Advantages of Vegetarian Diets

I have been a vegetarian my entire life, not only for my own health but for the health of the world around me. For years people have been questioning why I don't eat meat or trying to push me to change my diet to incorporate meat. This has caused me to question myself and my choices in the past, leading to research that has only further concreted my beliefs and conviction that a vegetarian or vegan diet is the healthiest for not only myself but for the earth I live on and the animals I coinhabit with. I have many different reasons as to why I make such a dietary choice. Others in the past have used arguments to change my mind such as the taste and the fact that the human body needs meat when that is far from the case. I am a healthy, living example that humans can live easily without meat in their diet, and will explain some reasons why I and so many others have made the effort to be more dietarily conscious about what we consume. Not only do I abstain from meat for health reasons, contrary to what others may believe, but also do I do it for morality purposes and for the wellbeing and preservation of the very earth we live on.

Vegetarianism is defined by the dictionary as, The practice of not eating meat or fish, especially for moral, religious, or health reasons, though there are actually multiple different levels or categories to vegetarianism. According to Medical News Today, Lacto-ovo-vegetarians avoid the flesh of all animals, both meat and fish when pescatarians eat fish but no meat. Lacto-vegetarians consume dairy products but no eggs but ovo-vegetarians consume eggs but no dairy. Vegans avoid all animal-based foods, including honey. Some people call themselves "semi-vegetarian," but most vegetarian and vegan societies do not accept this term (Nordqvist). The form of vegetarianism can be determined by preference but often times is actually a reflection of why one made such a choice. For example, religion plays a large part for some in the choice to be vegetarian. India is home to a large part of the vegetarian community. According to EXPONet, A quarter of India's populationHindus, Buddhists and Jainistsbelie[ve] in reincarnation and the practice of non-violence, and therefore follow a vegetarian diet. Jain monks are so compassionate towards all living beings, even the smallest of insects, they sweep them out of the way so as not to tread on them (Figus). A Krsna Conscious lifestyle is actually what originally inspired my mother to become a vegetarian, but is not the reason she or I continue to maintain such a diet. Religion may be a leading reason for many to make such a dietary choice, but the reason behind the religion's dictation is the same as mine. We both hold a higher level of empathy or compassion for our fellow animals.

Factory farming is a prime example of the opposite of what these monks and others believe. Many people might like to argue that the factory farming and slaughter of animals is not as immoral as some think, due to the fact that animals Don't have emotions, or Don't think. This, however, is far from the truth. Studies have shown animals to be capable of not only simple but complex emotions as well, on top of being very intelligent. Chickens, for example, being very social creatures, have been observed to have complex pecking orders and social status. Not only have I personally witnessed it, but there's documentation of chickens developing bonds with humans and other animals alike. This is particularly more likely if robbed of the adequate social time spent with fellow chickens and is a reflection of their need for social interaction.

It does not stop with chickens, though, each animal has shown traits that, may be less advanced than that of a human, but still reflects the traits that we so often use to define us as being of higher intellect and subsequently of greater importance. This fact, then, standing alone, should be reason enough to reconsider the quality of treatment and mass slaughter of these animals, if their not being equals is the chosen argument for the justification of their mistreatment. Cows show empathy and complex emotions. Pigs are smarter than some dogs even, showing problem-solving skills and an innate curiosity. This means that contary to some beliefs, these animals are aware of and suffer from the conditions and lack of adequate treatment that they are forced to enure in factory farms. They are often mistreated, in their life and preparing for slaughter, and this mistreatment is way too commonly disregarded by the public.

Cows, for example, when sent to the slaughterhouse, are often crammed into trailers with about 45 others, and sometimes do not always make it to their destination intact. This journey, which truly is the end of the line for these animals, is a traumatizing and miserable experience. Way too often the animals are sick or get injured during transportation. Imagine up to a 1,500-mile journey on a trailer, in 95-degree weather, packed body to body. Often times on this trip, the animals are not fed or watered. They are hungry and scared, often sick, forced to be crammed in a box with other animals, surrounded by urine and feces. Their cries for help go unanswered as they are brought away. Once they reach their destination, some are too sick or injured to leave, others are too scared. As reported by PETA, They are shocked with electric prods or dragged off with chains. Uncooperative animals are beaten, they have prods poked in their faces and up their rectums, says a former USDA inspector (Cow Transport and Slaughter). The rest referred to in the industry as downers, are dragged by their legs on ropes and chains off the trailer. Sometimes, in freezing weather, the workers need to go so far as to pry the cows from the floor or walls, as they become stuck to it with frozen feces and urine. Once They have finished unloading, the cows are then shot in the head with a captive-bolt gun to stun them. But due to the speed of the procession and the lack of properly trained employees, the method often fails and leaves the animal still receptive to pain. This means that a cow can be fully awake and responsive when their neck is slit. Mooing in pain and fear, they sometimes live long enough to see all their legs cut off, as they bleed out before finally dying.

Moving on from the ethical side of things, a vegetarian diet is not only good for the animals we coinhabit with, but for your own physical health as well. According to Medical News Today, A vegetarian diet has been found to reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer, leading to a longer life expectancy (Nordqvist). Though the differences aren't major in all cases, studies have shown that a plant based diet helps to avoid these complications from arising. According to the Harvard Health Blog, Vegetarians' risk of developing diabetes was half that of nonvegetarians, even after taking BMI into account. The Harvard-based Women's Health Study found a similar correlation between eating red meat (especially processed meats, such as bacon and hot dogs) and diabetes risk, after adjusting for BMI, total calorie intake, and exercise(Harvard Health Publishing). The diet alone has been shown to lower body weight since the majority of the meat produced in our factory farms is filled with steroids and other chemicals to cause the animals to grow larger, which when eaten and processed by our bodies has a secondhand effect on the human body as well.

The third compelling argument some may present as a reason for following a vegetarian diet is the environmental aspect to all this. It is commonly known that methane, which is 21 times more potent when trapping heat than carbon dioxide, is released from cows. What is less commonly known, is that livestock produces two-thirds of the worlds ammonia emissions, which is one of the leading causes in acid rain. Thats only to name a few as livestock release over 100 other polluting gasses. Taking into consideration the fact that these animals make up 60 percent of the earth's mammal biomass, their mass farming is costing us in more way than one.

With such a massive amount of livestock covering this earth, their toll is not only what they emit, but also what they consume. As referenced in EXPOnet, According to a study by the WWF, to produce one kg of beef steak, it takes 15,500 liters of water and 70 percent of the world's fresh water used to grow plants as fodder for livestock (Figus). Cutting down on that amount, even by a few percentages could make a great difference. It takes much more food and water to feed the animals farmed then it does to simply grow grains or other staples. For example, per 100 calories, wheat needs 55 liters of water. Rice and potatoes need 190 and 38 liters respectively (Koziol, 2017). This water waste is a matter that could be solved simply. It is not a need for meat, but a desire. Granted there are some cases where one would medically have a type of dependancy on meat, that is not the case for the general public. Even a reduction in the consumption of meat, if one did not want to or was unable to cut it out entirely, could make a dent in the mass amounts expended that go into the raisning and slaughtering of these animals.

Being vegetarian, though having many benefits, naturally still has its negatives, as all things do. One of the most common concerns is a lack of sufficient vitamins. For example, from a medical standpoint, someone practicing a lacto-vegetarian, or a vegan diet might have a small amount of naturally consumed EPA and DHA. These fatty acids come from cold water fish and are omega 3 fats. As stated in an article by Harvard Health Publishing, Our bodies can convert ALA in plant foods to EPA and DHA, but not very efficiently. Vegans can get DHA from algae supplements, which increase blood levels of DHA as well as EPA (by a process called retroversion). DHA-fortified breakfast bars and soy milk are also available (Becoming a Vegetarian). These supplements as well as many others are available to the public if they prove to be necessary. But, many find that they actually have less to worry about then they thought, in terms of needing supplements. As a second example, many might fear an iron deficiency, to state a common concern, but that is actually less common than some think. Though the iron in red meat is more easily absorbed than that which is found in fruits and vegetables, the difference is not very drastic, and can be easily compensated for with the taking of supplements or increased intake of iron-rich foods spinach, lentils, or even chocolate! Lacking in proper vitamins may be one of the most common concerns most face when considering a vegetarian diet, but with the supplements we have today, that concern can be easily overcome.

(Closing paragraph of persuasion)

Figus, Cinzia, et al. 375 Million Vegetarians Worldwide. All the Reasons for a Green

Lifestyle. EXPONet, 27 Oct. 2014. 11-18-18

Harvard Health Publishing. Becoming a Vegetarian. Harvard Health Blog,

Harvard Health Publishing, 2009, 11-18-24

Koziol, Michael. How Much Water Does Your Food Drink?

Popular Science, 17 Mar. 2017, 11-25-2018

Nordqvist, Christian. Vegetarian Diet: Benefits, Risks, and Tips. Medical NewsToday,

MediLexicon International, 10 Mar. 2017, 11-18-18

Cow Transport and Slaughter. PETA,

PETA, 24 Dec. 2018

Did you like this example?

Advantages of Vegetarian Diets. (2019, Jul 29). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Gilgamesh was a Real Historical Figure

Contents

Was Gilgamesh a Real Person?
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Sumerian Poems of Gilgamesh
References

Was Gilgamesh a Real Person?

Scholars have undertaken research to ascertain the argument of whether or not the legend of Gilgamesh is real. The question has become intriguing with some scholars making comparisons between the King that Gilgamesh was and the epic accounts that have been discovered about the legend. The work of Haubold, (2014) notes that most scholars agree that the legendary accounts developed surrounding Gilgamesh have been largely fictionalized. However, historians are in a position to justify that Gilgamesh existed as a king in his time. Gilgamesh is a significant literary character in most literature works whose origin is Mesopotamia. Works of poetry mention a rival king in the Sumerian Gilgamesh and the work is documented to have been created in the late third millennium BCE. Most of the poetry works dated in the late third millennium BCE have been verified by archeology. However, the history, myths and legend that surround Gilgamesh as a king and his contribution to his society raises enquiries on whether or not he is a real historical figure. Most scholars have explored the composition and meaning of the epic of Gilgamesh. According to Foster, (2014), most scholars who have encountered sources on the life and legend of Gilgamesh, use different approaches. Further, the essay will give a summary of the eleven tablets and provide a justification to support the thesis of the paper. The paper will argue that Gilgamesh was a real historical figure and provide sufficient evidence to support the argument.

Gilgamesh was a legendary hero who was considered as such during the time he lived in 2700 BC. He was the fifth ruler of Uruk dynasties in Sumerian city which is the modern-day Iraq (Villiers, 2005). Lugalbanda, his father was king of Uruk while his mother Ninsun ruled as an intelligent cow goddess. In the King list of the Sumerians, he records an era of 126 years. Gilgamesh had a son, Urlugal whom together they rebuilt Ninlil a goddess sanctuary in Tummal, in the sacred city of Nippur (Villiers, 2005). He is the significant character revolving around Epic Gilgamesh which a substantial existing works in the early literature of Mesopotamia. According to Jones, (2011), in the Mesopotamian mythologies, he is recognized as a demigod with extraordinary strength that built Uruk city walls to defend the Sumerians from threats and external conflicts. Gilgamesh emphasis as a historical figure is further justified as he fought against Sargon of Akkadian’s military in a conflict that lasted for ages destroying the walls of Uruk (Jones, 2011). The Sumerians recognize him for travelling to meet Utnapishtim the sage that overcame the Great Deluge. Interestingly Gilgamesh is described as a one third of a human being and two thirds of a god (Villiers, 2005).

The presence and significance of Gilgamesh as a historically significant figure is evident in the multiple historical accounts that make a direct or implied refence to the king or his reign. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is illustrated as a young, athletic, handsome king of the Uruk city. In Mesopotamia, the tales of Gilgamesh are exploited in narratives in five poems existing among the Sumerians (Jarman, 2014). Most Sumerian texts have identified Gilgamesh by the name Bilgrames. Some of the epic fragments found in Tell Haddad demonstrate Gilgamesh burial. Uruk people diverted river Euphrates with the objective to bury the king under the river bed (Villiers, 2005). The evidence of existence of Gilgamesh was recorded on twelve clay tablets in cuneiform that are dated between 1000 and 1300B.C. (Foster, 2014). The Epic of Gilgamesh describes the adventures of Enkidu and Gilgamesh who is reported to have killed and conquered Humbaba, the monster set over by the gods in Forest of Cedar.

Gilgamesh is recognized as a historical king among the people of Uruk and an epic hero who is featured in archeological inscriptions and contemporary letters (Haubold, 2014). The Epic of Gilgamesh illustrates numerous themes that are significant in understanding the culture of Mesopotamia and the heredity of kings (Caputo, 2016). The role of the king, immortality, civilization, enmity and the relation between gods and human are themes that have been exemplified in the Mesopotamian mythology (Ilnitzki, n.d.). In the poems Gilgamesh faced various challenges that have shaped the culture of Mesopotamia. The manifestation of numerous events provides proof of the existence of kings and gods in the past that defined human civilization (Gadotti, 2005).

The success of Gilgamesh has led him to be featured in narratives that have developed to myths and legends that are similar to historical heroes such as Charlemagne, Arthur and Sigurd in Western Civilization (Putra, 2013). Moreover, Gilgamesh attracted accomplishments and names of various kings that existed during the period.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh since reconstruction and rediscovery has created controversy among historians. The narrative is contrary to the Bible exemplifying 4,000 years in the society of Mesopotamia (Heidel, n.d.) The tale manifests religious and cultural heritage of the people of Mesopotamia in world literature. Throughout the religion and culture of Mesopotamia, that is reflected in the contemporary society. The existence of council of elders and firm male leader as well as the aspect of gender division in culture and religions is essential in contemporary societies (Haubold, 2014).

Mesopotamia was religiously a polytheist society that is linked to natural phenomenon and the existence of gods is personified heavily (Ilnitzki, n.d.). In his life Gilgamesh encounters gods, creatures and kings who are vital enhancing human feelings, friendships, fear of death and relationships (Villiers, 2005). The people of Uruk believe and pray to the god of Anu to liberate them from the harsh rule of Gilgamesh. The gesture demonstrates the existence of religion among the people of Mesopotamia (Haubold, 2014).

According to Jarman, (2014), in the events of Gilgamesh, death has been portrayed as a symbol relative to the epic and culture. The culture of Mesopotamia death exemplifies strange images of a dangerous and dark underworld where deceased souls are trapped underground (Heidel, n.d.). In Epic, death occurs as Enkidu and Gilgamesh are killing the Bull of Heaven and when Gilgamesh kills Humbaba. In the culture of Mesopotamia, the people of Uruk find peace in death (Caputo, 2016). Similarly, in contemporary religious beliefs, people find peace through transition of death.

Although historians pay more attention on Hammurabi and his code of law, other civilizations account like that of the Tigris -Euphrates and other first civilizations explain their existence by focusing on Gilgamesh and other prominent legends (Villiers, 2005). From the multiple accounts documented on Gilgamesh as a Legend, are characterized by mythical accounts and were written about 2000 B.C (Foster, 2014). The writings were on clay tablets and in Sumerian language. History shows that Sumerian language does not reflect any similarities to any other known language. The writings were in cuneiform whose translation means ‘wedge-shaped’. The twelve tablets that have been retrieved and translated by historians contain a chronological account originally written in Akkadian language (Jones, 2011). In most of the accounts presented by the tablets, Gilgamesh is accorded a heroic nature and a superhuman presentation.

Gilgamesh is presented as two-thirds god and one-third human. He is said to be the greatest king on earth. However, Gilgamesh is described as a young ruthless king who oppresses his people. The people are helpless and call to Anu, the sky-god to rescue them (Ilnitzki, n.d.). As a response to their prayers, Anu created and sent a wild man Enkidu from the wild forests of Gilgamesh’s land. Enkidu is created with wild powers and exceptional abilities and his purpose is to salvage the subhuman citizens who have been oppressed by the superhuman Gilgamesh (Jarman, 2014). The news spread rapidly from the first time that a trapper’s son encounters Enkidu running with the wild animals. Upon his father’s advice, the son takes Shamhat, a temple harlot to Enkidu as a test to see if the wild man would succumb to sexual desires. Even though he succumbs and loses his strength and wildness, he gains understanding and knowledge. Shamhat offers to take Enkidu to the city and show him Gilgamesh, whom she argues is the only one deserving Enkidu’s friendship (Foster, 2014).

At the same time, Gilgamesh dreams twice with the first dream showing meteorite fall on earth. Gilgamesh is unable to overpower its might and his people celebrate around it. Although Gilgamesh is open to embrace it as though it were his wife, his mother forces a coemption between the meteorite and Gilgamesh (Ilnitzki, n.d.). The second dream portrays an axe on Gilgamesh’s door and still he is unable to turn or lift it. Again, people gather and celebrate it and Gilgamesh is willing to embrace it. However, his mother forces Gilgamesh to compete with the axe. Gilgamesh seeks explanation about the dreams from his mother who informs him that a great man would come into Uruk (Jones, 2011). Gilgamesh will collaborate with the mighty man and accomplish great deeds.

Enkidu is introduced to civilization by receiving education and apprenticeship on tending flocks, civilized eating, wearing clothes and speaking properly. Enkidu’s formal introduction into Uruk happens on a day of great celebration (Villiers, 2005). The encounter between Gilgamesh and Enkidu happens when Gilgamesh is about to claim his self-declared right to have sexual intercourse with a new bride on her wedding night. Enkidu is infuriated by the abuse and prompts the two into a furious fight. Gilgamesh gets the upper hand as the fight resolves and the two embraces a sign of their devoted friendship. The two friends become weak with time and grow lazy living in the city. Gilgamesh proposes that for their friendship, they should take an adventure and journey through great Cedar Forest and cut all cedar trees (Ilnitzki, n.d.). However, they would have to kill the guardian of the forest first who is believed to be a Humbaba the Terrible. Enkidu is aware of the powers of Humbaba and tries to convince his friend not to undertake the adventure.

It is important to note that most contents on tablets were not in existence. The salvaged information reports that the elders of the city undertook a protest against Gilgamesh’s but eventually agree (Haubold, 2014). The elders assigned Enkidu the responsibility to protect the king and required that the Enkidu takes the forward position in the battle. The king’s mother laments her sons’ fate asking the sun-god Shamash why he gave Gilgamesh a restless heart (Gadotti, 2005). The sun-god promises to watch over the king’s life. After being commanded by the queen mother to protect her son, Enkidu panics and tries to convince Gilgamesh to quit the adventure without success.

The tablets explain the tale of the voyage to the cider forest. In the six-day voyage, Gilgamesh prayed to Shamash who sends oracular dreams to Gilgamesh in the night to respond to his prayers. In another dream, Gilgamesh wrestles a bull that breaks the earth (Gadotti, 2005). The dreams are ominous creating fear to Gilgamesh. The interpretation of the dream by Enkidu reveals Shamash protection. The revelation of Enkidu on his dreams illustrates success to his coming battles. The tablet exemplifies the unity between Enkidu and Gilgamesh to fight the demon of Humbaba. As Gilgamesh enters Cedar Forest, he shakes with fear praying and reminding Shamash of the promise of safety he had on Ninsun (Jarman, 2014). Shamash directs Gilgamesh to kill Humbaba when he is not wearing his armor of seven coats.

The tablet provides an account of the two friends entering the magnificent Cedar Forest. Gilgamesh and Enkidu begin to cut the trees and Humbaba, the guardian, hears the sound and comes running with a roar to warn them off (Haubold, 2014). Enkidu tries to defend the king and warned Humbaba that the two are stronger that a mere demon. Overlooking Enkidu, Humbaba taunts the King for taking orders from nobody. Humbaba begins a fight with the two when he turns his face into a hideous form. Although Gilgamesh is too frightened and goes into hiding, Enkidu inspires courage and the two friends fight against Humbaba (Jarman, 2014). The sun-god intervenes in favor of Gilgamesh and Enkidu who acquire victory against Humbaba. Humbaba begs for his life as Gilgamesh holds a sword to his head. However, Enkidu convinces him that he would gain renowned fame across time and lands if he kills Humbaba. Gilgamesh succumbs to the yearning of such power and cuts Humbaba’s head (Ilnitzki, n.d.). Unfortunately, before dies, Humbaba curses Enkidu to never find peace and not live longer. Nevertheless, the two friends accomplish their adventure, cut down cedar trees even the tallest cedar tree and make a magnificent gate for the city

Sumerian Poems of Gilgamesh

In ancient writings from Mesopotamia, the name of Gilgamesh appears in different forms like Bilgames. Through history, five Sumerian poems have been copied about Bilgames on the varying degree of popularity in Babylonian schools with greater improvements on particular translations. The texts were collected to facilitate the epic Babylonian standard with other materials illustrated by Akkadian (Caputo, 2016).

