Grendal and Existentialism Essay Example for Free

Grendal and Existentialism Essay Gardner chose to display the philosophical idea of existentialism in his novel, Grendel. Grendel, the main character, shows proof of supporting these ideas. Existentialism related to the basic idea of individualism, in which each individual is an isolated being too which is cast into an alien universe. In this literary theory, it is believed that the world possesses no inherent human truth, value or meaning. Existentialists believe that there is no god and no heaven, and Gardner uses this belief in his novel â€Å"They sense that, of course, from time to time; have uneasy feelings that all they live by is nonsense. They have dim apprehensions that such propositions as ‘God does not exist’ are somewhat dubious at least in comparison with statements like ‘All carnivorous cows eat meat. ’† (pg 64-65) Observing from a different viewpoint, this realm of thought gives individuals freedom to do as they please, without possessing any external pressures. In a world without sense, all choices are possible. One has the freedom to make each decision based on one’s own personal code of ethics and commitment to one’s self, as opposed to being swayed by societal pressures or religious beliefs. This principle gives people sovereignty; it makes people happy knowing they have no responsibilities in life. Grendel views the world as an open space of â€Å"nothingness† to which he entered, to which the nothingness where it must end. He comes to the realization that his own, along with every other individuals existence is merely just a flash in time, in a billion billion billion years, everything will have come and gone several times, in various forms (page70). He possesses the belief that all men are mechanical. He is given the opportunity to observe and study them, introducing him to the idea of conformity, with the desire that he too can find meaning in this world. At the beginning of the novel Grendel demonstrates pure innocence. With the story of his first encounter with men, after getting his foot stuck in a crack where two old tree trunks joined he yells â€Å"Mama! Waa! Waa! †, with an urgent need to define things and find a meaning for himself. But as the novel progresses, Grendel turns into a monster and taking up the ideas that â€Å"the world [is] nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears (21-22). It is because of events like this that Grendel started to take existentialist views on the world, then when he met the dragon these beliefs started to enhance. When the dragon enters the plot, he convinces Grendel to attack King Hrothgar’s Mead Hall, in hopes of possessing a purpose and fitting into the world, allowing him to temporarily exist with mankind. Following the incident, he continues to possess the ability to think for himself, he detaches his thoughts from his previous decisions to view the situation objectively. In doing so he comes to the realization that he will never mesh with this world completely and feels trapped and empty, like a monster with visions of himself killing the men. Struggling to keep his own sanity, Grendel comes to the realization he cannot continue to live his life this way, realizing he is in complete isolation. It is not until his depression, that he comes to the realization he does not want to live the life of a monster, making the decision to refuse to kill Unferth as well as Wealtheow, realizing it had no purpose, going against his previous role, with great desire to give his life meaning. However, it is not until he, the unstoppable monster, surrenders to Beowulf, allowing him to rip his arm from his socket, giving in to his â€Å"design,† when he is able to attain true happiness. Grendel’s desire for meaning goes against all beliefs of existentialism. From the beginning of the novel, to the middle, and all the way to the end, we see Grendel go through many different changes. The reason he is an existentialist in the middle of the novel is because he kills with no meaning. There is no purpose for his kills; he is just confused with life and does what others tell him, which is to kill. Finally when Grendel starts thinking for himself he realizes that there is no purpose to killing, this is when he finally decides he does not want to be a monster. A true monster finds joy out of his kills and thinks of it as a victory, which is what truly proves Grendel is not a monster.

