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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Beowulf Anaylsis

Justin Ernst
Ms. Peifer
10IB hour 5
12/18/11
“Beowulf spoke:/ “Greetings to Hrothgar. I am Hygelac’s kinsman,/ one of his hall-troop. When I was younger,/ I had great triumphs. Then news of Grendel,/ hard to ignore, reached me at home:/ sailors brought stories of the plight you suffer/ in this legendary hall, how it lies deserted,/ empty and useless once the evening light/ hides itself under heaven’s dome./ So every elder and experienced councilman/ among my people supported my resolve/ to come here to you, King Hrothgar,/ because all knew of my awesome strength./ They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies/ when I battled and bound five beasts,/ raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea/ slaughtered sea-brutes. I have suffered extremes/ and avenged the Geats (their enemies brought it/ upon themselves, I devastated them).” (Beowulf 408-424).
            In lines 408-424 in Beowulf different literary devices are used to emphasize the fact that Beowulf has the supernatural strength to defeat Grendel. Alliteration and imagery are two examples of literary devices that are used in the story to show how Beowulf has used his gift previously and can use them to help the kingdom in need.
            The dominant impression of the quote is to portray how he is the chosen hero for the task of defeating Grendel. It is important to notice that Beowulf is the one talking, boasting about himself instead of someone else talking about him. “So every elder and experienced councilman among my people supported my resolve to come here to you.” (415-416) Beowulf clearly states that he is the chosen hero, no questions asked.
One literary device that is used is alliterations. Alliterations are used in lines to connect the words together and portray an emotion without the reader realizing it. “They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts,” (419-420). This quote shows alliterations used in the form of words starting with “b” and most of the same words ending in “d”. The author's use of alliteration makes the meaning of the line stand out to support the idea that he has already conquered equal foes and is ready for Grendel.
            Another literary device used is imagery. “in this legendary hall, how it lies deserted, empty and useless once the evening light hides itself under heaven’s dome.” (412-414). This description gives the reader a good picture of the grandeur of the hall but also the loneliness the hall experiences every night because of the terror of Grendel. The phrase “the evening light hides itself under heaven’s dome” also ties to the primal human fear of the dark and night because even the sun hides from Grendel at night. Grendel, in some ways, represents that very fear.
            The passage chosen uses alliterations and imagery to reinforce the dominant impression that Beowulf is the chosen hero to defeat the evil Grendel. The dominant impression shows that Beowulf knows and boasts about the fact that he is the only hero that will defeat Grendel. Beowulf stands against Grendel, who represents the darkness at night and Beowulf arriving as a beacon of hope in the darkness.
                                    

Monday, November 28, 2011

Antigone paper


Justin Ernst


                  Creon is guilty of disobeying traditional laws resulting in the deaths of three people.  The first time Creon disobeyed traditional law is when he bans the burial of his own nephew, Polynieces.

“ANTIGONE
Look—what’s Creon doing with our two brothers?
He’s honouring one with a full funeral
and treating the other one disgracefully!...
He’s (Polynieces) to have no funeral or lament,
but to be left unburied and unwept,...” (25-37)

                 When Antigone speaks up against his actions, he treats her disrespectfully and gives her a harsh sentencing.

“CREON
Then go down to the dead. If you must love,
love them. No woman’s going to govern me—
no, no—not while I’m still alive.” (599-601)

                  Eventually, Creon makes the decision to put the living Antigone in a sealed tomb, which is against the gods’ laws

“CREON
I’ll take her on a path no people use,
and hide her in a cavern in the rocks,
while still alive.” (884-888)

                 Only after the blind prophet Teiresias tells him that he is angering the gods does he realize and publicly say that he did the wrong thing.

“CREON
Aaiii—mistakes made by a foolish mind,
cruel mistakes that bring on death.
You see us here, all in one family—
the killer and the killed.” (1406-1409)

                 Creon obviously knows he’s guilty and even calls himself the killer. Creon’s peripeteia happens at this moment.
 Before he realized he was wrong, Antigone kill herself in her tomb. Haemon, his son, also killed himself when he learned of Antigone’s death because she was his fiancĂ©. His wife kills herself when she learns of Haemon’s death.
Creon is guilty because he made choices that were against the gods’ laws. He pays the price by losing his closest relatives: his wife and son. 

Monday, October 3, 2011

About Me

Hello. My name is Justin and I love writing about everything. I live in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I also love swimming. I swim competitively. It's a lot of fun.
I especially love writing about other people. Biographies are a lot of fun for me. They give me information about people and I learn a wider perspective about people.
After this english class I will continue to chemistry class and then go play some jazz piano.