In the Babylonian epic, Gilgamesh Sumerian poems play the role of reconstruction and recovery from pieces of clay tablets preserved in museums in various countries. With increased text discovery, it is possible to observe and compare between Babylonian epic and Sumerian poems (Caputo, 2016). It enables people to appreciate the skills portrayed by Old Babylonian poets who expressed traditional stories and themes as primary materials in literature (Gadotti, 2005). However, it is difficult to determine if the knowledge used was derived from individual experience or written existing traditions in scribal schools or even knowledge from oral Sumerian traditions presented in Akkadian. According to Jones, (2011), the evident borrowing is present in adaptation of the story of Sumerians’ Huwawa and Bilgames that furnish elaborate narrative Expedition in Tablets III- V in the Babylonian epic. The simple efforts demonstrated by the Bull of Heaven and tale of Sumerian Bilgame’s achieve episodes of Tablet VI Bull of Heaven and Ishtar (Caputo, 2016).

Recent discoveries have been revealed in the Akkadian tale in Tablet VIII of Enkidu’s funeral which is closely related to Bilgame’s funeral and the traditional customs where Gilgamesh acquired the knowledge of Flood Heroes that restore cultic life practices of the land (Jones, 2011). The historical origin of the Sumerian poems is briefly covered. Ideally, the language of the Sumerians is used figuratively in expressing Akkadian that makes an abrupt opaque passage (Jones, 2011). The existing translations are aimed at presenting an original version to produce clear texts that have limited liberties on occasional phrasing. The five poems have survived numerous recessions with relative periodical intervals. In some cases, the texts can be repetitive as tablets have shared passages or abbreviated versions. The adopted policies provide a translation producing texts in the simplest form.

Gilgamesh reigned between 2500 B.C with most historians agreeing that he ruled for about 126 years in Sumerian king List. Legendary accounts that surround his existence present Gilgamesh as a son of goddess Ninsum born to the king who reigned before him. Gilgamesh is a significant historical figure and this position is justifiable through multiple arguments. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the king is the center character. The epic provides a chronological account of Gilgamesh. Having been written originally on stone tablets provides a confirmation that the Epic of Gilgamesh is an account of a king who had existed. A historical figure is justified to have multiple accounts written in his name or about him.

In his own right, Gilgamesh is a historical figure. Being studied alongside other figure of importance in history, Gilgamesh represents a concept of true devotion of a leader and his commitment to expansion of his territory. Through such ambitions, Gilgamesh triggered wars and his quest to conquer new territories present a historically significant aspect.

The other aspect of significant is that account that has been discovered containing documented information about Gilgamesh. However, the accounts provide more information about Sumerian kingdom, its people and development. For instance, in one of the tablets is an account about when Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu set off to an adventure into the Cider Forest to cut cider trees. The information in the tablet informs of the society’s religious beliefs, political order and economic status. Through studying information about Gilgamesh, scholars are able to acquire information that helps them patch-up other semi-reconstructed works of history. As such, Gilgamesh is a relevant historical figure in the contemporary society. Gilgamesh might fail to meet the requirements for a hero according to the contemporary standards but it is with no doubt he is a sign of historical significance for the society.

References

Caputo, D. (2016). From Sumerian tales to Babylonian epic: an interdisciplinary student guide to Gilgamesh. The International Journal of Literary Humanities, 14(4), 39-54. doi: 10.18848/2327-7912/cgp/v14i04/39-54

Foster, B. (2014). A new edition of the epic of Gilgamesh | Review by: Benjamin R. Foster | download. Retrieved from https://booksc.xyz/book/27681472/bb69d6

Gadotti, A. (2005). A. R. George: The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition And Cuneiform Texts. 2 vols. xxxv, 741 pp., iii, 743–986 pp., 147 plates. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. £175. Bulletin of The School of Oriental and African Studies, 68(01). doi: 10.1017/s0041977x05260056

Haubold, J. (2014). Gilgamesh among Us: modern encounters with the ancient epic by theodore ziolkowski. American Journal of Philology, 135(4), 669-672. doi: 10.1353/ajp.2014.0045

Heidel, A. The Gilgamesh epic and old testament parallels [Ebook]. London: The University of Chicago Press.

Ilnitzki, M. Gilgamesh and the Quest for Immortality [Ebook] (pp. 5-9).

Jarman, M. (2014). When the light came on: the epic gilgamesh. Retrieved from https://booksc.xyz/book/27162289/03b5b7

Jones, S. (2011). Review of the buried foundation of the gilgamesh epic: the akkadian huwawa narrative. Journal Of Hebrew Scriptures, 11. doi: 10.5508/jhs. 2011.v11.r21

Putra, J. (2013). Gilgamesh among us: modern encounters with the ancient epic. English, 62(237), 218-220. doi: 10.1093/english/eft012

Villiers, G. (2005). Understanding gilgamesh: his world and his story (Masters). University of Pretoria.

Did you like this example?

Gilgamesh Was a Real Historical Figure. (2019, Jul 29). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

The Epic of Gilgamesh Explication Assignment

Then he called to the man Gilgamesh, he called to the child of the gods: ""Why have you come so great a journey; for what have you travelled so far, crossing the dangerous waters; tell me the reason for your coming?"" Gilgamesh answered, ""For Enkidu; I loved him dearly, together we endured all kinds of hardships; on his account I have come, for the common lot of man has taken him. I have wept for him day and night, I would not give up his body for burial, I thought my friend would come back because of my weeping. Since he went, my life is nothing; that is why I have travelled here in search of Utnapishtim my father; for men say he has entered the assembly of gods, and has found everlasting life. I have a desire to question him concerning the living and the dead."" The Man-Scorpion opened his mouth and said, speaking to Gilgamesh, ""No man born of woman has done what you have asked, no mortal man has gone into the mountains; the length of it is twelve leagues of darkness; in it there is no light, but the heart is oppressed with darkness. From the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun there is no light."" Gilgamesh said, ""Although I should go in sorrow and in pain, with sighing and with weeping, still I must go. Open the gate of the mountain."" And the Man-Scorpion said, ""Go Gilgamesh, I permit you to pass through the mountain of Mashu and go through the high ranges; may your feet carry you safely home. The gate of the mountain is open."" The Norton Anthology, World Masterpieces, Gilgamesh, 32.

In this passage, Gilgamesh, after the death of Enkidu, wants to go to Utnapishtim who has achieved immortality and wants to gain immortality for himself. Gilgamesh has to go through the great mountains of Mashu and the Man-Scorpion was guarding it. The Man-Scorpion according to the text is half man and half dragon. Gilgamesh, 32.

This shows the guard of the mountains as a terrifying creature that people cannot go through because of fear. The Man-Scorpion resisted from letting Gilgamesh go at first but eventually let Gilgamesh pass because of his unbreakable determination of meeting Utnapishtim to achieve immortality. When the Man-Scorpion calls Gilgamesh, he uses the terms 'man' and 'child'. The use of the term man shows that the Man-Scorpion was not afraid of Gilgamesh and had a higher position and power than him even though Gilgamesh is two third god and has defeated multiple enemies before meeting the Man-Scorpion. The word 'man' also in a way foreshadows Gilgamesh's fate, that even though he was searching for immortality, he would not find it because men are mere mortals and have to die. Another term that the Man-Scorpion uses is 'child'. The use of the word child portrays the childlike nature of Gilgamesh. Even though Gilgamesh went through changes since being with Enkidu, he is still called child because he has little knowledge of things such as death just like a child. The only time Gilgamesh experienced death personally was when his friend, and brother in arms, Enkidu, died. This affected Gilgamesh, as he did not experience death closely before.

Another thing that can be seen from this passage is Gilgamesh's selfishness. Gilgamesh was asked why he had 'travelled so far', he said that it was out of his love for Enkidu. He wanted to ask Utnapishtim about the 'living and the dead' and wanted to know how to achieve immortality. Enkidu's death made him realize that his life could potentially come to an end as well no matter how strong the gods made him. However, that passage also shows that Gilgamesh did truly love Enkidu. Before Enkidu died, they did a lot together and according to the passage, Gilgamesh told this to the Man-Scorpion, ""I loved him dearly, together we endured all kinds of hardships"". The word 'dearly' means, ""with affection: fondly"" and also ""heartily, earnestly."" ""dearly."" Merriam-Webster.com. 2018. https://www.merriam-webster.com (30 November 2018).

This shows the amount of love Gilgamesh had for Enkidu and relating it back to one of Gilgamesh's dreams where he saw a meteor and an axe, and he said to his mother that he loved them like a woman. Gilgamesh, 16

A man loves a woman more affectionately than he would love his brother and so Gilgamesh saying that he loved Enkidu 'dearly' shows that they had a very strong relationship that was beyond just being brothers in arms. The part of the sentence when Gilgamesh says, ""we have endured all kinds of hardships"" can be seen as Gilgamesh talking about the difficult battles that him and Enkidu have been through but another not so obvious meaning behind it is that it can be seen as a husband and wife going through, or 'enduring' hardships in their life. Even though that meaning is not obvious to readers at first, through the relationship that Gilgamesh and Enkidu had before Enkidu died, shows how much Gilgamesh loved Enkidu and was willing to make a long and difficult journey for him. This reason, however, contradicts Gilgamesh's selfish reason to go to Utnapishtim and gain immortality so that he himself does not die.

Enkidu's body had been taken away for burial by people whom Gilgamesh describes as, ""the common lot of man"". The meaning of the word common in this context is to be, ""characterized by a lack of privilege or special status."" ""common."" Merriam-Webster.com. 2018. https://www.merriam-webster.com (1 December 2018).

The use of the word 'common' to describe the people shows that Gilgamesh still thought of himself highly, and above others, so the people that took away Enkidu's body were just common people without any special privilege or status unlike Gilgamesh who was a two-thirds god. Gilgamesh did not want Enkidu's body to be taken away and did not want Enkidu to die, so he was crying day and night and he thought his crying could bring back Enkidu. This again shows Gilgamesh's childlike knowledge of death. Once someone is dead, he or she cannot return back to life, but Gilgamesh did not know that and so he was weeping for Enkidu to try to bring him back. This can be related to the beginning of the passage when Gilgamesh was called a 'child' by the Man-Scorpion, which shows that even though Gilgamesh was higher than others in strength and status, he had knowledge of things such as death like a child. However, this little knowledge of death also shows that Gilgamesh previously did not care about it much, neither other's death or his own, but when Enkidu, someone extremely dear to him died, it was as if he was shaken up, and came to the realization that someday it could be his own fate.

After the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh felt as if he lost purpose in life, which is why he says to the Man-Scorpion, ""Since he went, my life is nothing"". The pronoun 'he' is referring to Enkidu and the use of the word 'nothing' shows that Gilgamesh felt empty as if the loss of Enkidu made him lose something of his own since they were so close to each other. He did not know what to do in his life at that point and that is the reason he gives to the Man-Scorpion to let him pass through the mountains to meet Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh refers to Utnapishtim as his father, as he says to the Man-Scorpion, ""that is why I have travelled here in search of Utnapishtim my father"". It is not clear how Gilgamesh is referring to Utnapishtim as a father in this context. It could be as his actual father or father in meaning someone higher than him, such as addressing gods or kings. It could be that Gilgamesh is referring to Utnapishtim as a father because he had ""entered the assembly of gods"" by gaining immortality. Utnapishtim gained immortality in when Uruk was flooded by the god Enlil, but as Utnapishtim survived he was blessed with immortality by Enlil. Gilgamesh, 37-39.

Gilgamesh desired for this everlasting life as well. He says to the Man-Scorpion, ""I have a desire to question him concerning the living and the dead"". Gilgamesh wants to ask questions to Utnapishtim and find out the secret of life and death and how he could be immortal. The use of the phrase ""I have a desire"", rather than ""I want to"", shows how much Gilgamesh cares about this subject, 'life', and he emphasizes his will to ask and know about the living and dead by using the word 'desire'. To this, the Man-Scorpion said that no man born of woman had ever done what Gilgamesh had asked to do. He also said that no mortal man had ever gone through the mountains. By saying no man born of a woman and the word mortal man, the Man-Scorpion asserts his position over Gilgamesh, that he is more powerful than him, but it also foreshadows Gilgamesh's fate that he will die as a mortal. The use of the term mortal also strengthens the Man-Scorpions argument that Gilgamesh is mortal and since no mortal man had gone through the mountains, Gilgamesh could not either. The Man-Scorpion tries to input more fear into Gilgamesh by describing the path inside the mountain. The path had no light, there was ""twelve leagues of darkness"", and he also says, ""the heart is oppressed with darkness."" The entire length of the journey would take Gilgamesh days because the Man-Scorpion says that from when the sun rises to when it sets, there is no light in the mountain. The path seems to be a very long and difficult path but what is most interesting is when the Man-Scorpion says the heart will be oppressed with darkness. This could mean that fear would not let someone complete the journey through the mountain as it is so dark. The word oppress means to ""crush or burden by abuse of power or authority"" and also ""to burden spiritually or mentally."" ""oppress."" Merriam-Webster.com. 2018. https://www.merriam-webster.com (8 December 2018).

This shows that Gilgamesh would be mentally oppressed in the darkness, as he will not be able to see or comprehend his surroundings.

Gilgamesh is not moved by the Man-Scorpion, he is still determined to go through the mountain to meet Utnapishtim. He says that he would go in 'sorrow' and in pain, sighing and crying, but he still had to go no matter what. This bold determination most likely comes from him not wanting to die, and his sorrow, pain, and weeping come from the death of his dear Enkidu. The word 'sorrow' in this context means, ""deep distress, sadness, or regret especially for the loss of someone or something loved"". ""sorrow."" Merriam-Webster.com. 2018. https://www.merriam-webster.com (14 December 2018).

This definition of sorrow confirms that one of the pushes for Gilgamesh to go to Utnapishtim was the death of Enkidu. Yet there is a conflict with another reason for Gilgamesh to go to Utnapishtim, which is his selfish will to become immortal. This conflict can, however, be resolved when Gilgamesh later goes to Utnapishtim and he gets knowledge of the plant which restores youth. When Gilgamesh gets this plant, he not only wants to use it for himself but also give it to other old men to restore their lost youth. Gilgamesh, 40-41.

This shows a change in Gilgamesh from being very self-centered in the beginning to caring about others as well. As the Man-Scorpion, the guard of the mountains permits Gilgamesh to go through he says, ""may your feet carry you safely home"", indicating that at the end of the journey, Gilgamesh would be at a place which would be his home. Somewhere he can rest at ease. This foreshadows Gilgamesh's death as it could mean that his home is his afterlife, where he can live eternally at peace.

Did you like this example?

The Epic of Gilgamesh Explication Assignment. (2019, Jul 29). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Warrior Ethos in the Tale of Sohrab and the Epic of Gilgamesh

In the tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam and epics of Gilgamesh, heroes Rostam and Gilgamesh have a passion to deal with the death of the most loved ones in their lives. Rostam loses his son, Sohrab, whom he murdered in the battlefield whereas Gilgamesh loses his colleague, Enkidu in the epic. Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk, he is a one-third man and two-thirds god, very strong and wise. Even though Gilgamesh is godly, he starts his kingship as a brutal tyrant. He completes his magnificent building projects in the city by oppressing people through hard labor, he also rapes any woman who impresses his imagination. People pray the gods in order to be delivered from such menace. The gods hear their cries creates a wild animal and Enkidu to challenge Gilgamesh. Enkidu lives with animals and grazes on their pasture and drinks water at their watering places, and even suckles their breasts.

A hunter spots Enkidu and sends a prostitute to tame him in the wilderness. The people consider women in making wild men such as Enkidu domesticated and bring them in the civilized world. Therefore, Harlot teaches Enkidu everything he needs to be a man. Finally, he gets introduced into human life and becomes a night watchman in the city of Uruk. Enkidu is disturbed by what he hears about the Gilgamesh's treatment to wedding brides. He decides to challenge Gilgamesh at the wedding. Gilgamesh forces his way to bride's chamber, Enkidu steps on the doorway and intercept Gilgamesh entrance into the chamber. They fight for a long time Gilgamesh emerging the winner of the battle. Enkidu acknowledges Gilgamesh's superiority and they become allies hence start having adventures together.

They decide to go to cedar forest to steal trees beside it beingnevertheless forbidden for mortals. They come across a forest giant which is devoted to guarding the forest, Enlil. They fight the monster and with the help of Shamash, god of the sun they kill the giant, Humbaba. The men cut down the trees and use them to fashion humongous gate for the forest and the rest of the trees design a raft which they float on it back to Uruk. At Uruk the goddess of love, Ishtar, approaches Gilgamesh because lust has overcome her, unfortunately, Gilgamesh rejects her because of the previous mistreatment of his lovers. Ishtar becomes furious and asks her father, Anu, to request the sky's god to send Heaven's Bull to strike Gilgamesh. The bull comes down from the sky bringing seven years of devastation in Uruk. Enkidu and Gilgamesh wrestle the bull and slays it.

After winning the battle, the gods of the sky have a council meeting and agree that one of the two allies must suffer punishment for their transgression. Consequently, Enkidu is chosen to face death. He shares his dreams of the underworld with Gilgamesh and after ten days he dies. His death heartbreaks Gilgamesh for his entire life. As a result, he continuously mourns for Enkidu along with seeking prospect about his own death. He further exchanges his kingly robes for wild animal skin as a sign of grieving Enkidu.

In the Sohrab and Rostam tragedy, the scene starts when the army of Persians and Tartars are encamped along Oxus River waiting to witness a great fight between them. Sohrab, a youthful hero in Tartar's army, early morning he leaves his bed and makes his solidarity way to Persian-Wisa. Commander of the Tartar army wishes to have an uncommon favor from the commander. He wants to challenge the leader from the Persian's army with intention of seeking his father, Rostum, who he has never seen. Sohrab is discontented and restless to have the opportunity to engage in the duel. The battle day comes and the armies are on the ground ready to fight.

Tartars and Persians armies are waiting for instructions from their respective commanders, Peran-Wisa comes in front of armies and says, instead of war there will be a duel, whereby, the last man standing in the duel will have a victory from the respective army. Gudurz, an official in the Persian camp hears that statement and urges Rostum to engage in the duel since he is the oldest and mightiest warrior in the camp. Rostum turns down the request because he considers himself old to face young warrior, Sohrab. Instead, he suggests that king Kae Kau should fight. Gudurz criticizes Rostum's words and responds with statements which trigger's Rostum spirit hence paving his way to the battlefield.

Sohrab and Rostum make their way on the battlefield, they wrestle against each other although Sohrab is suspicious that he may be fighting against his father, Rostum lacks the same perception Sohrab had when combating. In the combat Rostum fatally stubs Sohrab. While Sohrab is laying down, he recalls the love of his father is the one which has brought him in the battle. Rostum finally realizes that he was fighting against his son when he sees his bracelet on Sohrab arm, which he had given Tahmina a long time ago to put to their child after their marriage. Tahmina hoped that the bracelet could protect him during the war.

In conclusion, the ethics of war and harmony in Gilgamesh epic and Shahnameh portrays humbleness in supreme beings. Gilgamesh epic, the giant restraints from own greediness and arrogance and inflicting misery on others he portrays his humbleness and sorrow when he exchanges his kingly garments for wild animals' skin as a reason of mourning Enkidu. On tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam, the Sohrab's father- Rostam cries bitterly after realizing that he had killed his son. The psychosomatic reactions of war and sorrow don't take part in the real world; hence such reactions should be acquiesced to reasoning and violence repression to keep in check.

Works cited

Colarusso, John, and Tamirlan Salbiev, eds. Tales of the Narts: Ancient Myths and Legends

of the Ossetians. Princeton University Press, 2016.