Commanding Lady Fortune: Machiavelli’s Theory of History Essay

Commanding Lady Fortune: Machiavelli’s Theory of History Machiavelli opens his Discourses on Livy by declaring that what will follow will be entirely revolutionary—â€Å"a path yet untrodden by anyone†Ã¢â‚¬â€but then quickly backs down from such assertions, shifting his focus away from his own efforts to the modern views of the ancients, and leaving the nature of this revolutionary undertaking ambiguous (Discourses, 5) . Indeed, the purpose of the whole work is repeatedly skirted in the preface. Machiavelli instead focuses on the distinction between the moderns and the ancients, mourning the superficial modern adoption of ancient ideas in art and law that lacks a deeper understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of ancient thought. He leaves us with only a vague description of his purpose in writing the Discourses—â€Å"so that those who read these statements of mine can more easily draw from them that utility for which one should seek knowledge of histories† (Discourses, 6). What the specific utility of history is, however, and what is so novel about his treatment of it, Machiavelli does not say. However, within the preface, and throughout his subsequent treatment of the idea of history in both the Discourses and The Prince, it becomes clear that he is indeed arguing something revolutionary through his use of history as a guide for politics. He chastises the moderns for â€Å"judging that imitation is not only difficult but impossible—as if heaven, sun, elements, men had varied in motion, order, and power from what they were in antiquity,† that is, for being deceived by Christianity into believing that its inception had fundamentally altered the nature of the world, and that a distinction between the ancients and the moderns is anything... ...lf than of the prince he has been hired to serve, meaning that, because Machiavelli also believes in a human nature that is at its foundation, deeply self-serving, a monarch can have no true advisors and is doomed to failure (Prince, 93). In a republic, however, men like Machiavelli are free to look out for their own good while charting a course for the state, as both goods are aligned (Discourses, 130). While the prince of a republic may himself only possess the second kind of mind and be unable by his nature to come to such a broad understanding of history and the causality of human events that Machiavelli has, it is enough that he has among his advisors such men as Machiavelli. Thus, ultimately, Machiavelli’s â€Å"yet untrodden path† turns out to be the creation of a method for government that is premised on the ability to master every kind of manifestation of fortune. Commanding Lady Fortune: Machiavelli’s Theory of History Essay Commanding Lady Fortune: Machiavelli’s Theory of History Machiavelli opens his Discourses on Livy by declaring that what will follow will be entirely revolutionary—â€Å"a path yet untrodden by anyone†Ã¢â‚¬â€but then quickly backs down from such assertions, shifting his focus away from his own efforts to the modern views of the ancients, and leaving the nature of this revolutionary undertaking ambiguous (Discourses, 5) . Indeed, the purpose of the whole work is repeatedly skirted in the preface. Machiavelli instead focuses on the distinction between the moderns and the ancients, mourning the superficial modern adoption of ancient ideas in art and law that lacks a deeper understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of ancient thought. He leaves us with only a vague description of his purpose in writing the Discourses—â€Å"so that those who read these statements of mine can more easily draw from them that utility for which one should seek knowledge of histories† (Discourses, 6). What the specific utility of history is, however, and what is so novel about his treatment of it, Machiavelli does not say. However, within the preface, and throughout his subsequent treatment of the idea of history in both the Discourses and The Prince, it becomes clear that he is indeed arguing something revolutionary through his use of history as a guide for politics. He chastises the moderns for â€Å"judging that imitation is not only difficult but impossible—as if heaven, sun, elements, men had varied in motion, order, and power from what they were in antiquity,† that is, for being deceived by Christianity into believing that its inception had fundamentally altered the nature of the world, and that a distinction between the ancients and the moderns is anything... ...lf than of the prince he has been hired to serve, meaning that, because Machiavelli also believes in a human nature that is at its foundation, deeply self-serving, a monarch can have no true advisors and is doomed to failure (Prince, 93). In a republic, however, men like Machiavelli are free to look out for their own good while charting a course for the state, as both goods are aligned (Discourses, 130). While the prince of a republic may himself only possess the second kind of mind and be unable by his nature to come to such a broad understanding of history and the causality of human events that Machiavelli has, it is enough that he has among his advisors such men as Machiavelli. Thus, ultimately, Machiavelli’s â€Å"yet untrodden path† turns out to be the creation of a method for government that is premised on the ability to master every kind of manifestation of fortune.

