaignye, grete and smale! Thus have I quyt the Millere in my tale."

The Miller

The Miller of "Canterbury" tales represents a much more middle class ideal in his story telling. He tells of the ordinary life of being a carpenter in an any day town in the medevil times and the parallel to modern times can be easily seen. He describes a normal every day man's problems with wifes, work, and being tricked. Part of this is seen through his words of: " For I wol telle a legende and a lyf Bothe of a carpenter and of his wyf, How that a clerk hath set the wrightes cappe." The Reve answerde and seyde, "Stynt thy clappe, Lat be thy lewed dronken harlotrye, It is a synne and eek a greet folye To apeyren any man or hym defame, And eek to bryngen wyves in swich fame; Thou mayst ynogh of othere thynges seyn."

The Knight

The Knight in the "Canterbury" tales shows the side of society that had been hardened by the crusades. His story reflects a life that has seen the tragedies of war and the affects it has on the human soul. One part of his story describes this, "Of alle oure lordes, whiche that been slawe,Hath alle the bodyes on an heep ydrawe,And wol nat suffren hem, by noon assent, Neither to been yburyed nor ybrent, But maketh houndes ete hem in despit." His story is lined with terrible tragedies of war and how it affected knights, lords, and even whole cities.

The Murder of Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket was a born into a middle class family in 1118 A.D. and was raised in Cheapside, London. His education was gained in two locations, his primary education taking place in England and his secondary education taking place in France, in Bologina a part of Paris. Upon his return to England he became a servant, friend, and apprentice to Theobald, the archbishop of Canterbury. He began to serve Theobald by serving as his courier to locations in Europe such as Rome and Paris. Eventually Theobald died and Thomas took over as archbishop. He helped raise king Henry's son as it was custom for nobility's children to live in a modest environment in their early life. He came into conflict with King Henry when he sided with the church on an issue over the King's power. He was charged with contempt to royal authority and was convicted but fled the trial and took refuge in France. After two years of working to have England's populace excommunciated and nearly succeding the King invited him back to calm the situation that Thomas had created. He returned to canterbury and eventully refused to sign on the King's proposals for ammendments to lessen the connection with Rome, which was the last straw for Thomas Becket. The king has four knights kill him while in the Canterbury abbey. He had the crown of his skull severed and his brains and blood stained the floor of the abbey. He was declared a martyr and a saint by the pope after his death.

The Black Death

The greatest epidemic to ever hit the human race and on two of the largest continents. Asia and Europe felt the disasturous affects of the plague that was supposedly based on the Yersinia pestis bacteria. The plague started in Asia and traveled to Europe, supposedly aboard a ship coming from the Asian continent carrying rats and passengers that had contracted the plague. With the plague came persecution of minorties that were believed to be the cause of the spread. The plague did not all take place in one time frame. A variation of the plague was felt across Europe every hundread years or so until the early seventeen hundreds.

The Crusades

In the Medevil ages religion was a key factor in everyday life. Sin was to be avoided like the plague ( which in this time was very important.) The first crusades were undertaken by European nations to help the Byzantine empire that was facing the advancing armies of the Seljuk turks. The Popes during these times saw the Muslim kingdom as political enemies and offered indulgences ( forgiveness of sins) to warriors who fought for Christandom. Other people than Muslims came under attack as well. These peoples were usually under the Popes order of excommunication, meaing they were rejected from the fold of the church and had to be removed so that God's will could be carried out unhendered.

The Magna Carter

The Magna Carter was one of the founding peices of law that shaped democracy in England. It translates from latin to "The Great Paper." It was written during a time when the royal family headed by King John, who felt that royalty was above the law. There was strong feelings by the lords that this was not so. It was written to end the debate and set a common law that even King John had to obey. This was considered one of the founding documents of the law that a nation had to follow.

Week Seven: Career Expectations

I possess the unique skills of learning how to select what Audio input device a recording software is picking up to enable a computer to record. I am familiar with video and recording soft ware and can transfer the files to the polar opposite software. I will hopefully be able to carry my internship into the summer and possible next year.

Week Eight: Workplace Saftey

In the studio your saftey doesn't even come first. The equipment is first and you are its loyal samurai defending it's honor. If you ever find yourself in a posistion to get workers composistion I would advise you to take any money you get from it and use it to pay off whatever broke in the process of your accident.

Week Eight: Workplace Saftey

Aldous Huxley Biography

Aldous Huxley was born on July 26, 1894, in Godalming, Surrey England. His early child hood he was taught by his mother but she died of a terminal illness when he was only fourteen. Non the less he continued his education at Eton college. He studied English literature and eventually studied the subject at Balliol college. This was his completion of his education and the beginning his life. Since a young age he has had terrible eye sight, nearly going blind from a genetic disease.

To begin his living he began teaching at Eton College and even taught George Orwell the future author of the famous novel “1984.” Some of his students thought he was a hopeless case as a teacher, but most of his students commented that his speeches were very well thought out and spoken. During world war one Huxley spent his time as a farm laborer on Lady Ottoline Morrell. During this period he married his wife, Maria Nijis in 1919.