Cross, Cameron. ""If Death is Just, what is Injustice? Illicit Rage in Rostam and Sohrab

and The Knight's Tale."" Iranian Studies 48.3 (2015): 395-422.

George, Andrew, ed. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in

Akkadian and Sumerian. Penguin, 2002.

Did you like this example?

Warrior Ethos in The Tale of Sohrab and The Epic of Gilgamesh. (2019, Jul 29). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Vegetarian: is it Better than Eating Meat?

Who doesn't like bacon? It is salty, meaty, goes with anything and everything, and there is just no substitute for it. People have even started cooking it into candy. When someone states that they are a vegetarian it appears like they are instantly better than those of us who are omnivores because they have a measure of control not to eat bacon that the rest of us don't have. Most of us realize that vegetarianism is an expression of one's ethical orientation, so when we think of a vegetarian, we don't simply think of a person who's just like everyone else except that he or she doesn't eat meat. We think of a person who has a certain philosophical outlook, whose choice not to eat meat it a reflection of a deeper belief system in which killing animals for human ends is considered unethical. (Joy, 2011)

Vegetarianism is defined by a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, while omitting animal based products such as meat and eggs. There are many reasons to choose a plant based lifestyle, the promise of weight loss or health improvement, environmental impact, and religious reasons are among the most common. Also, while not widely known, or talked about, some people adopt vegetarian diets to mask eating disorders. Vegetarians can have a hard time getting the proper amount of usable nutrients because they are not consuming the most ready source of it. Being a vegetarian can affect a person's bone density, nutrient levels, and even their ability to conceive a child. Vegetarianism can be a great way to lose weight or reduce environmental impact, but those who choose this lifestyle also need to be aware of the different nutrients that are not as readily available in plant-based foods as they are in a balanced diet containing meat products.

It is the first nice weekend of the year. A woman has stepped out of her bedroom wearing shorts for the first time all year, and her husband sees her legs full of bruises. So many bruises that they blend into one another, and he can't tell where one ends and one begins. There is more purple, green, and blue colored skin on her legs and upper arms than there is flesh colored. The husband is immediately concerned for his wife. It turns out that her latest effort to lose her baby weight was to go vegetarian. However, now it has turned into vegetarian induced anemia and every time she bumps into something or touches something too hard, it leaves a bruise. Many things can cause anemia, especially for women. If people don't get enough of any certain nutrient, it will cause a deficiency. Not all nutrients and vitamins can be supplemented with taking a pill. Some are more readily available if they are eaten at their purest form in food. An iron deficiency, which would cause the anemia, is best treated with eating iron rich foods with some vitamin C rich foods because the vitamin C helps the iron get absorbed into the bloodstream properly. No weight goal is worth sacrificing the health and wellbeing of any person; however, this is exactly what many people in society do today.

Being vegetarian can affect bone density even if the person is not anemic. (H., L., N., & V, T., 2009) One of the keys to successfully undertaking a vegetarian diet is to plan daily and weekly meals out to avoid the potential deficiencies that are common among all vegetarians, and to make sure a balance is achieved for all nutritional needs. The most common vitamins and nutrients that a vegetarian becomes deficient in are protein, calcium, iron, vitamin B 12, and vitamin D. Since these nutrients are less prevalent in plant-based diet, some vegetarian foods are fortified with them. A nutritional supplement can also fill these gaps. The amount of usable protein they are consuming also needs to be taken into account as well considering they're not consuming the easiest source of it, animal products.

Vegetarian diets help many people looking for an easy to follow solution, to lose weight. They help people cut calories out of their diet simply because a cup of broccoli contains 30 calories well a cup of beef contains 213 cal. This leaves the body and 183 calories deficit and will lose weight. Calories in and calories out is the oldest and easiest form of dieting. Vegetarians can fill up on high fiber, high water content foods with a low calorie cost and be able to lose pounds. They still feel full and are probably eating a lot healthier than they were before. In the American diet people tend to eat a diet consisting of meat, bread, white rice, and sugars with a low emphasis on fruits and vegetables. If people take a look at the vegetarian's lifestyle to see that they place a high priority of vegetables and fruit over everything else with a lower amount of carbs, they will usually get a lot healthier than they were. The fact that vegetarians can cut out calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol will help them create a healthier picture of themselves.

Some people even use vegetarian diets, or other restrictive diet plans, to mask eating disorders. It becomes a way to say they can't eat a food because they are vegetarian, and it gives them the excuse to not indulge in other foods that anorexia or bulimia won't allow them to eat. Natalie (Name changed for personal protection) was extremely anorexic in high school; however, she drank a ton of soda, because she was a teenager and it was socially acceptable for her to drink Mountain Dew at dinner and say she ate earlier while still looking like she was consuming calories. She claimed to her friends that she was a vegetarian and wouldn't eat when they stopped at McDonald's for game dinners after cheerleading. Natalie told her parents she ate all the time with her cheerleading squad, or at school. No one saw her eat. Natalie admitted a few years afterward that she drank diet Mountain Dew to be able to partake in a social eating activity. Telling everyone she was a vegetarian allowed her to mask that she was extremely anorexic and unhealthy. The one thing that saved her was getting pregnant with her son. Natalie knew she had to take care of her body to be able to take care of her baby. After she took care of her body for her baby, she knew she could take control over food in her life again. She cured herself of her immediate anorexia, although it never entirely goes away.

Natalie's story is not the exception. About half of all patients seeking treatment for anorexia nervosa, a reported 45 to 54%, practice some form of a vegetarian diet. This is critical information for treatment because professionals have to figure out the person's motivations for being vegetarian while balancing respect for his or her body autonomy. Vegetarianism can be viewed suspiciously in these circumstances as it seems to give those struggling with restricting food a way of masking attempts to lose weight, or the avoidance of eating certain foods. It's a way to let the eating disorders out in public while masking it with restrictive diets. Using restrictive diets to mask eating disorders also allows people not to accept food at a party, or force them to bring their own food to a social gathering. It also gives an excuse not go out to eat with friends. If nearly half of people seeking treatment for anorexia are admitting that they were vegetarians because it was an easy way to control their eating disorder, then vegetarianism, along with any other restrictive diet, is something that needs to be looked at closer for those who have a predisposition for eating disorders.

For those who bring up the environment as the reason to eat a plant based diet, the numbers there are quite different depending on the perspective you take. While every body is different the common consensus from nutritionists is that adult males and females need approximately 2000 calories to perform their daily bodily functions. To grow a thousand calories of broccoli it emits 5.9 planetary emissions, subsequently it only takes 4.8 emissions to grow 1000 calories of chicken. (Vegetarian or. Omnivore, 2014) While broccoli is seen as a superfood, a person's body still needs the same 2000 calories to fuel it every day. Broccoli is near the top when ranked in missions per calorie. If a person were to eat 2000 calories of chicken to their daily needs intake, their planetary emissions would only be 9.6. However if the same person took 2000 calories of tomatoes to fill their daily caloric needs their planetary emissions would be 12.2. If we look at someone who chooses to be vegetarian based on the environmental impact of their food choices, it's almost worse than those who are omnivores and eat a mix of both. (Kateman, 2017)

While religious beliefs can have an impact on society's diets, it is usually expressed as asceticism, so that the motivation is spiritual, rather than ethical. Vegetarianism in these instances is equated with restraint, spirituality and dissent, while meat eating is associated with wealth, strength and social position. (Spencer, 1993) In many different cultures a form of vegetarianism is practiced or encourages. Buddhism is among the most well-known for its vegetarian practices in conjunction with their religion.

According to several different studies vegetarians do consume less alcohol and have a lower body mass index is. ("Vegetarianism, 2012) However, they were still in worse physical and mental health overall. Vegetarian food is widely thought of to be healthier than that of a traditional meat and vegetable diet; however, cardiologists have found that vegetarian food can be just as bad because it involves eating a lot of sweets, junk food, refined grains, and potatoes. These foods have been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and high cholesterol. All studies show that vegetarians are still at risk for cancer, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease just like everybody else.

The higher intakes of vegetables and whole grain products can carry an elevated risk of cancer, allergies, and mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. (It is from not eating all that bacon!) It's also been found vegetarians had poor health practices such as avoiding going to doctor's appointments for preventative checkups and vaccines. Also it appears that vegetarians have a lower quality of life and require more medical treatment for cures rather than preventative measures. (Vegetarians are less healthy and have a lower quality of life than meat-eaters, 2018)

For men and women, vegetarian diets can be harmful when trying to conceive. Soy products such as tofu, soy sausages, bacon, burgers, and soy milk, yogurt, cheese, and ice cream tend to have a lot of phytoestrogen in them. Men who eat a lot of soy commonly have lower sperm counts than men that don't, even just eating half a serving a day can lower their fertility. The more soy men eat the less sperm they produce. (Konkel, 2009) Along those same lines vitamin A (retinol) plays a healthy role in maintaining a healthy immune system but also helps in both male and female reproduction. Vitamin A helps the male body produce healthy sperm, and for women it's not only vital to the production of a healthy ovum, but it also aids with the implantation and sustaining of the pregnancy. The richest sources of vitamin A are cod liver oil, liver, seafood, beef, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. All of these are not vegetarian approved. While people can get synthetic vitamin A fortified in certain foods, they are not the best sources and not consistently the easiest used in the body.

There are certain times when vegetarian diets can help those suffering from certain elements to cure or less and their symptoms. Vegetarian diets can help protect against certain cancers and heart disease in some cases. Researchers have found that vegan diets protected against female specific cancers and overall cancers in both genders. It also can be linked to the higher intakes of fiber and phytochemicals and lower intake so saturated fat and cholesterol are among the main factors responsible for these cancer protective benefits. Vegetarian diets are usually higher in fiber. People with higher intakes of dietary fiber are at a significantly decreased risk for heart disease stroke hypertension diabetes gastrointestinal disorders and obesity. (Pollan, 2006) They also found that vegetarian diets are associated with a lower body mass index and increased rates of obesity in children. If a person has high cholesterol switching to a mostly vegetarian diet can cut those cholesterol levels significantly, therefore lowering the rest of heart disease. A vegetarian diet is virtually cholesterol free. Vegetarian diets also help lower the consumption of saturated fat because they are no longer eating the animal fat associated with meat eaters and omnivores. Whenever a person adopts a vegetarian diet they can increase their energy level through the higher consumption of fruits and vegetables in their diet versus beforehand of just meats and carbs. (Foer, 2013) Vegetarian diets generally have a much higher consumption of fruits vegetables but when planning weekly meals, people need to make sure they are balancing their entire day and week with the correct amount of vitamins and nutrients they need.

The amount of vegetarian recipes that are available on the internet is astounding but in looking at older cookbooks there are very few recipes for exclusive vegetarian meals because of the way that the American diets has evolved. Some people choose to live their lives without bacon. There are various reasons why someone would want to live the vegetarian lifestyle ranging from health reasons, to environmental tolls. The one thing all vegetarians need to do, regardless of their reasons, is make sure they have a balanced diet to include all of the vitamins and minerals that our bodies need. In this age it is easier than ever to get a full range of nutrients from a plant based diet, and those looking to be vegetarian only need to be resourceful with their food plans. Vegetarianism can be a great way to lose weight or reduce environmental impact, but those who choose this lifestyle also need to be aware of the different nutrients that are not as readily available in plant-based foods as they are in a balanced diet containing meat products

References:

Foer, J. S. (2013). Eating animals. Vancouver: Access and Diversity, Crane Library, University of British Columbia.

H., L., N., & V, T. (2009, July 01). Effect of vegetarian diets on bone mineral density: A Bayesian meta-analysis | The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | Oxford Academic. Retrieved September 25, 2018, from https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/90/4/943/4597049

Joy, M. (2011). Why we love dogs, eat pigs, and wear cows: An introduction to carnism: The belief system that enables us to eat some animals and not others. Berkeley, CA: Conari.

Kateman, B. (2017). The reducetarian solution: How the surprisingly simple act of reducing the amount of meat in your diet can transform your health and the planet. NY, NY: TarcherPerigee.

Konkel, L. (2009, November 03). Could Eating Too Much Soy Be Bad for You? Retrieved September 25, 2018, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soybean-fertility-hormone-isoflavones-genistein/

Leonard, C. (2015). The meat racket: The secret takeover of Americas food business. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.

Nestle, M. (2003). Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.

Ogle, M. (2013). In meat we trust: An unexpected history of carnivore America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Pollan, M. (2006). The Omnivore's Dilemma; A Natural History of Four Meals. New York, NY: The Penguin Press.

Spencer, C. (1996). The heretics feast: A history of vegetarianism. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England.

Vegetarian or omnivore: The environmental implications of diet. (2014, March 10). Retrieved September 25, 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/vegetarian-or-omnivore-the-environmental-implications-of-diet/2014/03/10/648fdbe8-a495-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c_story.html

Vegetarianism. (2012, October 12). Retrieved September 25, 2018, from

https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-Modules/PH/NutritionModules/Popular_Diets/Popular_Diets_print.html

Vegetarians 'are less healthy and have a lower quality of life than meat-eaters'. (2018, March 31). Retrieved September 27, 2018, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/vegetarians-are-less-healthy-and-have-a-lower-quality-of-life-than-meateaters-scientists-say-9236340.html

Vegetarian Anemia (2018, October 18). [Personal account].

Eggebrecht, T. (2018, September 25). Personal interview.

Did you like this example?

Vegetarian: Is it Better Than Eating Meat?. (2019, Jul 29). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Grief in the Epic of Gilgamesh

In this mystical tale of friendship and the quest for immortality, the theme of grief is emphasized when Gilgamesh is forever changed by the death of his dear friend Enkidu. Gilgamesh is confronted by the struggles of mortals and is profoundly effected by the injustice that was Enkidu's untimely death. For Gilgamesh, Enkidu is a symbol for the natural world. His character is vital to the transition that Gilgamesh goes through and his search for immortality is sparked by the grief he experiences. Gilgamesh begins the epic as a rash, arrogant young king who takes what he wants with little regard for anyone else. He forces himself on women, and forced men to do his biddings for him. He saw himself for the fraction of a god that he was, and for him that put him in a position higher than noblemen and peasants alike. Though he is the hero of this epic, he had to go on a long journey and underwent many hardships (Norton 1.29) to become the great king he left in his legacy, including the loss of his friend. Through themes of grief and friendship and symbols of nature and mortality, it is clear that Gilgamesh must experience this tragedy in order to learn the lesson that death is inevitable and the only way achieve immortality is to live fully.

The friendship that builds between Gilgamesh and Enkidu in undeniably symbolic of the relationship between man and the natural world. His death causes a major disruption for Gilgamesh mentally, and changes the way he envisions humanity and life in general. Enkidu is born from nature, raised by nature and only becomes interested in the fruits of civilized life when he encounter's humanity. Since he can no longer connect with nature in the same way again, which is privy to the complexity of the relationship between the Sumerians and nature, he proceeds to making his mission seeking to fight Gilgamesh. Once the two eventually become friends and set out on their quest to kill Humbaba, it is clear that Enkidu encourages Gilgamesh to take the life of Humbaba. The fact that Gilgamesh agrees shows that there is trust between them, so their bond is very influential to Gilgamesh and his decision making. After Enkidu gets word of his sentencing, he curses everyone for playing a part in taking him out of the wilderness and removing him from nature, which ultimately lead to his death. It is only after the god Shamash enlightened him did he realize that if it hadn't been for Shamhat meeting him, he would have never met Gilgamesh. Enkidu becomes content with dying because he gained a beautiful friend to whom he was totally devoted. His death effected Gilgamesh so greatly because he had found a true friend in Enkidu. Even Ninsun, when interpreting Gilgamesh's dream, told him that Enkidu was a companion who rescues a friend (1.295) implying that he was in need of that kind of relationship. With a kinship this strong, Gilgamesh would naturally be heartbroken at his death. The theme of grief is heavily shown through the dark tones in the dialogue of Gilgamesh over Enkidu's body.

""May the Roads of Enkidu to the Cedar Forest mourn you and not fall silent night or day.

May the Elders of the broad city of Uruk-Haven mourn you.

May the peoples who gave their blessing after us mourn you.

May the men of the mountains and hills mourn you.

May the pasture lands shriek in mourning as if it were your mother."" (8.8-13)

In this passage, Gilgamesh speaks and calls upon all living things, humanity and the natural world to mourn his passing. Before, Gilgamesh was irreverent towards the earth and humanity, yet after experiencing loss and grief, he cries out to the mountains and plains like family to mourn Enkidu. He wanted the entirety of the earth to lament his lost friend. This tragedy causes a major change in the way that Gilgamesh sees life, death and mortality.

Gilgamesh tries desperately to answer the eternal question that is death. He struggles to understand the finality and experiences very human emotions, and contemplates existence. Through Gilgamesh is two-thirds a god, his morality is shown through his grief. On his journey, he encounters Siduri, who could be interpreted as a character symbolic of truth. She gives Gilgamesh a different perspective on life. As he changes by simply coping with the idea that life is never promised, she also introduces to him the idea that his life could inevitably be short as well. She encourages him to be happy day and night (10.72) she does not necessary believe in trying to leave behind any kind of legacy but rather to only focus on the time he has on earth. Though it would seem to be an answer to his quest, to not pay mind to death because it is inevitable, but Gilgamesh does not listen to her and feels there is still more knowledge to be had. He seeks this further knowledge in Utanapishtim, who gives him the secret to the magic youth flower. The fact that the flower is bitten by the snake and then dies, is symbolic of the themes of death and loss because it serves as yet another illustration of the truth about life and death. Though Gilgamesh left him empty handed, it is possible that Utanapishtim serves the purpose of teaching and reiterating this lesson to Gilgamesh.

As Gilgamesh journey's home he comes to the realization that his legacy already thrives in Uruk which is his pride and glory. He transitions from seeking the truth and meanings of life to coming to the acceptance of his mortality. As he looks upon the city, he says to Urshanabi Study the foundation terrace, and examine the brickwork, (11.314-315) and marvel at the beauty of his many creations. The theme of grief is present throughout this epic through the death of the symbolic character Enkidu, and his death not only changes Gilgamesh, but also teaches him a valuable lesson that eventually allows him to fulfil his life journey. Perhaps if Enkidu had never been sentenced to death, and Gilgamesh would have never learned the lesson, he would never have been able to become a great king.

Did you like this example?

Grief in The Epic of Gilgamesh. (2019, Jul 29). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

A Book History of the Epic of Gilgamesh and Looking at the Book as Artifact

Contents

What is the Epic of Gilgamesh? A History
The Discovery of the Tablets

What was the first book? You can argue that it goes back as far as someone placing their hand on a wall in a cave and leaving their mark behind. It could be argued that it was the hieroglyphics, it could be argued it was stone tablets from 2100 BC. There is an immense number of ""firsts."" The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest book artifacts that has been unearthed. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a cuneiform text which is estimated to have been written in 2100 BC. This paper explores the book history of the Epic of Gilgamesh as well as examining the book as an artifact.

What is the Epic of Gilgamesh? A History

Gilgamesh was first discovered and translated in the 19th century. The story became popular quickly because the 11th tablet detailed the events of the Flood story from the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament.

In Mesopotamian culture the language of learning, Sumerian and Akkadian was a treasured curriculum that had to be mastered by student scribes. According to Andrew George in the Penguin edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian (Preface and Introduction), all the literature that we have in Sumerian derives from the tablets written by these young Babylonian scribal apprentices, many of which were found in the remains of the houses of their teachers . It can be assumed that the Epic of Gilgamesh was written by these scribes due to the fact that not only were the tablets found in the remains of the scribe's teacher's homes, but also because not many would have been well enough educated in order to write this epic.

The Sumerian literary texts that achieved the most publicity are the five poems of Gilgamesh. However, these are not the same as the Babylonian Gilgamesh epic that were written in Akkadian but are separate tales with similar themes. The Sumerian poems acted as a source material for the Babylonian epic. So even one of the oldest books in history, has even more history behind it and couldn't have developed without older Sumerian texts. Other Akkadian works have been recovered from this time frame. Some of them were well kept and finely written, these include three Babylonian tablets of Gilgamesh which we owe our knowledge of the story to.