Religion and Corruption in Nigeria Essay

In the constitution of our nation religion feature prominently at the very beginning. I the preamble to the 199 constitution, it is affirmed and solemnly resolved that we intend to live in hrity and harmony as one indivisible and in dissolvable fevereigh nation under God. Indeed the overwhelming mighty of Nigerian are religions people we believe in the supremacy of God, we believe that God is the very basis of our individual lives and our corporate existence. We believe in and relate with supernatural realities through prayers and supplications and through the offering of sacrifices find churches, musgus shrines and Sunday prayer houses everywhere in the land we take part in crusades, worship sessions and might rights, we offer sacrifices and observe fasting days and religions holidays, and we so in large numbers on religion is pilgrimages to Jerusalem and mecca, taking pride in being called Jerusalem pilgrims (JP) or Alhaji throughout our lives. While thee is noticeable decline in religion farour in may parts of the world to lay the religion inter praise seem to thrive very much in Nigeria, as more and more company ware houses private buildings, schools, and our spirit stadia are being courted to prayer arena, and the stadia hort more religion crusades than for spiriting events. It is noticeable that street within our town and villages as well as inter-state highways are often blocked these days by enthusiastic worshippers who flock to church and camp meetings. It is not and exaggeration to state that there are as many churches and Mosques as there are streets in our urban areas. According to Norimitsa Onishi in an article in new York times march 13,2002 â€Å"Christianity is growing faster in sub-Saharan Africa than in any other place on earth. Roman Catholicism and the other Major protestant denomination are gaing mine follows everyday, but new churches are leading the boom. Within this religion firmament, bishops, evangelists pastors, prophet, faith leaders and visionaries, as well as sheikhs, mams and gurus of all sorts are swelling in number and having a failed day in recent past a new dimension has been added to the throwing religions enterprise. And this is the increased patronage of high ranking public official who not openly call for and sponsm regular prayers sessions in different churches and prayer houses have themselves become born again Christians and prayer erchants, often appearing at church crusades and prayer vigils with all the paraphernalia of public office and sometimes grabbing the microphone to render sanctiononion homilies and earthshaking prayers. Also worthy of note is that these days prayer and preaulims sessions are no longer limited to churches, Mosques and homes, but they are held in government offices, in commercial buses, corporate boardrooms and in open markets. Nigerian going about their daily businesses are seen brandishi ng the Bible Wkoran, the Rosary or Islamic prayer beads. The langeil bill boards in our town and cities are those colvertising upcoming religions crusades are faith healing carnivals. The exclamations, to God be the glory, praise the Lord, the Lord is God, Bless you, â€Å" and Alaahu wa K’bar,† are often on the lips of Nigeria at worker at play from the exacted members of the National Executive council or Council of State to the young own who are about to sick common entrance examination. Succinctly put from all outward indication Nigerians are a chronically religions people. Unarguably one can perrps say about there is no nation in the modem world unit as muner religiosity as contemporary Nigerian . Now how do you place the religion piety of Nigeria with the endemic corruption in our society ? With all the show of religiosity one would have expected to see a very high degree of social morality in Nigeria, since all world religions generally promote truth, justice, honesty and probity. But this is a reverse case withy us. The is an embarrassing contradiction between the high ethical demands of the religion profess by majority of Nigerian and the phenomenon of corruption greed and graft that has earned our country one of the most corrupt nation in the world. Some observes of the phenomenon actually say that corruption is so endemic in the Nigeria society that the society economic and political system can almost not tinetion without it. Along side religiosity corruption in its many shapes and sizes is becoming in Nigeria- from the petty bribery taken in the work in the office or the policeman at the check point, to the grand corruption by which huge project contract are hurriedly awarded, not for the sake of common good, but because of the greed awarding official, who requires some money via contract â€Å"kick-baiks† The Nigeria society is prevalence with frauct, thievery and roguery even as our environment is a wash with prayers and ritual sacrifices to the God of truth, justice and holiness. Doesn’t it seen a contradictory to many highly placed Nigeria hat they embezzle and misappropriate stupendous amounts of public and company, and even church funds while at the same time trying to occupy the front seats and even struggle or pray to take religion titles in their churches corruption is so perverse that it has infiltrated every facet of the Nigeria society procure medical certificates of fitness from hospitals when they have not undergone any medicate testy obtain sick leave permits from doctors when they hale and hearty, falsify the age of their children obtain fake certificate in order to gel them to school or obtain jobs for them, routinely swear to false affidavit in order to obtain false age declarations when seeking employment etc. it is a statement or fast that many or those who today and drivers licence have never been to a drawing school. They simply pay for the license and declare themselves drivers thereby putting the lives of genuine drivers into jeopa rdy. Many of our country men who flock our churches on Sundays and fill the mosque on Fridays are constantly involve in such fraudulent