Huxley made strong point about this use of these substances within their respective cultures. They offer a person the ability to comprehend and translate the meaning of things they had not before taken the time to decipher. This is true of many people any where in the world. Do these people try to lable things in one specific cold case order? No, instead they look for multiple meanings in the things that a sober person would find uninteresting and entirely unimportant. To a user of any mind altering drugs the concept of keeping a concept written in stone and only for that stone (or matter of discussion of labeling) seems almost like copywriting a concept that has a copy right law on multiple trendy items that a culture misinterprets nearly every day in their life.

Aldous Huxley's "The Doors to Perception" vol. 3

Religion is mentioned in the novel “The Doors of Perception” and is reviewed to pass a negative judgment on mind altering substances such as mescaline or LSD. Huxley was in a minority’s opinion of the matter. He felt that a mind altering substance that may seem as a religious experience should be accepted by religions. Instead he thinks the support of alcohol. This he thought was absurd and very out of character for religions considering that mind altering substances have surfaced in many cultures religions on many different continents.

He believes this urge to alter ones mind to find their own self hood is part of the “appetite of the soul.” The soul in many ways seeks to experience life in as many different ways as possible. He also notes that both the east and west have various substances that provide intoxication for the numerous souls that inhabit both sides of the world. In the west it is alcohol and pills of various sorts while in the east it is opium and hashish. This is a good point to make to bring the east and west together because it sheds light on the fact that both cultures offer the same things in a different form. This should unify people with this common interest, not divide them.

Huxley made strong point about this use of these substances within their respective cultures. They offer a person the ability to comprehend and translate the meaning of things they had not before taken the time to decipher. This is true of many people any where in the world. Do these people try to lable things in one specific cold case order? No, instead they look for multiple meanings in the things that a sober person would find uninteresting and entirely unimportant. To a user of any mind altering drugs the concept of keeping a concept written in stone and only for that stone (or matter of discussion of labeling) seems almost like copywriting a concept that has a copy right law on multiple trendy items that a culture misinterprets nearly every day in their life.

Aldous Huxley's "The Doors to Perception" response vol. 2

Huxley was escorted by his friends to various locations around the city. Their first stop was the “World’s biggest drug store.” Huxley found himself in the back of the store among a shelf of art books. He quickly became interested in a Van Gogh book and fell into conversation with his friend about artist.

His conclusion was that what a person on mescaline would normally see what an artist sees through their eyes everyday He further explained that the artist doesn’t perhaps have the perception of an altered reality; instead he meant they saw meaning behind life being portrayed in their day to day life.

Upon further conversing with friends he noted an absence of ego or self recognition entirely. He felt that more opinions were easier to express in this ego-less estate. He noted that human beings could be perceived as equally of interest or importance as his pair of trousers. His message was that the trousers were more of an “X” factor that a any day person could relate to, their music, their friends, their job, and even things of interest that pass quickly. Everyone is looking for some curiosity to cure and that can be done be taken notice and interest in anything that may be around you.

The concept of evil was also briefly discussed. Huxley’s friends and him self commented general aspects of a society with less of a marked displace of evil within its culture. A human society that has eliminated evil would be one that takes pride in its own existence and surrounding. This would naturally stem a sense of moral character in its inhabitants.

Independent Reading Response: Week Four

"The Doors to Perception" is a novel by Aldous Huxley recording his experiences and reactions while under the influence of mescalin. His experience is commented on and recorded by a group of close friends curious of the drug's effects. His time under the drug describes the interior of his house hold and the mental effects it had on his physcological sense of mind. This book is a slow read but makes you think more than an average novel.

Aldus Huxley's: "The Doors to Perception" response vol. 1

Aldux Huxley took mescalin in the spring of 1953. At this point in time mescalin had been researched for over seventy years. His experiences were not what his predictions entailed. He was prepared by descriptions by authors Blake and A.E. He was with trusted friends and the provider who is known as the investigator while the duration of the effects of the drug ensued.

His antcipation of visual shapes seen behind closed eyes was not what he saw as the first sign of the drug's effects. He was in his first hour of taking the drug when he noticed a row of lights that appeared to be dancing and with a golden light surrounding their ballet. Soon after he saw a row of red power nods, blinking powerfully and emitting strong red glows. The flowers in his study along with anything else he took notice of seemed to have a more vivid beauty to them.

His predictions of the drug's effects were close but in no means excact. He was in waiting of seeing large multi-colored geometrical designs that are lavisly deisigned with stones of great value. He was never invisioned by heroic figures and the bodies of large mammal animals. He did on occasion see gray strutures with his eye's closed, but not with as much color as things he could see with eyes open.

After sometime, his colleagues began to question the physicological effects the drug had on him. When Huxley was asked about spaital relationships he found that the answer elleuded him. He was no longer conciously pondering the basic ideas behind spaital relationships. His eyes and mind never even contemplated questions like "Where?--How far?--How situated in relationship to what?" This is might have something to do with his conception for the room that his friends described to him was slightly altered, in the sense that the corners of the room were not meeting in right angles.