The Discovery of the Tablets

The 11th tablet was excavated in Kouyunjik (now Nineveh, Iraq) by Hormuzd Rassam. The tablet is 15.24 centimeters long, 13.33 in width, and 3.17 centimeters in thickness and is made of clay . The fragment of the tablet has inscription on both sides with 49 and 51 lines as well as 45 and 49 lines.

The tablet describes Ea, a god, told Utu-napishtim about the flood to destroy the earth. He told Utu to make a boat and save Utu and his family. Utu agreed, and when he, the birds, and the beasts were aboard the door shuts and the rest of mankind died. After six days the flood let up. The gods were mad at Utu and he and the animals could not find a final resting place. He made a sacrifice and Ea interceded and gave them an abode at the mouth of the river Euphrates.

The next prominent tablet that was discovered was the 5th tablet. It was acquired from the Sulaymaniyah Museum in 2011 and was discovered to hold text from the Epic of Gilgamesh. The fifth tablet (in two parts) details the story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu as they fight the protector of the Cedar Forest, Humbaba. The earliest texts of Gilgamesh were written by the Sumerians in the third millennium B.C.E. in Mesopotamia. By the second millennium the story was inscribed on 11 tablets. Additionally, Assyrian scribes added a tablet that describes Gilgamesh's arrangements for death and his future in the underworld in the 8th century B.C.E. One part of the fifth tablet is known as the Standard Babylonian version of the Gilgamesh Epic. It is written in cuneiform employing the writing system of ""wedge-shaped"" symbols used throughout the Near East in the first four millennia B.C.E. The tablet measures 4.3 by 3.7 inches and 1.2 inches thick. This tablet is believed to have been unearthed at a Babylonian site.

There were arguments whether the tablet was Old Babylonian or Neo-Babylonian. Andrew George, the British academic who wrote the translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh I quoted in my first report, believes that it is a typical Neo-Babylonian script which was not written later than the sixth century B.C.E. Two tablets represent the story of Tablet V. The Neo-Assyrian tablet from Nineveh and the Late Babylonian tablet from Uruk that Andrew George speaks of. Gilgamesh is still to this day constantly evolving as new pieces are still being discovered.

After the US invaded Iraq and looted the Iraqi museums, the Sulaymaniyah Museum started an initiative in which they paid smugglers to obtain artifacts on their journey to other countries. The museum did not ask any questions regarding where it came from, how much it was, or who was selling it. The museum believed this would keep smugglers from selling to other buyers due to legal ramifications.

In 2011, they discovered a collection of clay tablets. The collection was almost 90 clay tablets of different contents and shapes, they were all covered in mud. Some were in fragments while others were in pristine condition. The location is unknown due to the fact that the museum refused to ask questions to protect smugglers. It is believed that they were illegally obtained from the southern part of Babel which was previously Babylon or what was previously Mesopotamia.

Professor Farouk Al-Rawi who teaches at the School of Oriental and African Studies was responsible for examining each item and appraising them. The seller did not know what the tablet was, only that it was really large, and he wanted a large sum of money for it. Professor Al-Rawi, knowing he had something greater, told Mr. Hashim to buy it and give the seller what he wanted. They bought it for $800.

Professor Al-Rawi was cleaning the tablet and noticed that the three sections of the tablet were joined together, although it is unknown who put them together. Eventually, Al-Rawi discovered that he was working on one of the tablets from the Epic of Gilgamesh.

It took five days in November 2012 to read and translate the cuneiform text. The tablet is inscribed in Neo-Babylonian cuneiform. It is number T.1447 in the Sulaymaniyah Museum. It is 11cm tall, 9.5 cm in length, and 3cm in thickness. It is dated between 2003-1595 BCE, although Al-Rawi dates it between 626-539 BCE.

Did you like this example?

A Book History of the Epic of Gilgamesh and Looking at the Book as Artifact. (2019, Jul 29). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Great Leaders: Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois

Two great leaders of the black communities in the 19th and 20th century was both Booker T. Washington. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois are both African American philosophies that were mainly known for their works. Booker T. Washington was an educator reformer and influencer while W.E.B Dubois was a black intellectual, scholar and political thinker. They both have written powerful literature that moved and influence the black race. They used Ethos, Logos, and Pathos to describe or state their beliefs and their feelings in one of their works.

Booker T. Washington uses logos, Ethos and Pathos in his speech Atlanta Compromise to spread his beliefs and feelings. In the Atlanta Compromise, it States that Believing that Reconstruction failed by offering African Americans too much too soon. This shows how Booker T. Washington uses ethos by stating his beliefs that the only reason why reconstruction failed was that the whites offer African Americans too much. He also uses ethos to stress that African Americans should have an industrial education rather than a traditional education. Booker T. Washington uses facts to support his claim that African Americans are better off working in an industrial society rather than having a traditional education. In the speech it stated that Our greatest danger is, that in the great leap from slavery to freedom we may overlook the fact that the masses of us are to live by the productions of our hands, and fail to keep in mind that we shall prosper in proportion as we learn to dignify and glory common labor and put brains and skill into the common occupations of life. This show how Booker T. Washington used facts to prove to his race that industrial education is not that bad because they already know how to do it. They did it in slavery. He uses pathos to play with the reader's emotions. He uses words as veritable body of death, stagnating, and depressing.

In comparison, W.E.B Du Bios also uses logos, ethos, and pathos to express his beliefs and feelings. W.E.B Du Bois believed that being involved in politics and having a traditional education is better for African American. He believes that they should have ambition and better themselves by having an education. He uses fact to support his beliefs. It stated in The Souls of Black Folk (1903) it stated that He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the door of Opportunity closed roughly in his face. This shows that he wants whites to give black a chance to be American and have an education that can benefits both them and their families. He wants them to be treated equally. Du Bois stated that The former slaves were intimidated, beaten, raped, and butchered by angry and revengeful men. This shows that Du Bis uses pathos to show his emotions and to play with people emotionally.

The similarities of both writers were that they wanted blacks to have an education. Even Though they didn't agree on the type of education blacks should have they both wanted them to get an education. Du Bois wanted blacks to have a traditional education as it stated that He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the door of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the door of Opportunity closed roughly in his face, while Booker T. Washington wanted Our greatest danger is, that in the great leap from slavery to freedom we may overlook the fact that the masses of us are to live by the productions of our hands, and fail to keep in mind that we shall prosper in proportion as we learn to dignify and glory common labor and put brains and skill into the common occupations of life. This shows that they wanted African American to be ambitious and better themselves off whether they had an industrial education or traditional education.

I agree with W.E.B Du Bois because he talks about black American getting an education and bettering themselves. Education can be powerful and help slaves becomes men and stand up for themselves. Dubois also stressed education of AA's youths. This is the reason why I agree with W.E.B Dubois because of the way it wrote the essay to express his beliefs about how African should progress in life.

Did you like this example?

Great Leaders: Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois. (2019, Jul 28). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois Compare and Contrast

In the end of 1877, reconstruction had ended and the blacks were living in poverty and had been dealing with discrimination. The laws that were placed in previous years had worked around this and later on this had gotten arguably worst. The blacks had either a political, social, or economic position. During this time period, segregation began to appear and separate the races. White supremacy was accepted and blacks' rights were being threatened or even taken away. However, two African Americans Booker T Washington and W.E.B Du Bois had offered different strategies for dealing with the problems the blacks had. Although Washington and DuBois had opposite ideas on this situation, their dedication had helped the blacks have more jobs through education, gained economic equality, and fought for the civil rights of the African Americans.

Education was the main argument between DuBois and Washington. Between 1877-1915, the African Americans had little education. Compared to the whites, the blacks had been receiving little education (doc A). Washington did not approve of this since he believed that in order to have value in their society, they would need to improve their education percentages. Foreign-born white people were receiving a higher percentage for literacy rates compared to the blacks(doc B). DuBois argued that in order to be considered as educated, you would need to be able to read. Unfortunately, the blacks were either receiving poor education or no education at all unlike the whites. Both philosophers had tried to raise these percentages with different strategies but the same motivations. Ida B Wells had stood up to lynching and had spread her strong arguments about equality. Wells had created a big impact on the rights for African Americans during this time period and further.

Many people disagreed to having blacks educated. Many Americans began to blame their financial problems on the freed blacks around them which had introduced the society to lynching. Between 1890-1895, the lynching for the blacks had reached its highest peak which was 165 of people lynched. (Doc C)Although the whites were also lynched, throughout this era it was common to have the blacks lynched rather than another race. This had made it difficult for the blacks to stand up for their own rights.

Washington believed that the blacks should focus on their own tasks for survival rather than political protest. He had founded a school which is known as Tuskegee that provided industrial education. This school would provide jobs as farmers, housekeepers, blacksmiths, carpenters, etc. He believed the blacks would have value to the American society after attending this school. (Doc G) In 1895, Washington had given the Atlanta speech. This compromise had forced African Americans to accept segregation. In order for them to be accepted into American society, the blacks would have to accept discrimination and to be loyal. He believed that this would have made at least some progress in their education. (Doc D).

On the other hand, DuBois believed that the blacks should protest and continually fight for their own rights to be acknowledged. Dubois argued education for mostly negro males and supported if your rights are ever threatened or taken away, to keep protesting in season and out of season (Doc E). Therefore, the Niagara Movement was a group founded for equality between each race. (Doc F). The purpose of this movement was to fight for their rights and have equal economic opportunities. This movement had led to challenging the Plessy vs. Ferguson case.

The Plessy vs. Ferguson Case had established the saying separate but equal. Jim Crow laws had been established because of this case. After the case, water fountains had been separated but of course equal. (Doc J)

Did you like this example?

Booker T. Washington And W.E.B. DuBois Compare and Contrast. (2019, Jul 28). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe’s Death

For many years, the truth of what really happened to Marilyn Monroe has been surrounded by mystery. On August 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her home from what appeared to be a suicide. There are many questions to be asked regarding this crime, such as did she really attempt suicide, could her secret love affair with Robert F. Kennedy have resulted in an unhappy ending, or was someone so angry with Marilyn Monroe that they took her life? Although her death was officially ruled a probable suicide,' her secret love affairs, the lack of reliable indications of a suicide, and the eyewitness accounts of her death all point to the alternate probability that Marilyn Monroe was murdered.

Marilyn Monroe is best remembered as one of the world's most famous sex symbols in history. She was an American actress, model, singer, and comedienne. In her early life, Marilyn Monroe was born to her parents as Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926. Growing up, Marilyn Monroe never knew her father and she spent many years in the foster care system. While in foster homes, Marilyn was molested several times and was raped at age eleven. At only the age of sixteen, she dropped out of high school and married Jimmy Dougherty. Soon, her husband was deployed and Marilyn was left alone. However, while Dougherty was gone, she was discovered by a professional photographer and by the time of 1946, she had a career as a model. All of her early life struggles and events can all be linked to her last years alive, because these events could have possibly led up to her death (Marilyn Monroe).

August 4, 1962 seemed like a normal day for the beautiful Marilyn Monroe. Eunice Murray, Marilyn's housekeeper, reported to work at Marilyn's home at 8:00 a.m. and about 9:00 a.m., Ralph Roberts, Marilyn's best friend, massaged her back in her bedroom. He specifically said she was not tense and she was very calm. At 12:00 p.m., Pat Newcomb, a guest in Marilyn's home from the night before, woke up. Marilyn became angry with Pat, because she had gotten plenty of sleep the night before while Marilyn had barely received any (Margolis 201-202).

As the day proceeds on and eventually becomes night, Marilyn is rather distraught by the events that took place earlier that day. At about 10:00 p.m., Marilyn makes her last phone call ever to Ralph Roberts, her friend, but she is told he is out for the evening. Then, she lapsed into unconsciousness from the drugs in her body (Margolis 207). Later, around midnight, Eunice Murray, Marilyn's housekeeper, sees a light on in Marilyn's bedroom and later she sees, the light is still on with the door locked. Worried, Mrs. Murray calls Marilyn's psychiatrist, Dr. Greenson, to come over and make sure she is okay. In the original police report, Eunice Murray said that Dr. Ralph Greenson saw Marilyn's lifeless body through a window and broke it from the outside to get into the bedroom. Once, they get into the room, they find Marilyn face down and nude on her bed. Dr. Greenson pronounces her dead and reports it to the local police department (MarilynMonroeHistory).

At the scene of Monroe's death, there was very little credible evidence gathered. There was an empty pill bottle of Nembutal sleeping pills that she had just gotten refilled, which was later identified as the drugs she most likely overdosed on. Dr. Thomas Noguchi was the coroner that examined Marilyn Monroe's dead body. Noguchi says he looked at the police report which said she had been found eight hours earlier in Brentwood. It appeared to him that the victim died from a drug overdose. He knew that the empty pill bottle had been found near her body. He proceeded with his normal procedure and found Chloral hydrate and Nembutal in the results of her blood and liver test. After examining the lifeless body of Marilyn Monroe, the coroner ruled Marilyn's death a probable suicide.' He decided on this cause of death, because of the evidence at the scene presented to him and the lethal amount of acute barbiturate poison that made it seem like she had taken her own life (Preston).

Marilyn Monroe's death came as a shock to everyone who loved, respected, and appreciated her. Just days before her death, Marilyn wrote about how happy she was and that she had not been this happy in a long time. If she was so happy, why did she commit suicide, or did she? What if her death was not an act of suicide? What if it was no accident? What if Marilyn's death was an act of murder?

There are many reasons that suicide being the cause of death is not accurate. There were many things going on in Marilyn's life that more than likely led up to her death, such as her secret love affairs with three different important men. The first man that Marilyn Monroe supposedly had an affair with was President John F. Kennedy. The rumors about their affair rose when Marilyn Monroe sang Happy Birthday to him for his forty-fifth birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962. These rumors are now true to all, because it is clear that Marilyn and JFK met four times between the months of October 1961 and August 1962. It is believed that their only sexual encounter took place in a bedroom at Bing Crosby's house on March 24, 1962 (Waxman).

Another man that Marilyn was involved with was John F. Kennedy's brother, Robert F. Kennedy. It is no question that these two were clearly involved with each other. They saw each other and talked on the phone many times throughout the week (Murderers; Kennedys Accused of Having Marilyn Monroe Killed over Doomed Affairs). Marilyn even announced that she was very in love with Robert and that they were going to get married, like he promised her (Margolis 2). Robert F. Kennedy will forever deny the affair between them, but many witnesses came forward and told the truth. Why was Robert so worried about their affair getting leaked out into the public? Well it was for the sake of his own reputation and his brother's reputation, of course. On the day of Marilyn's death, Robert F. Kennedy claimed he was not in town, but this will later be shattered to pieces by the strong evidence that puts him in Marilyn's home twice on the day she died. There was even a very heated argument between the two before Marilyn was found. Could the encounter between Robert F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe on the day of her death just be a coincidence or was he seriously trying to keep Marilyn quiet?

Thirdly, the affair between Marilyn and her psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, was brought forward many years after Marilyn's death. It was clear by the tapes that were made from the bugs placed in Marilyn's home that these two were also involved. Dr. Greenson was very fond of Marilyn and even seemed to be falling in love with her. Marilyn stayed many nights in Dr. Greenson's and his wife's home. Greenson's wife claimed she was not aware of the affair between the two. Their affair grew into something much larger, especially near the time of Marilyn's death. When Marilyn had threatened Robert F. Kennedy with the fact that she was going to hold a press conference to leak the affairs and mistreatment at the hands of the two Kennedy brothers, Robert saw it as his chance. No one is really sure how, but Robert was well aware of the affair between Greenson and Monroe. He decided to call Dr. Greenson on the phone and convince him that Marilyn was also going to leak the affair between them, which was very untrue. Bobby told Greenson, Marilyn has got to be silenced. Did Robert F. Kennedy really set up Dr. Ralph Greenson to kill Marilyn (Margolis 3)?

Along with her secret love affairs that led to Marilyn Monroe's death, there was a lack in the reliable indications of suicide being the cause of death. First being, the Mafia that were planted in her house picked up some interesting activity on the day Marilyn died. That day the tapes picked up the argument between Robert F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. Not only did it sound like a very heated verbal argument, it also sounded very physical. Marilyn screamed at Robert, saying, I feel passed around! I feel used! I feel like a piece of meat! From the tone of voice, it was very clear that Marilyn was upset. There was also a sound of some sort of struggled picked up on the tapes in Marilyn's bedroom. Robert F. Kennedy began to scream, Where is it? Where the hell is it? I have to have it! My family will pay you for it! There is no question that what he was referring to was her red diary that she wanted to use to expose the affairs she had with both Kennedys (Murder of Monroe ).

Ray Straight also claims to have listened to several tape recording from the bugs in Marilyn's house. He said he heard them having a good time at first, until he said that he had to leave her, because too many people we were becoming suspicious. Marilyn ordered him to get out of her house, because of how upset she was by what he said. He left, but returned later that night. Robert F. Kennedy and two of his personal bodyguards searching through her guest cottage for her red diary of secrets. A very heated argument arose and Marilyn took it so far to threaten Bobby with a press conference she would hold to tell the world about the treatment she suffered at the hands of the Kennedys. Bobby responded to her comment by saying, If you threaten me, Marilyn, there is more than one way to keep you quiet. On the tapes, it is heard that Robert said, Give her something to calm her down. He sedated her with drugs and then you could hear the sound of what was obviously her being smothered. Although, Robert F. Kennedy claims to have not been in town on the day of her death, this evidence clearly places him in her home (MarilynMonroeHistory).

Along with the tapes that clearly incriminate Robert F. Kennedy for taking a part in Marilyn's death, there was a great amount of missing evidence at the scene Although she was found dead by which was believed to be a drug overdose, things were not adding up to suicide. There was empty pill bottle of Nembutal pills, but there was no water in which she would have to use to flush down the pills. How could she have taken a full bottle of pills with no water? Before the date of her death, Marilyn had attempted suicide before, but gagged on just a few pills (Murder of Monroe ). Could she have really gotten past the gagging and been able to take the whole bottle of pills?

When the ambulance and police arrived officially to the scene, it looked as though her death scene was staged. Many believe that she was not even killed in that room. They believe she was killed in the guest cottage, which is supported by the tapes bugged in her home. In the original police report from Mrs. Eunice Murray, she claimed that Dr. Ralph Greenson had saw Marilyn's lifeless body from a window and broken in from the outside. She said that Marilyn's handyman was sent to fix it, but as it turned out, the window was just boarded up. The shards of glass from the broken window were also found outside the window in the flowerbed, rather than inside, where they would have fallen (Murder of Monroe ). Was this glass broken to support the fake story told to cover up the truth that Marilyn had been murdered?

Thirdly, the autopsy report is another piece of evidence that does not point to suicide. Although the coroner ruled it a suicide, there are many things that point to a mistake in the autopsy report. There was no residue of the pills found in Marilyn's digestive system. If Marilyn had swallowed those sleeping pills, residue would have been found. Instead of being found in her digestive system, lethal amounts of these drugs were discovered in her blood and liver tests. This makes the argument of injection stronger than Marilyn just swallowing the pills on her own. Today, if you were to ask the coroner, Dr. Thomas Noguchi, about this specific examination, he would say he messed up. He regrets not having all of Marilyn's organs examined, because maybe that would have caused him to rule her death as something more than suicide. He made a decision to return back to the toxicology lab to ask for the other organs to be tested, but was surprised to learn they had all been thrown out (Preston). If Dr. Thomas Noguchi had been able to test the other organs, could he have found something that could have made the ruling change? One will never know, but it is a great possibility. All of these unreliable indications of a suicide point to the fact that someone took Marilyn's life, rather than her taking her own life.

The strongest pieces of the murder claim are the eyewitnesses of Marilyn Monroe's death. Who was there? Did they see anything that could possibly be a lead in this case?

Did you like this example?

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe's Death. (2019, Jul 27). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

How Social Media Affects Self-Esteem

Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Gigi Hadid, and Candice Swanepoel all have one thing in common: they are considered goddesses in the model industry. Their faces, bodies, and names are known worldwide and their reigns are far from over. These models are social media superstars with millions of followers, and on their massive platforms, they choose to promote their bodies which got them famous in the first place. They constantly show off their perfect physiques on their Instagrams, but a relevant question is: do they consider the depth of their posts? There is significant evidence that proves that social media has a negative effect on developing brains.