activities as evading tax, issuing and obtaining of take receipts, over invoicing and under –invoicing importation of take drugs, petty and large scale bribery, take anclit report, adverse fee frond, ete. All these practices are so common place so inside spread that many Nigerian youths can not decipher between good eril or between what is right and wrong. As a result, corruption in Nigeria has been described as system, and the consequence are legion corruption has bred in efficiency and diminished productivity in both the public and private sectors of the economy. It has discourage investment, fuelled capital flight, increased unemployment and inflation, created and acute degree of poverty, brought about a severe decline in the quality of life and life expectancy in Nigeria and given Nigeria and Nigeria a terribly bad image in the cornity of Nations. Infant corruption is an affront on human dignity and an assault on the human conscience apart from being a negation of the Christian rocation to promote holiness and righteousness in the world. Are they truly Christians? This question is pertinent and fundamental because many of our people who engage in the sharp practices enumerated above would like to be seen as pious Christians. But really are they? Do they really know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of holiness and righteousness, who in Leviticus 19:2 says† be holy for the Lord am holy† Do they really know the God of Moses and Joshua who on mount Siriat presented the ten commandment as the tempt of his contract with him people insisting that fidelity to this ethical code is what will distinguish his people from others? Do Nigerian who claim to worship God, but who at the same time offer and take bribe, defraud, evade tax and circumvent justice know the God of Mosses who in Exodus 22:8 says â€Å" You will accept no bribes, for a bribe blinds the clear sighted and is the cause of the ruin of the upright. Do they know the God of the prophets who in Isaiah 33:15 says that the person who will be qualified to be in his presence is the one who â€Å"acts uprightly and speaks honestly, who scorns to be rich by extortion, who rejects bribes out of hand, who refuses to listen to plan involving bloodshed and shuts his eyes rather than countenance crime. Do Nigerian worshippers who make a daily show of their religiosity known that what the Lord truly require of us is to love terekerly, to do justice and to work humbly by me God (Micah6:8 John the Baptist while preparing for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ crudemned the kind of religion that thrives side by side with corruption as empty ritualism. In his addrer to those who gathered to listen to him, amongst whom were solders and tax collectors, he admonished â€Å"Exalt no more than the appointed rate†¦ No intimidation. No Excntinu be content with your pay† Luke 3:13-14. Jesus himself denounced the kind of religions practice that was not matched by high moral and ethical standards in realize that not all those who claim to be Christians will enter the kingdom of heaven but only those who do the will of the father Mathew 5. This Christianity make no room for crooks and fraudsters. It has no place for those who offered take bribes. Genuine Christianity does not accommodate the cnetire of â€Å" settlement† in Nigeria to day. Therefore, faced with the contradiction and the embarrassment of a booming Christianity in the most of an environment that stinks with corruption and indiscipline, one is poise to conclude that what is spreading like wildfire in contemporary Nigeria is not genuine Christianity at all, but a masc movement with elements of Christian ritualism, one that is in large measure shallow, superficial, noisy and devoid of substance and depth. Popular Christianity in Nigeria is often Materialistic and individualistic in orientation, with an in credibly high sense of devotion to the cult of material and physical prosperity, success and healing, and with little or no attention at all given to the social morality of the believing persons.

Reflection Paper About Nutrition - 1446 Words

After being in this class, Nutrition means a lot to me now than it had before. Nutrition to me means eating healthy in order to get all the proper vitamins/minerals and nutrients needed in order to stay healthy. It also means to eat healthy and choose the right foods in order to avoid chronic diseases. A diet that I have always followed during my lifetime is that I am a vegetarian. I do not eat meat, chicken, or any seafood. This means that I do occasionally eat other cultural foods like different types of Indian food. In my diet, I have strengths and weaknesses. My strengths are that I am in the right levels in fats and cholesterol. But my weaknesses are that I am under in many of the vitamins and also minerals or some key nutrients†¦show more content†¦I should also limit salt that is not needed in my body. I should read food labels that show that sodium is high in the foods that I consume. Sodium consumption should be less then 2300 mg a day. For this, reading food labels and trying to avoids foods with high levels of sodium is the best way to fix this problem. I also noticed that I am under in many of my vitamins and minerals. To fix this problem, I need to also eat more foods that contain more vitamins and minerals. Later on, I’ll discuss the vitamins and minerals that I am lacking and the foods that I can substitute or add into my diet to improve this problem. Another problem, I have is that I am under in all my foods groups. This means that I need to start consuming more vegetables, fruits, grains, proteins, dairy and oils into my diet. So, some general modifications that I can make in my food record to make my 3-day record are that for the first day, I can add fruits into my breakfast meal and add more whole grain whole wheat bread slices with 2% reduced fat milk rather than whole milk. I can also add more veggies into my sandwich and add healthy oils into it in order to get healthier fats into my diet. Also, other