Hunter S. Thompon's "Hell's Angles"

Hunter S. Thompson was one of two journalist to be accepted in the social cirlces of the notorious motorcylce outlaw club known as "Hell's Angles." He became associated with them to a level or casuality to even having them over to his house in large numbers. He was invovled with them on a dialy basis for near a year. His time's with them showed a keen insight on their way of life and their own take on American culture. He was lucky to have been able to be part of the counter culture of the sixities and have some sort of understanding as to why the memebers of "Hell's Angles" live life the way they do.

Anglo-Saxon Culture and Beowulf

"Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon Culture Blog Report:"
The Anglo-Saxons were greatly prided in the status of the warrior within their society. Any person of power was primarily a king, all of whom were remembered by their deeds and how they lead their life. Many different lives other than Beowulf’s are detailed within the poem. Shield a Danish king after his father the former king Sheaf, who was an orphan who grew to be king. His son, who’s name was Grain was wise with his position of importance and gave many gifts to common people while he was young so that they would follow him like his father and his father before him. Many but not all of these kings choose to be burnt in a ship for their funeral.

The Anglo-Saxon culture was also one similar to what is currently called the United Kingdom. It was for a large part isolated from the main body of the continent of Europe. This fact may have influenced the curiosity of the Anglo-Saxon culture to sail abroad and explore the outside world. This is all and well but in many cases these explorations turned into a mixture of curiosity and Anglo-Saxon warrior culture, a barbaric type of culture that may not be entirely understood by a culture that doesn’t uphold great amounts of loyalty. The Anglo-Saxons had only one way to build a reputation among their fellow people of culture in the highly disorganized and large Anglo-Saxon area of influence. Their words and actions were the only way a man would be known. Any great man who was known would be remembered by his deeds and his relations to other known people of great renown. This was because a high level of respect was absolute if peace was to be maintained, which it often was not.

It is easy to assume that a reputation was one that must be protected at all cost. If that cost is seeking help from heroes from the Anglo-Saxon culture, such as Hrothgar called upon aid to rid his country of Grendel. This level of seriousness was not only take into account for friends and the help they needed, but also the account of foes, which I can only assume greatly out numbered the numbers of friends one would find themselves with in the Anglo-Saxon culture. This grave statistic is enough to give any man in this era a sense of honor and at the same time a large ego that could lead whole kingdoms to war.

There are two main examples of these traits of the Anglo-Saxon culture exemplified in Beowulf, Hrothgar a noble and old king of the Danes who was a great king but not is plagued by an evil beast known as Grendle. He was a king of great renown and was a good example of Anglo-Saxon culture in the political sense, he was a King and harnessed great power because of it, power enough to will others to help him in his time of need, which shows that he was well known in his area of the world. The warrior who answered his request of help was a young Geat, the song of the Geat King Healfedene, Beowulf. He is the example of a Hrothgar in the making; he is a young man who must show his input to the world around him through fighting and adventure.

Beowulf was first and foremost an example of the Anglo-Saxon warrior culture. He was highly well known as a formidable warrior who was known for such deeds as fighting a "Family of Giants" and "Sea Monsters" and had come from his home land to Hrothgar’s kingdom to fight the troublesome Grendle. This showed that as a young man he sought fame and glory through his deeds, the number one to gain renown in a culture based on voyeurism.

Beowulf also showed the signs of respect that were expected in his culture. He honored the heroes of old such as Hrothgar. He was wise in knowing that to do deeds for the past deed doers "in bravery seeking a loyal friend" he would find the friends he sought. This also defined Beowulf as a man of character and a sense of loyalty to those whom he likes and seeks to be liked by.

He is also in a sense isolated much like the Anglo-Saxon culture was. Beowulf was a strong silent type who depended solely upon himself, his actions, and words to determine his fate. Much like the many kings of the various kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon culture. This is one of the main attributes a king of a proud people of a distinguished culture must posses.

Beowulf and various heroes mentioned in the poem of Beowulf are all very distinguished for various acts of bravery, courage, and daring. Their traits and much like the heroes we see today, their actions are very much different. The only heroes whose actions resemble the culture of Anglo-Saxon culture are action movie heroes who follow the violent barbaric nature of the Anglo-Saxon era. The real heroes of our modern day are very different from Beowulf, people whose actions are well known are known as celebrities and not heroes. Some of these are heroes in the sense they are well known, but not many have very heroic deeds under their belts.

Beowulf’s death was appropriate for his style of life. I figure he figured what many good musicians have figured out, it is better to burn out then to fade away. He was a famous and loved king for his slaying of Grendel and helping the Danes, and he could have chosen to die old and in peace, but this was not what Beowulf or any hero would do when a dragon was living in their region harassing their people. Though old and hardened by battle, weakened from time Beowulf rode out again to rise to the challenge life presented him. He fought the dragon bravery and in the middle of the battle the "dragon
A third time rushed, hot and battle-grim. He bit Beowulf's neck
With sharp tusks—Beowulf was wet with life's blood;
Blood gushed in waves." Yet even after this "The King controlled his senses, drew his battle knife, bitter and battle sharp, which he carried on his mail, and cut the dragon through the middle." These actions were Beowulf’s last before death. I felt he lived and died honorably in the Anglo-Saxon and heroic cultures.