A survey conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health asked fourteen to twenty-four-year olds in the UK how social media platforms impacted their health and wellbeing. The survey results found that Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all led to increased feelings of depression, anxiety, poor body image and loneliness (Ehmke). Experts are wondering what the long-term disadvantages are to the youngest generation being addicted to their screens. Self- esteem is not something to be toyed with in this day and age. As society becomes more politically correct and as we try to eradicate past prejudices, we need to keep an eye out for the unhealthy development of teenage minds. These unrealistic body images that are shoved in the face of the public do not have a healthy effect on the brain, even if we don’t notice it at first. Comment by Karimah Land: usually in text citations include last name and pagination or year of publication ex: (Bittle, 4) or (Bittle, 2000)

Instagram is the biggest culprit of these unrealistic body images today. On this social media app, all you have to do is tap on the icon and you will immediately be bombarded with tons of images of models, “influencers”, and entertainment stars. The newly found term ‘influencer’ is defined as individuals who have the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of their (real or perceived) authority, knowledge, position, or relationship (Business Dictionary). These influencers get products from companies who want them to sell their product to their followers. People have made complete careers out of this, the most successful of these being YouTube stars and Instagram models. Putting ordinary people in power of what we consume as social media users is the glorification of social media itself. As we continue to progress as a society, technology will continue to advance and be incorporated into our daily lives, but where do we draw the line? Should anyone have the access to become a glorified social media star? How will this continue to affect the self-esteem of teenagers?

A recent study concluded that people who used more than seven social media platforms had more than three times the risk of depression than people who used two or fewer sites (Gordon). Seven may sound like a lot, but there are plenty of websites to fill those spots. Reddit, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat are just a few of the most popular ones. Teens often feel emotionally attached to their social media accounts ,some even believe that teenagers are addicted to social media. They feel extreme pressure to respond quickly online, and they also feel pressure to have perfect photos and well-written posts, all of which can cause a great deal of anxiety. Some studies have found that the larger a teen's social circle online the more anxiety they feel about keeping up with everything online (Gordon). In a study by researchers at the UCLA brain mapping center, they found that certain regions of teen brains became activated by "likes" on social media, sometimes causing them to want to use social media more (Gordon).

In conclusion, social media and teenagers have an intimate relationship that will continue to develop and evolve for many decades to come. An important notion that should be considered is the effect of constant screen time and exposure to social media on the developing brains of young adults. It can cause young brains to become depressed and can increase anxiety. Although the purpose of the creation of social media was not to negatively affect the mental health of the user, it was created to influence our opinions and interests, which in turn, can become a negative coping mechanism. Influencers, models, and entertainment stars use their social media platforms to shape our standards of beauty and popularity. These standards are to be physically fit, have flawless skin and hair, as well as having over a couple thousand followers on social media. When young minds see these types of people being glorified, they judge themselves off of these unfair standards.

Did you like this example?

How Social Media Affects Self-Esteem. (2019, Jul 27). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Social Media and its Effects on Adolescents Self-Esteem

Contents

Introduction
Search Process
Key Findings
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Appendix

Introduction

At times when people see others post selfies/body pictures on social media, people may think that those individuals have the highest self-esteem. When in reality most of the time those who post the most have the lowest self-esteem of them all (Veldhuis,Vaate,Keijer,& Konijn, 2018). It is hard to be an adolescent that invests so much time on social media, and comparing yourself to the people you see on social media or television. Adolescents are now comparing themselves to people who probably struggle with their own self-esteem, and it's an ongoing cycle (Woods & Scott, 2016). This paper has five peer-review articles that speak on this topic of social media having an impact on the self-esteem of adolescents. Some of the peer-reviewed articles are quantitative, and there are some of the articles that are both quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative articles have numerical facts from surveys and tests that the researchers have gone through with different age groups of youth people.

Search Process

My paper topic is social media affecting adolescents' self-esteem. When I was looking for articles for this topic it was relatively easy. The first time I searched for this topic I was more specific, but I noticed being too specific was not getting me a lot of results in the search bar. At first I used the key words adolescents, self-esteem issues, social media, racial and ethnic groups. When I used those keywords only two articles came up in the search. I then switched up some of the words around, I used these key words the second time around, adolescents, self-esteem, social media. When I used those particular key words I found so much more articles in the search. I then began to skim through some of the articles and I skimmed through the abstracts in a couple of the articles. Within the matter of twenty minutes I found about eight articles.

This topic is such an important topic people do not seem to realize. Adolescents are going through depression and are coming suicide due to what is portrayed on social media. They are dying physically and mentally because they want to look like people who are not even their true selves. I selected the following journals Psychology Reports, New Media & Society, Emotion, Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Journal of Adolescence.

Key Findings

Social media has a large impact of the lives of current adolescents. Facebook and Twitter have change interpersonal relationships. Adolescents are the sector of the population who use most these networks. They use them in an emotional way, to express their emotions and to comment on those of others. Empathy, narcissism, and self-esteem may play an important role in the use of these networks (Errasti, Amingo, & Villadangos, 2017).

The studies identified that the health impact of social media on children and young people was greatest on mental health and specifically in the areas of self-esteem and well-being, with related issues around cyber bullying and depression, with an association between the use of social media and self-esteem and body image. However, it is difficult to determine the cause and effect, which is likely to be related to the nature of the young person. There is little work on the impact of social media on younger children. More research is needed to identify those most at risk of harm from social media and risk mitigation strategies to assist health-care professionals to provide essential education for parents and young people. (Seo, Houston, Knight, & Inglish, 2014).

Discussion

The research shows how social self-efficacy, collective self-esteem, and need to belong can be used to predict teens' use of social media. Due to the enormous popularity of social networking sites (SNSs), online and offline social lives seem inextricably linked, which raises concerns for how SNS use relates to psychological health. Similarly, the omnipresence of selfs on SNSsa form of appearance-related exposureraises concerns regarding psychological health. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between body image, self-objectification, self-esteem, and various self behaviors among young women. (Twenge, Martin, & Campbell, 2018). The researchers hypothesized that a worsened body image (i.e., higher body dissatisfaction or lower body appreciation), higher levels of self-objectification, and lower self-esteem would precede greater engagement in self behaviors. Structural equation modeling showed that body appreciation is associated with greater engagement in self selection and deliberate posting, and that self-objectification is related to greater engagement in all self behaviors assessed. (Twenge, Martin, & Campbell, 2018).

In nationally representative yearly surveys of United States 8th, 10th, and 12th graders 1991-2016, psychological well-being (measured by self-esteem, life satisfaction, and happiness) suddenly decreased after 2012. Adolescents who spent more time on electronic communication and screens (e.g., social media, the Internet, texting, gaming) and less time on non-screen activities (e.g., in-person social interaction, sports/exercise, homework, attending religious services) had lower psychological well-being. Adolescents spending a small amount of time on electronic communication were the happiest. Psychological well-being was lower in years when adolescents spent more time on screens and higher in years when they spent more time on non screen activities, with changes in activities generally preceding declines in well-being. (Veldhuis, Alleva, Vaate, Keijer, & Konijn,2018).

Conclusion

Social media can be a good thing but at the same coin it can also be very negative. In the research provided it lets us know that social media usually has a negative impact on our adolescence, but social media can also impact our adolescents in a positive way if done correctly. If our adolescents are more focused on people who actually look just like them who are confident that will help them be confident also. Everything is good in moderation.

References

Errasti, J., Amingo, I., & Villadangos, M. (2017). Emotional uses of Facebook and Twitter its relation with empathy, narcissism, and self-esteem in adolescence.
Psychology Reports, 120(6), 997-1018.
Seo, H., Houston, J B., Knight, L., & Inglish, E. (2014). Teens' social media use and collective action.
New Media & Society, 16(6), 883-902.
Twenge, J., Martin, G., & Campbell, W. (2018). Decreases in psychological well-being among American adolescents after 2012 and links to screen time during the rise of smartphone technology.
Emotion, 18(6), 765-780.
Veldhuis, J., Alleva, J., Vaate, A., Keijer, M., & Konijn,E. (2018). Me, my selfie, and I: The relations between selfie behaviors, body image, self-objectification, and self-esteem in young women.
Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 1-16.
Woods, H., & Scott, H. (2016). #Sleepyteens: Social media use in adolescence is associated with poor sleep quality, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.
Journal of Adolescence, 51, 41-49.

Appendix

Reading and trying to understand peer-reviewed articles is a very tedious process that requires critical thinking skills. Over the years I realized that it is a very time consuming process but it is very important to take the initial steps. One of the most important subtitles in a peer-reviewed article is the abstract. The abstract helps detect if an article is relevant or not relevant. The other sections of a peer-reviewed article are also helpful the second most important sections of a peer-reviewed article are the methods section and the discussion section. It took me sometime to understand the importance of peer-reviewed articles. But now I understand how they can help a research paper. Most the time peer-reviewed articles answer questions that someone may have about a topic, and that is the main reason when writing a research paper it is highly advised to use peer-review articles. When going through the information in a peer-reviewed article it is good to take your time to read and fully understand everything that is being written and to take notes. This helps you be organized and is very helpful when writing a research paper, because you have your notes to refer to. The entire process from finding articles in the University's database to analyzing article to find themes was excellent practice for any writings I may have to do in the future.

Did you like this example?

Social Media and its Effects on Adolescents Self-Esteem. (2019, Jul 27). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Affirmative Action: Racism or Not?

Affirmative Action is a government program designed to redress historic injustices against specific groups by making special efforts to provide members with access to educational and employment opportunities. Affirmative action (in the past) was created because of the Jim Crow laws and the segregation against colored people in the 1950s. The purpose of this , is to establish a workforce that is diverse and promote qualified minorities, and give them an opportunity to succeed in life.

Afirmative action began as riot control. Harlem was in flames. Newark was up in flames. And if we don't do something to bring up black people in the mainstream, in economically and educationally, were not sure if society will hold together. The words affirmative actions were attempts to deal with discrimination african american faced in the labor market. President Kennedy and President Johnson created executive order 10925

The contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, creed, color, or national origin. The contractor will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed , and that employees are treated during employment , without regard to their race , creed, color, or national origin.

Which meant they were going to try to recruit people who were once discriminated against. After the assassination of dr.king, there were riots in 60 american cities simultaneously. The leaders of this society, said this country can't hold itself together because the blacks were rioting and burning the cities, because they felt excluded. We have to bring them into our workplace. We gotta bring them to educational facilities. We got to bring them into our society without any restrictions against their life. This was an effective response to urban unrest. Hundreds of thousands or people were hired, and thousands of colored students started enrolling into colleges. This wasn't done out of a sudden burst of conscious, but was done out of fear, that the society was falling apart. When time passed , fear passed as well. Recently, although our society has gotten more diverse and better in terms of racial oppression, some still see a problem. affirmative action is affecting people either in a positive way, or negative way. Harvard, has recently been accused of discriminating against Asian Americans. Google has recently been discriminating against Asians. Based on the Logic of the political leftist, it is actually racist to implement affirmative action.

Did you like this example?

Affirmative Action: Racism Or Not?. (2019, Jul 27). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Slavery and Racism Throughout the History of the United States

Throughout the history of the United States there has been suppression of blacks with slavery and racism, but now there is no slavery and black white, and every other minority has the same rights. People still want to blame the white community for everything bad that happens to them. People say that white people have a superior advantage over every other minority, but if you look at the facts this isn't the case. This actually hurts those minorities when they say this, because they are just making excuse on why they can't excel in life. Over the years people have demonized the white community with something they call White Privilege, but this has been debunked by the facts along with Affirmative action, EEOC, and police shooting statistics. Affirmative action is a great program for minorities and women in the United States with the services they other to young kids and to adults to help them succeed in society Affirmative action is set to ensure all educational programs and job applications and personal actions are not discriminated by sex, race, and color. Affirmative action says that the non-existence of discriminations isn't enough it is on task to eliminate all unequal treatment for everyone. Affirmative action is set in place to combat past discrimination and the hidden motive is the constitutional principle with equal opportunity where everyone has equal access to self-development. This program also institutes reviews of hiring process for women, minorities and other affected groups. It prevents small businesses to not discriminate against race, sex, religion, and national origin to work for them. It also affects the governments in state and federal to favor women and minority owned businesses when giving awards and reject bid to businesses with not good relations to minority owned businesses. With Affirmative action some members of affected groups get special treatment from government agencies and other businesses. President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order to ensure all applicants that have the met requirements and abilities are considered for employment no matter race, creed, color, or nationality. Its legal status was solidified by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit voting discrimination. It ensures that there is no racial workplace discrimination so it can keep at least a racial balance of employees. The civil rights act wasn't just super great in every way they also wanted to get rid of whites making minorities the new majorities. There is also a downside to Affirmative Action with it being a hot debate topic with some saying it reverses discrimination against white people. Some of this may have some truth to it, because when talking to some minorities they say it is impossible to be racist against a white person which is not the case. People have said that you can't be racist towards, because of their history and what they have done in the past like them bringing up the example of slaves and Indians, but in fact them saying that and being racist towards whites is called reverse racism. So some of these programs make people feel almost superiorly entitled that they can't be racist but anything semi racist said to them is a violation of them and a lot of times will come at you. Affirmative actions mission statement is to not have discrimination against anyone for any reason. The next point I am bringing up is another hot debate topic about police brutality and crime rates. People have said that a lot of police just go out and solely target blacks and this is not the case at all when you look at statistics with crime and police killings. One thing you see a lot of is that police kill a lot of unarmed people for no reason, even though there have been cases reported like this most of the time this is not how it plays out. In a study it shows that the majority of people killed by cops in 2015 and 2016 were armed and attempted to assault the cop or someone else. With some saying the killing of black Americans is way higher than white American is not the case. Out of all reported police shootings which was 990, 494 were white that is almost half which is way higher than what it is for black Americans. In another study a threat level was factored in and African Americans shot by cops posed no more immediate threat to officers than white americans. This shows that cops aren't more afraid of blacks then white. There are some bad cops, but most are great people trying to help the community. This is going back to the armed and unarmed situation, but cops were no more likely to kill someone who was unarmed in a high crime area which is an argument some propose. In 2015 during the middle of the year 1,592 people had been killed by police officers since the first of the year. 732 of those were white, 387 of them were African American, and 382 of them were of an unknown race. Some people say cops have no reason to just wrongfully accuse and arrest African Americans, but if you look at statistics. These statistics disprove this with the facts that African American 62% of robberies, 57% of murders and 45% percent if assaults. Even though black Americans made up only 13% of the population of the united states. This shows that police have some reason to question blacks when there is so little of them and they do most of the crime in the United States. The myth of police brutality is widely accepted along with a lot of other myths for white supremacy by the media and some of the propaganda that is spread to conceive a false narrative. The truth police just going out on random and getting a black man is overwhelmingly unlikely and even though white people do experience this sometimes less in some areas then blacks. This is consistent with the racial gap in violent crime, showing that the police show racial bias is wrong. The media's acceptance of the false narrative poisons the relations between law enforcement and black communities throughout the country and results in violent protests that get out of hand with people destroying things and some people die because of these actions. The narrative distracts from a more serious problems that black Americans face. Last year, according to the Washington Post out of a population of 20 million only 16 unarmed black men were killed which is very low which is .0000 8 percent of that population. The previous year was high with 36 people which is still super low with only .00018 percent of that population. This shows that even with it still being so low that the number has gone down just in one year by 20 people and we can still keep going down. They even include cases where the shooting was justified, even if the person killed was unarmed. The media doesn't present this evidence though, because it doesn't fit the narrative of blacks being oppressed.

Did you like this example?

Slavery and racism throughout the history of the United States. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

The Tempest Vs. Macbeth

In Shakespeare's The Tempest and Macbeth, supernatural elements and magic are quite prevalent throughout the stories. From witches to spirits readers experience these other worlds that Shakespeare creates in his writing. The way magic is used and represented in these two plays is very different. Magic in Macbeth is used to show evil and darkness while the magic in The Tempest is far more natural and follows the laws of nature. The very first people in Macbeth that speak are the three witches. They are seen chanting and seemingly predicting future events. The play is set up right away with this idea of the supernatural world. The witches put you right into a place of magic and wonder. The strategic use of the witches at the beginning tells you that magic will be a part of the play. The witches being used as foreshadowing agents allows the readers to get the supernatural essence that the characters bring. They end the first scene with the famous line Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air (1.1, 12-13). As the play progresses into the third scene, Macbeth states So foul and fair a day I have not seen (1.3, 137). By using the exact same words as the witches used in scene one, it clearly shows that the witches have these powers to see into the future. Banquo even refers to the witches as instruments of darkness and they are symbolized as evil beings (1.3, 236). Another way that magic and the supernatural is symbolized as evil in Macbeth is with the floating dagger. In the first scene of act two Macbeth is plotting the murder of Duncan in order to fulfill the witches prophecies. While this plotting is happening, Macbeth sees a dagger floating towards him. As Macbeth gets his first look at the dagger he says, Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable as this which now I draw (2.1, 613-620). It is unclear if this is a hallucination or a ghostly omen, but this proves to the audience that the supernatural occurs whenever something evil is stirring. As the play continues into act three after the murder of Banquo we see his ghost appear during the banquet. Macbeth is the only one who can see Banquo's ghost, so this begins to show Macbeth's mental state in the play. I believe Banquo's ghost is used to represent all the crimes that Macbeth has committed. Overall, the supernatural elements in Macbeth are used to depict evil and darkness. In The Tempest the magic doesn't feel as dark and sinister as it does in Macbeth. The story of The Tempest really revolves around magic and the plot wouldn't exist without it. While the magic of this show really drives the plot, it is also used as a tool to mesmerize its audience. Several of the characters in this play have magical powers. Perhaps the most central magical character is Prospero. His magic is not evil, nor does it represent evil in the story. In act one Prospero says The direful spectacle of the wreck, which touched the very virtue of compassion in thee, I have with such provision in mine art so safely ordered that there is no soulNo, not so much perdition as an hair, Betid to any creature in the vessel (1.2.33-38). This proves that Prospero has been thoughtful in the fact that he is trying to make sure that everyone is safe. So, even though his magic may seem to be bad, his intentions are good and he wants to make sure that everyone is safe in the process. The magic of The Tempest is different because instead of representing something evil, Prospero's true purpose is to use man's natural born goodness to create change a potential path of evil and turn it into something good. His powers allow him to manipulate what happens in the story and gives him the power to affect people's lives and relationships. After reading The Tempest, I considered Prospero's magic more as a use of metaphorically being the playwright of the story. His powers allow to essentially control everything that is going to happen to the people around him, therefore seemingly being the puppet master to this entire story. This is different from Macbeth because the magic or supernatural elements don't necessarily drive the plot of the story. They are just there to be symbolic elements. Whereas The Tempest would not exist without magic. In the fourth act Prospero says Our revels now are ended. These our actors, as I foretold you, were all spirits and are melted into air, into thin air; and like the baseless fabric of this vision, the cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temples, the great globe itself, ye all which it inherit, shall dissolve, and, like this insubstantial pageant faded, leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep (4.1.165-175). This to me is very representative of theater and storytelling, thus proving that Prospero could be a metaphor for a playwright. Shakespeare was great at incorporating magic and the supernatural world into his stories. What is more amazing though is that he was able to incorporate it into multiple stories and making them completely different. Macbeth and The Tempest may have both included supernatural elements, but they couldn't be more different stories. Macbeth was able to tell a darker story with it's supernatural elements while The Tempest went in a completely different direction with its magic.

Did you like this example?