modifications I can ma ke in my day one of the food record is adding veggies into my homemade pasta, veggies like peas or broccoli. I can also add a healthier snack into my diet like a fruit or even nuts. On my day two of the food record, I can eat whole grain wholeShow MoreRelatedPhysical And Cognitive Values Of The Aging Process Essay1356 Words   |  6 PagesLife Review In this paper, aging will be analyzed and evaluated by many topics that are involved in the aging process. J.S. is an elderly woman with information and insight about the aging process as she explains her own life experiences. The topics to be discussed are biological information, biological theory, sociological theory, risk factors, interventions, communication techniques, and self-reflection. The analysis and evaluation of J.S.’s aging process will explore the physical and cognitiveRead MoreChildhood Obesity : Obesity And Obesity1515 Words   |  7 Pagesbecome a part of a daily routine for at least 30 minutes. Healthy foods and fresh produce would be greatly beneficial to a child’s diet. One of the critical roles of a child’s behavior comes from his or her family. If parents can teach their children about a healthy lifestyle, then the prevalence of obesity will start dwindling. A culture is a system of shared beliefs that shapes you into who you are. It greatly influences one’s lookout on life and the way he or she lives. Between each culture are differentRead MoreWhat Is Evidence Based Practice To Facilitate Organizational Change1108 Words   |  5 Pagesreduce opioid use. My final goal addressed the psychomotor domain. After writing this reflection paper I will develop a list of three current practices to further evaluate for evidence based practice. This goal was partially met as I did create an initial list of practice to further evaluate including tonsillectomy pain management and smoking cessation education immediately after writing my last reflection paper. As the semester has continued this goal has been fully met as I have added to this listRead MoreNasw Code Of Ethics Reaction Paper1440 Words   |  6 PagesNASW Code of Ethics Reaction Paper As a generalist social worker one must engage, assess, plan, implement, evaluate, terminate, and follow up when working with individual or family case work (Kirst-Ashman Hull, 2015). According to Kirst-Ashman Hull (2015) the social worker must build a rapport during the engagement phase in order to have a commitment and advocate for the client’s right to self-determination (National Association of Social Workers, 2008). I feel that as social workersRead MoreLetter : Letter From A Graduate Program1646 Words   |  7 PagesLeslie Perez Cazarez CHM 121.02 Dear Friend in Australia: In this paper I will address my major, potential minor, rule of chemistry in my future endeavors. A year ago I started conducting a research when I started applying to colleges. I did this research to figure out what universities were my top choices and what majors I was interesting in. I looked up Spanish majors, Engineering, Business, and I found this cool major, Food Science and Technology. I have to tell you that this is one of the coolestRead MoreArticle Analysis : Why You Should Turn Your Child Into A Book Lover 768 Words   |  4 PagesReflection paper 2: Article Analysis ‘’Why you should turn your child into a book lover ( how to do it)’’, the title of the article I choose, comes from AFP RelaxNews, published by Sunday Times Lifestyle on April the 3rd 2017. The author of this article want to point out the importance and the benefice for children to be the book’s lover. 1-What is the purpose of the arguments? What does it hope to achieve? The purpose of that argument is to show to parents how it is helpful for their child to beRead MoreBreastfeeding For The Pediatric Population1360 Words   |  6 Pagesbreastfeeding promotion is essential and relevant to pediatric nursing care. This paper will explore the significance of breastfeeding with the pediatric population, analyze nursing implications for breastfeeding promotion, and the involvement of Bevis nursing tools to support the strategies in nursing practice. Firstly, breastfeeding during the first six months of life is the optimal method for infant feeding and provides proper nutrition and growth development in the pediatric population (Williams et al.,Read MoreThe Human Body And Health Essay1445 Words   |  6 PagesFrom the dawn of time, the primitive beings that wandered the face of this earth have always been fascinated and curious about the perplexing human body. They have pondered upon the mysteries that lie dormant within the vessel and the potential of what it could do. Even today, after millions of years have passed, anatomists still have yet to explore the human body completely and uncover all its complexity. Along with the advancement of our knowledge in terms of anatomy and physiology, the conceptRead MoreTaking a Look at Cooking Matters819 Words   |  3 Pagessemester. These tours were given through Cooking Matters and Cooperative extension. Each tour we gave had between one and 6 Ithaca college students of varying nutrit ion education levels. Through the tour knowledge was gained from both the giving and taking the tour. The two organizations dedicated to giving these tours are both passionate about helping people eat better. Cooking Matters helps families to shop for and cook healthy meals on a budget, as part of the â€Å"No Kid Hungry† campaign. This organizationRead MoreHeartbreaking Infant Morality in Ohio Essay752 Words   |  4 Pageshave before even becoming pregnant. As explained by Healthypeople.gov, these issues are hypertension and heart disease, diabetes, depression, genetic conditions, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), tobacco use and alcohol abuse, and inadequate nutrition. Most women as of today do not qualify for medical coverage unless pregnant. With insurance women can get these pre-pregnancy issues as previously stated treated before becoming pregnant, and thus these issues will become less of a risk factor for