The Tempest vs. Macbeth. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Debate over Whether or not there is God

Throughout time there has always been debate over whether or not there is God, and philosophers have been avid participants in this debate. From ancient Greece to modern times there have always been philosophers who seek to prove the existence of God; from Plato, to Aquinas, to Kant, this is an issue that is continually addressed through the ages. Whether or not there is a God is very significant to the world because it provides a deeper reason behind the cogs that form the universe, and implies that there is more to the world than simply the material things that can be physically experienced. The existence of a God is also crucial to religions all around the globe, so the possibility to prove that there is a God outside of the context of the religions' various texts is invaluable when it comes to debating in a secular forum. For all these reasons it must be asked if God exists, and if so, how can it be proven through the lens of philosophy? Firstly, there is proving the existence of God cosmologically, that is through viewing the cosmos and nature. Plato addresses it this way in his Laws in book ten. Plato states, In the first place, the earth and the sun and the stars and the universe, and the fair order of the senses, and the division of them into years and months, furnish proofs of [the god's] existence (Hick 72). This shows his belief that there must be some outside source that created the world in such and orderly way. He also addresses the fact that there must be some source for movement in the universe as it is not possible for movement to exist without something initially causing it. He believes that this initial cause is a God (Hick 72). Additionally, Plato says, Then there's the fact that all Greeks and barbarians believe the gods exist (Plato 281). This once again shows that there must be something that created the world so that everyone shares this innate belief. The other philosopher who deals with the existence of God cosmologically is Thomas Aquinas. He addresses it in his Five Ways. The first way is the argument from motion, which states that there must be some unmoved mover that began all the motion in the universe (Theological thought 25). The second is that of cause, based on the idea that to take away the cause is to take away the effect (Theological thought 26). This argument posits that God is the uncaused causer who is at the beginning of the continual chain of cause and effect and who has was not caused by something else but rather has simply always existed (Theological thought 26). Way three is that there must be something that has always existed that put everything else into existence. The fourth way the argument of the highest degree, meaning that there must be something that is the maximum against which everything else can be based (Theological thought 26). The last way is that of the final goal, which states that there must be something that is guiding the world towards an end goal (Theological thought 27). Aquinas states, Therefore some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end (Theological thought 27). Through these Five Ways, Aquinas explains the various reason that there must be a God due to the way in which the world functions. However, the cosmological arguments are not above reproach. Many have questioned whether or not the physical world even exists. If this world does not exist as we perceive it to exist, how can views about the existence of a God be based upon it? Additionally, even if this world does exist, can it be determined that the world exists as we perceive it? It is impossible to empirically determine whether or not the world's nature is physical, and thus no concrete conclusions can be based upon a world that we cannot even prove. The cosmological arguments assume that the senses can be trusted, but it has been shown that senses can lie meaning this is not something on which arguments can be firmly founded. Thus, although the cosmological arguments are logical and clear, it is impossible to use it as undeniable proof for the existence of God. The next way in which philosophers have tried to prove the existence of God is ontologically. This method is based purely on reason, without any other outside information, such as how the world or its inhabitants function. Anselm is specifically well known for his ontological argument. It is based on the idea that the definition of God is that, than which nothing great can be conceived (Anselm 8). This means that the greatest, most powerful, and awesome thing that can be thought of is God. He then continues by positing that that which is thought of in a state of existence is inherently better than that which is thought not to exist (Anselm 8). Based on this concept, because God is the greatest thing that can be conceived and that which is conceived to exists is greater than that which is conceived not to exist, it follows that God must exist (Anselm 9). Thus God is theoretically proved without bringing into account any spiritual revelations or texts, or even using any physical evidence such as that which is used in the cosmological arguments. Nonetheless, this argument is by no means flawless or fully accepted by the world, or even philosophers. The definition for God is simply not widely agreed upon and is completely arbitrary, without any basis in fact. Without the definition being secure, it becomes exceedingly difficult to place any weight on Anselm's argument. Due to the entire argument hinging solely on the definition that God is the greatest thing that can be conceived, if the definition is not stable, the entire argument completely falls apart. Additionally, because this argument is based completely on reason it must asked if human thought is even a source that can be trusted. All human thought can not be determined to definitively be true or false, thus it cannot be viewed as infallible. Without empirical evidence, this argument can never be proven. The last category is that of the moral arguments for the existence of God. C. S. Lewis forms his argument for the existence of God based on human morality and its consistency. He states that there is a consistent sense of morality that is present in every culture across the globe. Every human knows that there is a specific way they should act and treat others, but every human does not follows these unofficial universal moral guidelines (Lewis 16). This overarching innate feeling, which he calls the Law of Human Nature, leads to Lewis stating that it must come from some higher power, as he says, The Law of Human Nature, or of Right and Wrong, must be something above and beyond the actual facts (Lewis 21). Lewis believes that this is A real law which we did not invent and which we know we ought to obey (Lewis 21). In order for this concept to have so thoroughly inundated out reality, it must have been place into the minds of humanity by a higher power who desires the world to behave in a certain way (Lewis 29). There is something out there, which Lewis assumes is a God that desires humanity to understand that there is good and evil in the world and that there is a right and wrong way for people to act as they live their lives. This leads to the idea that there must be something that is directing and controlling the universe, and especially humanity, to an end goal, a god of some sort, although what type of god that is is not something that can be determined simply by examining the nature and presence of human morality and its origin. Lewis is clear that he does not believe that this argument can actually lead to a specific God, such as that of Christianity, but rather simply the general idea that there is some sort of divine power (Lewis 25). Kant also approached the existence of God via morality, but from a slightly different angle. He posits that the consistent morality of pure reason stems from a supposition that God exists (Hick 138). Kant believes that there must be an author to the intelligence and will that humanity possesses and thus states that God is the author that is the cause of nature by intelligence and will (Hick 139). Kant also discusses that there must be a cause for happiness existing in the world, and he once again states that this happiness must come from a higher power which he believes is God (Hick 138). This belief that happiness comes from God is tied to the supposition that happiness is when everything is going according to highest moral goal. In Kant's opinion this moral goal must exist and must come from a higher power for it to truly exist, and thus he posits that there must be a God. With all the prevalence and consistency of morality however, it is still possible that the morality that is found in human culture is still simply a social construct. With all humanity stemming from a few original humans, it is possible that morality was created and then simply passed down. Thus the differences can be explained morality, as there are differences in how cultures approach problems such as murder and how they define the specifics of what is right and wrong. The consistency of morality is impossible to prove, thus making it impossible to prove that God exists based simply on the morality that we find across the globe. Without being able to go back in time and see the original humans, humanity cannot prove whether or nor morality was created and implemented by humans or by God. With all the historical background of this issue of the existence of God, it is not surprising that the results are still inconclusive. It has yet to be proven from a philosophical standpoint whether or not their is a God, and the surface of that nature of said hypothetical God has in no way been begun to be understood by using only reason and the natural world. For every argument that agrees with the existence of God, there is an argument that posits that the exact opposite is true. The fact that God cannot be proven via philosophy means that all religions that believe is some sort of a God are forced to use their own divine revelations or texts in order to try to prove their God's existence. The world is left to wonder the if their is truly meaning behind the way the world is formed and the way that humanity acts, or if it is all simply a mysterious and lucky accident that there is even a world at all.

Did you like this example?

Debate over whether or not there is God. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

About the Negation of God

Evidence of the existence of God I want to give you some evidence of the existence of God. Can I share three proofs of the existence of God and then a story of a barber and a believer? I do not know the causes of your atheism? I do not know the causes of your atheism? It may be that you do not believe in God because of your frustration when you look for HIM in the wrong way and cannot find HIM. Or maybe as a result of religious disillusionment, because they wanted to limit you to God within the limits of a particular doctrine or, perhaps, in the postulates of a political party. I do not know the reasons why but I do know that the first contradiction I see in your atheism is your own denial. When you say that God does not exist, you are already thinking of a concrete Being. That been said, in your mind, you have already defined the God you deny. Other atheists who have had debates and still wrote books about the negation of God, for example, let me mention Christopher Hitchens. Question: If God does not exist, why fight against him? Can you use lives and talents against a non-existent being? If you believe that God does not exist, can you conceive it so well in the mind and then reject it? Don't you think all of these is a little out of place? Of course, I do not intend to prove to you here the existence of God. God does not show himself, you can only feel Him, that's all, He is alive. What I am going to do is this: among the many, many rational proofs that have been adduced to prove the existence of God, I will consider these three as well as the history. The first evidence is common sense. La Bruyere said: "I feel there is a God, and I never feel the opposite, this is enough to deduce that God exists." Unamuno, being more violent than the Frenchman in his reasoning, was no less logical. "It is not our reason", he shouts from the bottom of his "Tragic feeling of life", which can show us the existence of a Supreme Reason ... The living God, your God, our God, is in me, is in you, He lives in us, and we live, we move and we are in Him. "If you study the subject slowly, you will come to the conclusion that Van Steenberghen puts before you when he speaks of" hidden God. "Men do not rebel against God, because that goes against all reason, but against the abuse that has been committed. of the name of God, Averroes called it Creative Spirit, Aristotle, Organizing Intelligence, Spinoza, Immanent Principle, Maeterlinck, Instinctive Force, Marx, Material Energy, Fichte, Absolute I. For Schelling, God is called Nature, for Hegel, also Spirit For Schopenhauer, Will, for you, maybe, something ... All those names, friend, are worth to God and are, in fact, the recognition of his existence. The second evidence that I offer you is that which deduced from the hierarchy of causes, which Aristotle already explained. The reasoning is simple: there is no effect without the cause. The chair in which I sit at home was made by a carpenter, using the wood he took from a tree. This thesis is considered somewhat antiquated, but the truth is that its argument is persuasive. If there are created causes that produce effects, there must have been an uncreated cause that gave rise to all the other reasons and these are for the purpose. That Principle, this First Cause, is what we call God. My third test is also Aristotelian. In the world there is change, there is movement, and this movement leads us unerringly to a first immobile Cause, to a First Motor. The physical sciences tell us that matter is inert. So, if the matter is inert and the material world moves continuously, it is that there is a Principle outside matter that gives life to movement. When Newton came up with the laws of attraction, he merely focused on the fact of attractive power, but without saying that this power was in the matter. Newton was a believer, and with all his science said he did not recognize any other power apart from God. God explains that the existence of movement and movement is, in turn, another proof of God's reality. That First Engine that launched the movement of the Universe is also Creator and Personal Being. Now, let me tell you a story. A man went to a barbershop to cut his hair and trim his beard. While the barber made his trade, he engaged in a pleasant conversation with him. They talked about many things and several subjects. Suddenly, they talked about God. The client was a Christian believer, while the barber had many doubts. The barber said: Look, gentleman, I do not believe that God exists, as you say But, why do you say that? the client asked. Well, it is very easy, just go out to the street to realize that God does not exist, or tell me, perhaps if God existed, would there be so many sicknesses? Would there be abandoned, children? If God existed, there would be no suffering or so much pain for humanity. I can??t think that there is a God that allows all these things. The client was thinking a moment but did not want to respond to avoid a pointless discussion at that time. The barber finished his work and the client went out of business. As soon as he left the barbershop, he noticed a man with a beard and long, long hair in the street. Apparently, it had been a long time since he had a haircut he looked very disheveled. Then he went back to the barbershop and said to the barber: Do you know something? Barbers do not exist. How do they not exist? - asked the barber. If I'm here, and I'm a barber. They don??t exist! said the client They do not exist because if they existed there would be no people with long hair and long beard as long as that man who goes down the street. Ahh, the barbers do exist, what happens is that these people do not come to me. Exactly! said the client that is the point, God does exist, what happens is that people do not go to Him and do not seek Him, that is why there is so much pain and misery. References (2018). Retrieve from https://www5.csudh.edu/phenom_studies/greekphil/greek13.htm Jean de La Bruy??re (16451696). Characters. 1885. Retrive (June 28,2018) https://www.bartleby.com/351/16.html (2018, June 27). Retrieve June 28,2018 fromttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW6v8Q_WXe4

Did you like this example?

About the negation of God. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Religious Knowledge and the Nature of God

In David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion he argues about the existence of God and the rationality of religion. Hume is an empiricist and believes that in order for a belief to be rational it must be supported by experiences. Hume presents three characters, Demea, Philo and Cleanthes who all have their own explanation and rationality about religion and present different arguments concerning God's existence. In Dialogue IX Hume presents Demea's a priori argument for God's existence and Cleanthes' objection to the argument. Early in the text the three characters started by arguing about religious knowledge and the nature of God. Cleanthes was very optimistic about understanding religion and God, while Philo was very skeptical and believed that God's nature should not be sought after or understood by mortal men. Amidst all this Demea presents the idea that the nature of God is incomprehensible to usfinite weak and blind creatures and we should humble ourselves in his presence (Hume 9). Philo agrees with Demea that God's existence cannot be known be us and goes on to say that whoever questions this derives to be punished (Hume 10). But Cleanthes objects he believes that even though we do not have any direct experiences about God, there is enough evidence in nature to allow us to make conclusions about what God is like. As the argument progresses in Dialogue IX, Demea presents a priori argument, the cosmological argument, challenging Philo's doubt. Demea broke his argument into four parts. The first claim he presented was, Whatever exists must have a cause or reason for its existence, as it is absolutely impossible for anything to produce itself, or be the cause of its own existence (Hume 38). He uses this first claim to present the idea that nothing just happens by itself and nothing can bring its own existence. In the second part of his argument he claims In working back therefore, from effects to causes, we must either (1) go on tracing causes to infinity, without any ultimate cause at all, or (2) at last have recourse to some ultimate cause that is necessarily existent (Hume 38). In this part, he is drawing the conclusion that because part one of the claim is unrealistic then it has to be part two, which is the idea that there is something that exists that causes everything else. The third part of his argument was related to the previous claim and Demea thinks since there is no explanation for part one then an infinite sequence of causes is not possible. So he finally concludes in the fourth part of his argument We must adopt supposition and have recourse to a necessarily existent being, who carries the reason of his existence in himself and cannot be supposed not to exist without an express contradiction. So there is such a being: that is, there is a God (Hume 38). He concludes with the last part of his argument tying everything together that something exists and that thing is God. After Demea presents his argument Cleanthes refutes everything he says, he claims that his argument is flawed and cannot prove what he is trying to claim because of it's a priori structure. Cleanthes presents these five claims to refute Demea's argument first, nothing is demonstrable unless its contrary implies contradiction. Second, nothing that is distinctly conceivable implies a contradiction. Third, whatever we conceive as existent, we can also conceive as non-existent. Next, there is no being whose non-existence implies a contradiction and finally there is no being whose existence is demonstrable (Hume 39). Cleanthes believes that although Demea's argument claims that there is a cause, his argument is not substantial enough to make the point, that God exists or is that cause. He proposes the idea of the material world in relation to Demea's argument in order to refute his a priori argument that God exists by claiming why shouldn't the material universe be the necessarily existent being? We dare not claim to know all the qualities of matter; and for all we can tell, matter may have some qualities which, if we knew them, would make matter's non- existence appear as a contradiction Any particle of matter', Dr Clarke has said, can be conceived to be annihilated; and any form can be conceived to be altered. Such an annihilation or alteration, therefore, is not impossible.' But it seems very biased not to see that the same argument applies just as well to God (39). This claim that Cleanthes presents is valid in his argument based on the premises that Demea presented in his argument because based on Demea's argument the material universe does have all the attributes that God is said to have according to Demea. He concludes his argument discussing the idea of a chain of items and he argues that there is not a first cause as stated early that causes the items in the chain but each part of the chain is caused by the part that preceded it, and causes the one that follows. (39) Although Cleanthes, Philo and Demea all believed that some God exists they all had their personal ideas of how God exists and the relation between humans and God. Philo and Demea who had more conservative arguments and believed that there should be some mystery in the relationship between humans and God and that it is good that humans don't know God in entirety. Cleanthes on the other hand believed that God should be sought after and humans should try to understand who God is. These beliefs were represented in dialogue IX in the argument between Cleanthes and Demea after Demea's a priori argument about God's existence.

Did you like this example?

Religious knowledge and the nature of God. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

The Crusades and the Spread of Christianity

The Crusades, starting in the Eleventh Century, were attempts by the Western Church to strip Europe of the newly developed and invading Muslims. Many Crusades had taken place over the centuries, including both a children's and peasant's crusade, in making an effort to keep the new religious threat at a distance. Many popes, kings, and rulers consumed a great deal of money, time, and effort into these wars, but many ended up failing in their true purposes. However, much can be said about the success of these crusades considering these losses. With these successes that took place, is the spread of Christianity included? Although the various Crusades had many successes and failures, the original Crusades was unsuccessful in spreading the message of Jesus and promote Christianity through the events of war.

Before looking into the reasons as to why the spread of Christianity did not arise, one must look into the true nature of the Crusades along with what were the original goals that they were trying to accomplish. In 1095, Pope Urban II called together a council at Clermont (Madden 4). These meetings, mostly between French bishops and the pope, lasted nine days before the Pope gave a speech to the public. In this speech, the Pope designated upon the people of the church to defend the Eastern Church from the invading Muslims, liberate Jerusalem from them, and, ultimately stop the Muslim from moving any further. At the end of Pope's speech, the people of the Church unanimously agreed, and soon the Pope was laying out the message to people across France and Germany. Many nobles, along with the populace, united on the cause. One practical reason as to this widespread acceptance of traveling across the empire was for the honor of knighthood. Some of the nobility understood that is was their duty to protect their people, especially from their own religion. The Muslims were attacking God's church, and for a knight, their duty is to protect the Church and their people.

Another reason that the call to arms was answered was to protect Christianity as a whole. The Muslims took over many of the Church's lands and they were not slowing down their invasion. In fact, it could be noted that Christians even feared that the Muslims would soon conquer all of Europe unless they were stopped (Galli 3). Pope Urban's speech has been lost in history, but it appeared that he told his followers that the Eastern Church was falling, pilgrimages were ceased, and churches were being destroyed. As previously mentioned, the Eastern Church was collapsing and falling to the Muslims. In fact, most of the major Eastern cities fell, including the city of Antioch. The East and the West were still considered one church at the time so the church believed that it should help in the recovering of the cities.

During at this moment in Church history, part of the religious actions of the followers of the Church was to take part in visiting shrines and preserving relics. Some of the shrines included houses of certain saints, artifacts from the apostles, but most importantly, the city of Jerusalem (Shelly 2). Since Jerusalem was the place of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, many people would take pilgrimages to the holy city. In fact, pilgrimages to the city of Jerusalem became a form of penance. Unfortunately, Muslims eventually took control of the city, but they still allowed the pilgrimages to continue. However, in the Eleventh century, Christians do not have the ability to travel to the city anymore. So in order to have one of the most important shrines of the faith recovered, it would have to be taken by force.

In order for the Pope to acquire more people to rescue Jerusalem, he offered a gratification to all who volunteer to fight for Jerusalem, whether they live or die. In other words, all sins, including sins in the past, would be forgiven by the Pope if people joined to recover the holy land of Jerusalem. This promise by the Pope is most likely what caused so many men and women to join in the fight for the Holy Land.

In reality, the main reason for the Church getting the Crusades under way was to stop the eager Muslims from advancing further West. The Muslims had taken over many parts of the Eastern part of Church's territory, as well as into Spain and Africa with no sign of stopping. It was this Muslim push for dominance that struck fear in the hearts of the Western Church (Tyerman 2). Action was taken which led to the Crusades.

This first Crusade was highly successful the Eastern Cities were recovered, Jerusalem was liberated, and the Muslims were stopped from moving further West. Everything that the Pope planned on doing was successful; however, overall, the Crusades was not successful in achieving their goals. After the initial Crusade, many more Crusades followed. Some of these Crusades were designed to recover Jerusalem after it fell, but many others had different and confusing goals. Not for long, the Church applied the idea of the Crusades to any religious deed to stop both other Christians or pagans. After many years of holding Jerusalem, the Muslim recaptured the city. Many of the other Crusades never even reached Jerusalem nor recaptured back the city. The Muslims were held at a distance by the Crusades, but they were never stopped. As a matter of fact, the Crusades actually hurt the relationship between Christians, Jews, and Muslims. All in all, the Crusades failed in its overall goal.

In the conquest of the Crusades, the spreading of Christianity was never the main goal. Simply restoring back what was theirs in the past and holding off the Muslims were the primary goals of the Crusades. However, that does not mean that Christianity did not grow during this time. Christianity did grow, but Christianity also suffered. During the Fourth Crusade, Crusaders attacked and stormed Constantinople in order to raise funds for their conquest (Encyclopedia Britannica 3). The Pope did not authorized the attack, but accepted the reward and believed that the Church was finally reunited'. However, this sequence of events caused bitterness in the East and ultimately promoted a true united Church to be put out of question.

Although the Church became divided during this time, the spread of Christianity did, in fact, occurred. Two groups, the Franciscan and Dominican friars, brought it upon themselves to spread the message of Jesus to both the Muslim lands and beyond (Wani 5). They were the primary people from each group of abbot, and because of their success, the Pope delivered missionary help to aid in their work. These efforts along with the natives of the land helped the growth of Christianity into Muslim territory.

Unfortunately, the Crusades themselves did not spread the message of Jesus Christ and Christianity. The Crusades took place primary to reestablish what had already been the Church's dominions and to prevent the Muslims from entering deeper into Europe. Many Crusades attempted to regain Jerusalem and other Christian lands, but most failed. However, the Crusades were able to keep the Muslims out of Europe for a decent amount of time. During this time, though, Christian missionary efforts to the people whom the Church was trying to press were taking place but not with much success. Overall, it can be concluded that the Crusades did not promote the cause of Jesus Christ despite the successes they had on the initial Crusade.

Did you like this example?

The Crusades and the Spread of Christianity. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Review of the Book the First Crusaders

This paper will discuss how Jonathan Riley-Smith's book The First Crusaders 1095-1131 evidences a different reasoning for the time and cause of the First Crusade. In high school, the brief mention our instructor gave of The Crusades we were taught that it was either for financial gain or for the expanding of a Noble's lands. The book The First Crusaders gives a more logical reasoning for those of West-European Christians to pick up a weapon and reclaim the holy lands that were invaded by Muslim conquerors.

The First Crusade was in 1095 in answer to the Turkish subjugation of Christian Asia Minor, on top of the previous Arab takeover of the Christian-held Holy Land. Over the last few years older simple explanations, such as: religious (Christian) millennial hysteria, the want for land, basic material greed, or the want of lands and/or prestige for noble non-first born sons were given as the reasoning for this act. However Riley-Smith shows us that Christians, from serf to royalty, answered Pope Urban II's exclamation of Deus vult. Pope Urban II just merged war and pilgrimage into what we now call a Crusade.

The First Crusade wasn't just a war, it was a holy war being made holy not by the objective but by the Crusaders' obedience in going to war. This is what makes it different from what came before. The Crusade was a pilgrimage and thus an act of penance. Crusaders who assumed the challenge with true purpose after confessing their sins received a plenary indulgence. This indulgence was acknowledgment that the Crusader accepted these sacrifices for Christ. Riley-Smith writes how these sacrifices were extraordinary, and the costs of crusading were outrageous. Only a few closely related families achieved the dominance and power in the Crusades. Lacking financial help, only the wealthy could afford expenses of a Crusade and countless noble families ruined themselves financially by Crusading. Historians have for a while acknowledged that the romanticized appearance of the Crusader as a fortune hunter seeking his treasure is just wrong. Any treasure gotten never equaled what was spent on their travels. The bulk of Crusaders went home as quickly as they satisfied their oath, if they could go home at all. Current studies indicate that roughly one-third of the knights and nobility died on this campaign. The death ratio for the lower classes was much higher.

As Riley-Smith has written, campaigning was seen as an act of devotion specifically showing the love of God and the love of neighbors. By pushing back Muslim aggression and restoring Eastern Christianity. At great risk to themselves, the Crusaders were imitating the Good Samaritan. Under no circumstances can one understand the Crusades without knowing that era's Christian penitential oddity. It was the indulgence that directed thousands of men of different social classes to take on this pilgrimage or crusade that definitely cost them greatly. The lay aristocracy of medieval Europe was warrior nobility, making their living by the sword. Riley-Smith shows from their wills and charters that they intensely knew their own impiety, and were concerned over the state of their souls. A Crusade delivered an opportunity for them to serve God and atone for their sins. It permitted them to use these same weapons as for their deliverance rather than for their damnation to hell.

The 11th Century Roman Catholic Church claimed that its motives for the First Crusade was sacred, based solely on religious principles. Pope Urban II still made it a point to use theatrics and play to his audience of warriors-caste to excite knights into going to fight in the eastern lands held by the Muslims (57). When Urban II called the First Crusade in 1095, he formed an ideal that was used for centuries. The parallelism of a Crusaders sacrifice to that of Christ, the penitence, and the issuance of indulgences were a combination that many western European men couldn't refuse.

Jonathan Riley-Smith admittedly uses a computer database built for him in 1987. Entering information from various charters, old legal paperwork, clerical sources, and other sources allow him to categorize historical information to where it is much easier accessed and processed. In doing this he originally was trying to find information on why men and women took the cross (01) and yet only a few families that did prosper from the First Crusade. He amassed enough information to where he started having a few new questions and this book is the result.

The book The First Crusaders 1095-1131 definitely shows Riley Smith can prove a point. In this book he shows where a large majority of the Crusaders did not profit in their expeditions to the Holy Lands. He shows where many of the warrior class weren't expecting to profit in a physical sense. The wars temporarily removed Muslim rule from much of once Christian lands which was the objective of what they were there for in the first place.

Works Cited

Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusaders 1095-1131. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998

Did you like this example?

Review Of The Book The First Crusaders. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Urbanization in the Gilded Age

In the beginning of the Nineteenth Century different countries immigrated to what was known the New World or Promise Land because there was better work and a better lifestyle in America. Japanese and Chinese settlers relocated to the American West Coast. Settlers lived in horribly housing conditions called Tenements. Most immigrants came to America to earn money to send to their families and when the families had enough money the immigrants would move back home. The Gold Rush of 1849 caused many of Chinese immigrants to move on the west coast. There were so many Chinese immigrants that Chester A. Arthur signed an act called the Chinese Exclusion Act. This act prohibited all Chinese laborers into the United States. Once the life of the New immigrant happened, Native born Americans thought their country was being over ran by foreigners.

Most businesses owners were philanthropists which means they donated money to great causes for building structures that were hospitals, libraries, and music halls. Some business owners were accused of having a monopoly or trust. This means they have complete control over supply of a product or service. Monopolies are bad because it limited people's choices. The Bessemer Process was a cheap industrial process to speed up the making of steal to get the industrialization going. Elisha Otis was a big person during this time by inventing the elevator, to get to the top of buildings like skyscrapers. But the great change of industrialization was the Standard Oil Co. This oil company was owned by John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller had a near-monopoly of the oil business but late in his life he changed to a Philanthropy. By doing this he donated to the community and had an Abundance of Natural Resources and still save money. The Abundance of Natural Resources was that settlers used oil as medicine, and grease for their wagons and tools. With almost every drop of the country's oil flowing through his refineries, he was able to shape price structures and production decisions at every other phase of the process, from the oil wells to consumers homes.

Urbanization was the result of population increase; technological and economic changes offered opportunities in the urban industries and reduced the demand of labor on farms. Urbanization had some negative effects that were bad public health, population growth and pollution. Urbanization turned out to be great because it brought new job opportunities for the poor and immigrants. Urbanization had educational improvements, as well as medical improvements. Urbanization also strengthened the women's reform and the workers union. The kids were hired on by big businesses to work in the factories or wherever they needed them to for long hours. The reason why they got hired is because they were cheap labor. During Urbanization the women were pushing for the right to vote and in 1890 the Western States gave women the right to vote. But the female suffrage only allowed the white women to vote. Led by Ida Wells, black women went against lynching and helped start the National Association of Colored Women.

Did you like this example?

Urbanization In The Gilded Age. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

The Gilded Age: a Time of Transformation

The Gilded Age, a time of transformation for American society. The history between the 1870's and the 1900's in the United States transitioned the country immensely, the time period even got named for its significance. Mark Twain gave this time frame it's popular nickname, The Gilded Age, he meant that the period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath (Mintz and McNeil). The civil war ended, the economy grew, and with that came numerous changes to society. Even though on the outside looking in, America seemed to thrive, there were countless struggles occurring as well. The Gilded Age was an era of social change, industrialization advances, as well as political corruption that made a significant impact in American society.

The beginning of the Gilded Age introduced life after the Civil War; African Americans were free, immigration increased, and the gap between rich and poor became more evident. In 1866 the Civil War officially ended (Ending the Bloodshed). With the end of the civil war, many African Americans first joined free society and this angered southerners and Americans who believed that whites were superior, so they began to enforce Jim Crow Laws. Jim Crow Laws were means of segregation, The most common types of laws forbade intermarriage and ordered business owners and public institutions to keep their black and white clientele separated (Jim Crow Laws). The various laws created a division of the races throughout America. Furthermore, division amongst Americans grew as immigration grew. Initially, most immigrants came from English speaking, predominantly white countries. Starting in the Gilded Age, immigrants began coming from southern and eastern Europe, they were people with different language and cultural backgrounds. Americans, nativists especially, were portraying them as immoral, ignorant, or unable to help themselves so immigrants often moved to cities with people of the same ethnicity (Davis). As immigration increased the population numbers in cities also increased and people living in rural areas also started moving to cities for jobs. Urban cities quickly became overcrowded and many lived in, unsanitary, crowded situations without basic services such as water and sewage. Although there were a number of wealthy individuals during the era, the gap between rich and poor widened, the working class suffered as They faced long hours, low pay, random wage cuts, periods of high unemployment, danger to life and limb on the job, lack of insurance, and lack of worker's compensation (Davis). While more people had jobs, the conditions were dangerous and children were forced to work in risky situations.

Furthermore, at the turn of the century, there were new technological advances that changed the way people lived. New technologies appeared including the phonograph, the telephone, and radio; the rise of mass-circulation newspapers and magazines; the growth of commercialized entertainment as well as the first cars, trains, and other transportation advances (Mintz and McNeil). These new technologies increased the speed of spreading information and it created a fast-paced society that wanted goods immediately. All of these technological advances came with the Second Industrial Revolution which made fast production possible by the introduction of interchangeable parts and assembly-line production (America Moves to the City). These changes meant consumer demands rose. In fact, Newly-inexpensive magazines geared toward men, women, or children proliferated in the U.S. after 1890 and advertising within these pages was standard (Shultz). Everyday products became mass produced through new factory methods, advertised through the faster spreading of information, and demanded as Americans took part in a consumerism era.

Hand in hand with consumerism, the economy grew during the Gilded Age. After the civil war, the economy began to shift from agriculture to industry and everyone's goal was to make money. Traditional farming began to fade, as the nation's population grew and cities assumed increased economic importance, the dream of being in business for oneself evolved to include small merchants, independent craftsmen, and self-reliant professionals as well(Small Business and the Corporation). With all the new technological advances, population numbers rising, and factory production being more efficient, jobs were readily available. Unemployment, as measured by the official Lebergott/BL S data, averaged only 4.6 7 percent (Vedder and Lowell). Men, women, and children were all working. Even though workplace conditions were not always favorable, By the beginning of the 20th century, per capita income and industrial production in the United States exceeded that of any other country except Britain (Mintz and McNeil). The new jobs meant that more money was circulating and more people had the means to partake in the economy, thus expanding it even more.

Although many Americans aimed to go into the industry and make it, this era in history is especially noted for its major tycoons, such as John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie. Rockefeller dominated the oil industry, Gould the railroads, Morgan the banks, and Carnegie the steel industry. In fact, By 1904 the top 4 percent of American businesses produced 57 percent of America's total industrial production (Cashman). Corporations and essentially monopolies took over the business sector. Due to this, the economy boomed and Americans realized they needed a way to back up money. Currency backed up by gold was limited and people saw that the amount of money circling was growing. Farmers and working-class citizens argued for the currency to be backed up by silver because it was more abundant and would cause inflation which was good because it decreased the value of their debt; a number also argued for silver and gold and were called Silverites. However, wealthier business owners and creditors got more value from gold so they argued for gold and thus called Goldbugs (Addis). At the end of the Gilded Age, Goldbugs won and gold backed up U.S. currency for some time.

With economic growth, comes corruption. Not only business corruption but political and government corruption, a concept the Gilded Age knew well. It all started with the end of the Civil War and the emergence of political machines, a way to have a group in power and make a profit out of it. Political machines worked by the process of graft: skimmed profit made possible by controlling the municipal government, including city hall, police, and utilities (Addis). Those who were a part of it were essentially paid to keep quiet. The whole system was an illegal way to keep certain political candidates in power so the wealthy could manipulate situations into what they wanted. Because political machines ran the government, the people wanted a party that would represent the poor, the working class, and rural farmers. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party at this time were not appealing to the people. The Populist party emerged, otherwise known as the People's Party. They were for bimetallism, using gold and silver to back up the currency, for direct voting for the senator, and for regulating railroad costs. As most third parties find, Without big financial backing, they never actually won control of the Presidency or Congress, but they appealed to enough voters that the two-party system had to take notice of their platform (Addis). The Populist Party gave the government the push it needed to see what the people actually wanted, it set in stone a similar version of democracy practiced today.

The Gilded Age is also noted for its most famous election, the election of 1896. It all started with the Silverites verses the Goldbugs. The nation divided on its view of what should back up the currency, led to a historical election. The Republican Party nominated William McKinley, he stood for the gold standard. The Democrats nominated William Bryan, he advocated for free silver and is known for his infamous statement, 'You shall not crucify mankind on a cross of Gold'(Addis). The Populist Party, also advocating for silver put their in support for Bryan. McKinley, the Republican nominee is supported by wealthy corporations giving him a vast amount of funding and giving corporations say in his actions. On the other hand, Bryan is traveling the country, physically campaigning for his votes. McKinley ends up winning, he secured the North East and convinced a number of Western states to support him (Addis). The election introduced new concepts to presidential campaigns that would remain. The idea of businesses funding a party and changed campaigns and the idea is still seen today.

Overall, arguments can be made that the Gilded Age is not as significant as it seems. Discrimination was still prevalent as seen by the Jim Crow Laws, and nativist attitude towards immigrants existed. However, the Gilded Age changed society, the economy, and politics in ways still seen today, For example, the Gilded Age brought on consumerism culture, still prevalent in the United States today. Factories and technology made possible fast-paced, cheap manufacturing of goods. Advertisement popularized through magazines started the advertisement-filled country that exists today. The economic boom and available jobs made it possible for individuals to participate in the economy. This impacted the United States by abandoning its agricultural economy and instead became like the economies' of Britain and Europe. The introduction of new campaign strategies such as millions in funding is how elections work today.

Overall, the Gilded Age changed society. There were positive changes that Twain referred to as the glittering surface; there were also negative changes which were embodied as the corruption underneath (Mintz and McNeil). Positives included the increase in immigration, economics booms that made the country second to Britain, technological advances that made life simpler and fast-paced. Negative changes were the division of Americans based on race, ethnicity, or class as well, business monopolies, and political corruption. All in all, the era transformed the country in a significant way. While not all of America's problems were solved during the Gilded Age, the time period was a step forward.

Did you like this example?

The Gilded Age: A Time Of Transformation. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Red Badge of Courage Analysis

Topic #1-Popularity

The red badge of courage is popular because it is a story that makes war look like a brutal violent terrible thing not something that represents heroism and romance. This was Cranes goal for the book and he accomplished it. Throughout the book gruesomeness is portrayed and men not acting like heros. This is popular because it is like no other book it is truthful and honest about what happens it doesn't make up heros.

Passage #1

He suddenly lost concern for himself, and forgot to look at a menacing fate. He became not a man but a member. He felt that something of which he was a part a regiment, an army, a cause, or a country was in a crisis. He was welded into a common personality which was dominated by a single desire. For some moments he could not flee, no more than a little finger can commit a revolution from a hand. (501)

Explanation #1

This shows how Henry is realizing that this isn't like the Greek stories that he has read all his life. This is the real situation this also is when he is almost runs away from the battle because he knows that he is not courageous enough for the Civil War

Passage #2

THIS ADVANCE OF THE ENEMY SEEMED TO THE YOUTH LIKE A CRUEL hunting. He began to express his anger. He beat his foot upon the ground, and looked with hate at the rising smoke that was approaching like a flood. There was a maddening quality in this apparent determination of the enemy to give him no rest, to give him no time to sit down and think. Yesterday he had fought and run away. There had been many adventures. Today he felt that he had earned opportunity for rest and thought. He was sore and stiff from his experiences. He had had enough, and he wished to rest. But the rebels seemed never to grow tired; they were fighting with their old speed. He had a wild hate for the enemy. Yesterday, when he had imagined the world to be against him, he had hated the world. Today he hated the army of the enemy with the same great hatred. He was not going to run all his life, like a cat hunted by dogs, he thought. It was not good to push men so hard. (569)

Explanation #2

This shows the battle about to start between the unions and the confederates Henry id about to have the courage to fight in a battle. This is a big change in the book and is the climax of the story. This is the final tale in a large bloody battle

Topic #2-Entertaining

The Red Badge of Courage is entertaining to people because of its aspect of war that goes so in depth that no other book at the time could compare with. The red badge of Courage gives people who have never experienced warfare up close and personal when reading this book. When writing Red badge of Courage Stephen Crane set out to destroy the notion that war was full of heroism and romance. Some libraries and schools have banned the Red Badge of Courage because of its violence in the book. Many warjunkies love this book.

Passage #1

The Lieutenant of the youths company was shot in the hand. He began to swear so wondrously that a nervous laugh went along the regimental line. The officers profanity sounded conventional. It relieved the tightened senses of the new man. It was as if he had hit his fingers with a tack hammer at home. He held the wounded member carefully away from his side so that the blood would not drip upon his trousers. The captain of the company, tucking his sword under his arm, produced a handkerchief and began to bind with it the lieutenants wound. And they disputed as to how the binding should be done. The battle flag in the distance jerked about madly. It seemed to be struggling to free itself from a frightful pain. The clouds of smoke were filled with flashes. Fast running men came through the smoke. They grew in numbers until it was seen that many brigades were running away. The flag suddenly sank down as if dying. Its motion as it fell was a movement of despair. Wild shouts came from behind the walls of smoke. A mob of men rushed past like wild horses.(496)

Explanation #1

This is a brutal scene where blood is right in your face, meaning that you don't have to read inbetween the lines to realize oh there is battle going on here where people are getting hurt and it is very bloody. This scene is entertaining because how much you learn from it about war because there is the hurting lieutenant who is being laughed at by his troops. This is a cool and entertaining scene for many because of the gruesomeness and the graphicness.

Passage #2

The men dropped here and there like bundles. The captain of the youth's company had been killed in an early part of the action. His body lay stretched out in the position of a tired man resting, but upon his face there was an astonished and sorrowful look, as if he thought some friend had done him an ill turn. The babbling man was grazed by a shot that made the bloodstream widely down his face. He clapped both hands to his head. Oh! he said, and ran. Another grunted suddenly as if a club had struck him in the stomach. He sat down and gazed ruefully. In his eyes there was mute, indefinite reproach. Farther up the line a man, standing behind a tree, had had his knee joint splintered by a ball. Immediately he had dropped his rifle and gripped the tree with both arms. And there he remained, clinging desperately and crying for assistance that he might withdraw his hold upon the tree.(504)

Explanation #2

This is another graphic scene that shows the battle of the 304th regiment attempting to hold off the confederates. Whats makes this so entertaining is the detail Crane goes into in this scene it makes you go wow and allows the reader to feel like there is in that moment some people get a rush of adrenaline from reading this book just because of the detail that Crane is going into.

Topic #3- Inspiration

One idea that would inspire young writers today would be the detail of the book not only with the side of war but in the details of every aspect of the book. The detail in this book focuses on the setting more than the overall story of the book. Something else that could inspire young writers is how Crane gets rid of the notion that war is full of heroism and romance.

Passage #1

Blue figures began to drop. Some fell down at the feet of their companions. Others, wounded, moved away; but many lay still, their bodies turned into impossible shapes. The youth looked around for his friend. He saw him. The lieutenant, also, was in his position in the rear. He had continued to curse, but with a voice rapidly growing weak. The colonel came running along behind the line. There were other officers following him. We must attack! they shouted. We must attack! They had strained voices, as if expecting a refusal by the men. The youth, upon hearing the shouts, began to study the distance between him and the enemy. He made a guess. He saw that to be firm soldiers they must go forward. It would be death to stay in the present place. Their hope was to push the enemy away from the fence. He expected that his companions would have to be forced to make this attack. But as he turned toward them, he saw that they were giving quick and unquestioning expressions of approval. At the words of command, the soldiers began to push forward in eager leaps. There was new and unexpected force in the movement of the regiment. It was a blind and despairing rush by the men in dusty blue, over grass and under a bright sky, toward a fence. From behind it spoke the fierce guns of the enemy.

Explanation #1

Passage #2

The youth was shocked. He discovered that the distances, compared with the large measurings in his mind, were small indeed. The trees, where much had happened, seemed unbelievably near. The time,too, he realized, had been short. He wondered about the emotions and events that had been crowded into such little spaces. Tricks played by the thoughts of the moment must have enlarged everything, he felt. It seemed then that there was some bitter justice in the speeches of the other regiment. He looked down upon his friends lying upon the ground, breathless with dust and heat. They were drinking from their canteens, fierce to get every drop of water. However, to the youth there was considerable joy in thinking of his own performances during the attack. There had been very little time before in which to admire himself, so now there was much satisfaction in quietly thinking of his actions. He remembered things that in the battle had sunk unnoticed into his mind.

Explanation #2

If she allows talk about how he was inexperienced writer talking about the touchy subject of war and not getting anyone's opinion who have experienced war.

Topic #4 -Writing Style

Stephen Crane uses a contemporary writing style which means that it is based in a realistic setting and uses a style. This also means that there is either a hidden or open meaning of World politics for example the civil war a real time and still affects politics to this day

Topic #5- Something About Ourselves

This book shows something that many all can relate to, this shows book shows the change of Henry from a boy to a man he experiences this as a soldier. All people have some point in there life when they realize that they become an adult. This is caused usually by something that you do wrong. There are many coming of age stories but none show coming of age like it is shown in Red Badge of Courage. This book also shows how at one point in your life you have to leave behind your family and what you know to go somewhere else whether it be to College or a new home many will leave their home to go somewhere out of the ordinary. Usually you leave for something that is better than what you have prior to leaving.

Passage #1

He saw his vivid error, and he was afraid that it would stand before him all his life. He took no share in the chatter of his comrades, nor did he look at them or know them, save when he felt sudden suspicion that they were seeing his thoughts and scrutinizing each detail of the scene with the tattered soldier. Yet gradually he mustered force to put the sin at a distance. And at last his eyes seemed to open to some new ways. He found that he could look back upon the brass and bombast of his earlier gospels and see them truly. He was gleeful when he discovered that he now despised them. With the conviction came a store of assurance. He felt a quiet manhood, nonassertive but of sturdy and strong blood. He knew that he would no more quail before his guides wherever they should point. He had been to touch the great death, and found that, after all, it was but the great death. He was a man. (573)

Explanation #1

This scene shows Henry realizing that he is a man this scene also shows Henry realizing the error in his ways. Henry knows that he cannot look at the people who fought while he stood watch the same way because of what he did in the war

Passage #2

He felt that in this crisis his laws of life were useless. Whatever he had learned of himself was here of no avail. He was an unknown quantity. He saw that he would again be obliged to experiment as he had in early youth. He must accumulate information of himself, and meanwhile he resolved to remain close upon his guard lest those qualities of which he knew nothing should everlastingly disgrace him. (480)

Explanation #2

This passage shows Henry's fear of leaving and having the courage to fight. He is worried about leaving what he knows behind him and that scares him. This show's the life lesson that all people go through something where they leave something behind to go somewhere that will turn them into manhood.

Topic #6 learning

The Red Badge of Courage is based during the American Civil War, one of the most influential wars in American history. In this story you learn about what a soldier at that time was going through, how many died and if they didn't die they experienced a friends death. Although Red Badge of Courage is not completely accurate but it still shows how the American Civil War was a tough time for many and it was an awful time. You also learn how many soldiers not just Henry way have ran away from the fight and it was a mistake for them to enlist. There were many cowards in the war and I don't blame them because they had the courage to enlist even though they didn't end up fighting.

Topic #7-Title

The Title of the book Red Badge of Courage is named what it is because on page 518 it is stated wishes that he, too, had a wound, a red badge of courage.(518)This quote makes it seem like the Red Badge of Courage is a medal of some sort, but really, it is just the blood that is coming at of the wound . This is an appropriate title name because this is what Henry wishes to receive but, for this you have to have courage not cowardice. Henry ends up being shot by a union soldier and pretends that he was hit by a confederate this is the ultimate form of cowardice because Henry is a coward. One alternative for a name could be Courageses Cowardly face. This would be appropriate because Henry represents someone who wishes to be courageous but he is to cowardly to fight in the Civil War. This title also could mean that Henry is two faced. Another possible name for the book could be Internal wounds of war this means that war could not only leave the scars on the inside but the life lessons that you learn on the inside.

Topic #8-Likes

One thing that I enjoyed in this book was the reality of war I had never read a book that goes into so much detail about war I have seen movies but I have never read about war. Reading about a war story is different than watching one, when watching a movie the picture is right there but when reading a book you imagine it with the detail that is given to you. I also really like how the story doesn't get me attached to the characters it gets me more attached to the details and what is going on around the characters.

Topic #9 Dislikes

I disliked how the language of the story was hard to follow and how at some points you didn't realize what was going on. At some points of the story I didn't know if Henry was dreaming or if he was in a battle. Also at some points of the story you don't know where Henry and the other Troops are at. This may be because I am not used to the language at this time period or it could be because I am not used to reading a book with a format like this.

Did you like this example?

Red Badge of Courage Analysis. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Comparison of the Red Badge of Courage and the Veteran

The Red Badge of Courage and 1896 “The Veteran” perpetuate Henry’s psychological isolation through a young soldier’s inner monologue of the Civil War, paralleling the isolation both sides of the War Between the States feel and the isolation of America from the world after it reestablishes itself during the Progressive Era via the waves of renewed nationalist sentiment. Stephen Crane’s utilization of multiple metaphors make an appearance in the novel and in the short story: Jim Conklin as romanticism of war, Henry Fleming’s mother as disillusionment with war, a box as the army, slaves as soldiers, a wound as courage, a prophet as Henry, and a flower as confidence. These metaphors showcase a wide variety of axioms of during that particular zeitgeist: the hope that going into war will lead one to glory; the disappointment of going into war; the paranoia and fear that comes with war; the arduous life of a soldier and the misinformation present throughout; the deceitful and cunning means people use to earn fame; the arrogance permeating the atmosphere; and the eventual reappearance of America on the global stage.

An allusion to supernatural forces illustrates to us the clout of war and the terrestrial, claustrophobic, biblical, and supernatural imageries combine to show the isolationary power of war. The Red Badge of Courage begins with “a tall soldier” declaring that their regiment will ‘move t’ morrah-sure.’ Later on, “the youth (Henry Fleming) discovered that his tall comrade had been the fast-flying messenger of a mistake.” The tall soldier, Jim Conklin, serves as a metaphor for the romanticism and high hopes of glory and fame that many associate with war. His initial declaration that the regiment will finally march excites many of the soldiers as they feel tired of sitting around, and the discovery that the the rumor was false disappoints the soldiers. The disappointment reflects the discouragement many soldiers feel after realizing that war stories glamorize and obscure the reality of it.

In regards to the zeitgeist, the metaphor of Jim Conklin as romanticism of war relates to the many, many soldiers that choose to enlist because they feel that they will receive fame, glory, and praise. However, once fighting many soldiers realize that their dreams may not be fulfilled, causing many to desert out of fear as they realize that in death they may not be identified and will receive no glory. Henry Fleming’s mother serves as the binary metaphor. In her description, she seems to be characterized by her distaste for war: “But his mother had discouraged him. She had affected him to look with some contempt upon the quality of his war ardor and patriotism.” His mother’s hindrance in his beliefs temporarily blinds him from his ambition of enlisting in the war. Her disillusionment with war serves as a metaphor for the many naysayers that do not believe in romanticizing war or spreading false hopes about it, therefore this metaphor acts as the direct binary, or opposite, to the metaphor of Jim Conklin. This metaphor pertains a relevant meaning to the time period as it relates to the fear and anxiety many felt when the army drafts them, as they feel fearful about their fate.

Together, the contrasting metaphors of Jim Conklin as romanticism of war and Henry’s mother as disillusionment with war paint the landscape of the Civil War as one with vastly contrasting viewpoints, including the two totally opposite sides of the war, the Confederacy and the Union and the opposite viewpoints within one side, those who face war in a stoic manner and those who flee due to fear. Henry first feels psychologically isolated from his fellow soldiers due to his concerns regarding his fear of the battle, and whether they will run or not: “His emotions made him feel strange in the presence of men who talked excitedly of a prospective battle as of a drama they were about to witness… He did not pass such thoughts without severe condemnation of himself… He was convicted by himself of many shameful crimes against the gods of traditions.” The phrase “gods of traditions” alludes to supernatural forces, or deities watching their actions. The allusion to supernatural forces suggests the extreme clout of the decision he will make.

The allusion of gods as clout applies to the waves of newfound nationalist sentiment that many experience during the Progressive Era, which causes the civil, technical, scientific, and economic advancement of the United States. This era greatly advances the US as amazing leaps in science and technology occur. All the advancements made during the Progressive Era isolate the US due to its newfound place of clout in the world. The terrestrial imagery (“river,” “sky,” “horse”) produces a desolate mood, as the adoption of an organic setting creates a feeling of being alone, as felt by Henry, paralleling the loneliness of the nation. The desolate mood relates to the zeitgeist as it accurately sums up the feelings of many Americans during the War Between the States. The War Between the States has a name in history as the deadliest battle America faces, due to the fact that it throws Americans versus one another, some on the side of the Union and some on the side of the Confederacy. Slavery, and the abolishment of it, can be known as the major premise over which the war occurs.

In this facet of the times, the desolate mood takes on a new meaning when examining the reasoning behind the reluctance of the Confederacy to abolish slavery. This reluctance, or even stubborn refusal, can be explained by the deep-rooted, indoctrinated capitalism ingrained in the minds of the Americans. This indoctrinated capitalism causes them, but doesn’t excuse them, to stay firm in their obstinacy of using slaves for profit. Profit that comes from the glory of returning from war comes with the price of fear, which Henry Fleming learns. Fear strikes Henry in the following scene: “But he instantly saw that it would be impossible for him to escape from the regiment. And there were iron laws of tradition and law on four sides. He was in a moving box.” This metaphor of the army as a box shows Henry’s paranoia and fear after joining the army and facing his first battle.

The metaphor of a box producing paranoia and fear reflects the zeitgeist of fear, particularly during the Civil War. This metaphor contains claustrophobic imagery (“box,” “iron,” “sides”) that produce a paranoid and anxious mood. The fear seen from the metaphor and the mood applies to many different aspects of the war: the soldiers’ fear for their lives, the Confederacy and Union’s fear of losing to the other, the nation’s collective fear of not surviving as a whole, and all the enslaved peoples’ fear of slavery persisting. At the time, all these fears contribute to the overall paranoia permeating the atmosphere. The paranoia make many to act out in various ways. The people who feel afraid of losing their profit due to the abolishment of slavery cling to various falsehoods, such as that the Bible proclaims that Africans should be considered of lesser worth or that their race consists of genetically inferior beings as compared to the whites.

The enslaved people who fear for their lives being spent in shackles begin to take desperate measures to escape, or attempt to buy their way to freedom. Freedom can be taken for granted by those who have never experienced a lack of it, which can be seen in the following: “The slaves toiling in the temple of this god began to feel rebellion at his harsh tasks.” The metaphor of soldiers as slaves utilizes an extreme scenario in order to describe the severe and arduous labor they must undergo. This metaphor describing extreme labor pertains to the Progressive Era as reform in workplaces exists as a major goal. Those advocating for the progressive Era believe that workplaces need reform as they have incredibly rigid rules for incredibly little profit on the part of the workers. The metaphor can be seen here as the extreme labor becomes recognized by those who wish to further the Progressive Era and wish to reform the issues. However, the terminology of “slaves toiling” suggests a woeful lack of knowledge on the part of Henry, as his joining the military came about voluntarily while slavery came about forcefully and involuntarily on the part of the slaves.

This suggests that citizens of the time, even those anti-slavery, did not fully understand the toils and hardships of being a slave. In this way, the metaphor of slaves as soldiers has a dual purpose, that of expressing the intensely hazardous lifestyle of a soldier and that of showing the woefully misinformed lifestyles many lead during the time period. The first mention of the book’s namesake occurs in Chapter 9: “He wished that he, too, had a wound, a red badge of courage.” This metaphor of a wound as courage expresses Henry’s innermost desire to be brave and shine in battle, for the glory he would receive for it all. This reflects the axiom of the zeitgeist that glory and receiving credit for actions makes anything and everything worth it. This sheds light on the indoctrinated capitalism that has become so deeply rooted into the American culture at the 19th century, that Americans feel willing to undergo pain, suffering, and possibly even death to make a profit or gain recognition.

However, the “red badge of courage” acts as an ironic metaphor as Henry wishes for a wound to prove his bravery although he ran from the battle. The irony of this metaphor reveals yet another angle to the meaning, as it divulges how Americans voluntarily commit heinous and deceitful acts for fame and glory. After seeing how awful the system has become, eradication of corruption in the government becomes a main goal of the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era seeks to overcome many of the problems created by the Gilded Age, a time period occurring directly before and slightly overlapping with the Progressive Era. The Gilded Age can be called as such due to the covering-up of the problems at the time, or gilding them. Congress during the Gilded Age can be considered rowdy, wild, and filled to the brim with corruption, all because the politicians wish for fame and glory, even through deceitful means, not realizing they will isolate themselves in the future due to their actions in the present. Therefore, the Progressive Era attempts to amend this, among other, issues of the Gilded Age.

Full of empty figureheads and politicians, the characters of the Gilded Age manage to isolate themselves due to their belief in their own power, similarly to this passage: “He thought it would prove, in a manner, that he had fled early because of his superior powers of perception. A serious prophet upon predicting a flood should be the first man to climb a tree. This would demonstrate that he was indeed a seer.” This belief on the part of Henry demonstrates how he believes himself as better than the other soldiers due to his decision to flee the battle, which he perceives as an excellent choice. The metaphor of the prophet as Henry serves to show how Henry believes, arrogantly, that he has definitely made the right decision. Prophets can usually be regarded as being heralds of truth, and Henry holds himself in this esteem as well, tainting the passage with arrogance, which parallels the arrogance seen all throughout the zeitgeist: during the Civil War both the Confederacy and the Union believe themselves as correct, during the Gilded Age all the corrupt politicians believe themselves as correct, and during the Progressive Era both supporters and naysayers believe themselves as correct. The passage contains biblical imagery (“prophet,” “flood,” “seer”) creating an authoritative mood.

This authoritative mood furthers the arrogance of the metaphor as it demonstrates how Henry feels obstinately confident in his cowardly decision. Once again, in regards to the time period, the authoritative mood parallels how everyone believes only in their point of view, managing to isolate themselves from one another through their various different veils on the world. The world sees America begin to blossom once more after the Civil War and the Progressive Era. A parallel of this occurs when: “There was a little flower of confidence growing within him… He had been out among the dragons… A stout heart often defied, and, defying, escaped.” The metaphor of “a little flower” as confidence shows how Henry’s faith in himself, when viewed without all his pompadour, does not amount to a great deal. However, just like a budding seedling, his confidence in his own abilities gradually increases. As previously stated, this metaphor of gradual increase parallels America’s budding re-arrival to the global stage. The War Between the States shakes up America due to the fact that the war occurs between itself, making it the deadliest war in America, with the highest death toll of Americans.

This American on American infighting creates sentiments of hostility that reverberate throughout all of America, some still lasting to this day. This war manages to effectively isolate America from the rest of the world due to its inability to participate in global matters as it consists of two governments. After the war ends, and once the Progressive Era has begun, America manages to piece itself back together and rejoin as a major player on the global platform. On a global scale, no matter how united countries may seem, each still protects its own best interests, and therefore each always somewhat isolates and shrouds itself. This can be seen in the short story “The Veteran,” a sequel to The Red Badge of Courage: “Old Fleming stared absentmindedly at the open doors… He rushed into the barn. When the roof fell in, a great funnel of smoke swarmed toward the sky, as if the old man’s mighty spirit, released from its body- a little bottle-had swelled like the genie of fable.” In this passage, “Old Fleming,” or Henry Fleming, runs into a barn despite the fire to save two colts. In his final moments, Henry decides to attempt glory one last time despite knowing and understanding the dangers. The supernatural imagery (“genie,” “smoke,” “spirit”) promotes a lonely mood. Henry’s death, described in a surreal manner, truly and totally isolates him from the rest as it separates him from the bystanders, humans. The lonely mood can be considered contemporaneous to that time period as all people of the time truly feel alone. The United States, during the War Between the States, isolates itself from the rest of itself and the North and South isolate themselves from each other. During the Progressive Era, newfound waves of nationalist sentiment spur America to isolate itself as a global superpower, as it looks out for its interests only. Countries, especially now in the 21st century, appear to be just self interested and unwilling to help unless a profit can be materialized. However, isolation in our time appears on a much, much smaller scale as well. As humans, social media barrages our daily lives and causes us to simply take interest in our own lives and how to better broadcast our lives to the world. This isolation deprives us of the real communication humans crave, and yet do not seek out. Isolation also exists in the form of greed, we can be willing to do almost anything in the name of self preservation, revealing the profound effect isolation has had on us.

Did you like this example?

Comparison Of The Red Badge of Courage and The Veteran. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

The Value of Hunting in Sir Gawain

Contents

The Value of Hunting in Sir Gawain
- Works Cited

The Value of Hunting in Sir Gawain

Readers of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight develop a first impression of Sir Gawain as an almost unhuman like perfection of a Knight. Sir Gawain bravely takes on the challenge of the Beheading Game, in order to protect his King, and announces why he should be the one to accept this challenge and modestly puts that he has the most to prove. Sir Gawain's modesty and chivalry displays Sir Gawain's perceived perfection, and at the beginning of the story, it seems that Sir Gawain is a character of a different kind of world. Lady Bertilak is a pawn in a game designed to test King Arthur's court, and as she approaches Sir Gawain, the reader discovers a parallel between Lord Bertilak's hunt and Lady Bertilak's quest for discovering Sir Gawain's humanity through the use of the deer, the boar, and the fox.

Lady Bertilak is an accurate symbol for the daily temptations that Sir Gawain faces and that many face in the real world. Sir Gawain had sworn his loyalty to Lord Bertilak, and Lady Bertilak's appearance, beautiful and well dressed, provides the perfect temptation to test Sir Gawain's faithfulness and chivalry (Goldhurst, p. 63). Lady Bertilak has a major role in the story of Sir Gawain, and is in large part, responsible for his breaking of the Chivalric Code. She is the wife to Lord Bertilak and is a key part in the deal that Sir Gawain and Lord Bertilak made to split their winnings.

Lord Bertilak was to hunt and then give whatever he obtained to Sir Gawain, and in return, Sir Gawain was to stay in the castle and give Lord Bertilak whatever he won. This game presented the perfect opportunity to truly test Sir Gawain's manners. As Lord Bertilak left to go hunt, Lady Bertilak began a hunt for Sir Gawain. Every hunt was written with great detail, and drew a parallel to the approach Lady Bertilak took in tempting Sir Gawain. Lady Bertilak's first two attempts at temptation failed and seemed to confirm the reader's predisposition about Sir Gawain's perfection, but with her third attempt, she presented him with protection of the green girdle, which he could not refuse.

Lady Bertilak's first attempt to tempt Sir Gawain was paired with the story of the deer hunt. The pairing of the deer hunt and the pursuit of Sir Gawain is valuable to the story in proving to the reader Sir Gawain's trustworthiness. Sir Gawain was unexpecting and ignorant of the events that were about to happen, much like the deer was when Lord Bertilak killed it. Sir Gawain is most similar to the deer in the manner in the sense that he is noble game (Savage, p. 5).

The stag, or deer, is noble because it is cautious and can distinguish between right and wrong, as it's only weapons are a distinct hearing, a sharp mind, and quick legs to escape danger (Savage, p. 9). In this moment, Sir Gawain behaves in a way that is both careful and quick minded, developing the first similarity between the deer's behavior and the knight's. The dogs drove the deer into awaiting archers, trapping them with the only escape being death. As Lady Bertilak approached Sir Gawain, she was reasonably noisy, and told him, You're tricked and trapped! (Anonymous, p. 163). This line shows that, like the deer, Sir Gawain's innocent and timid approach caused him to be trapped. Sir Gawain remained shy and timid during Lady Bertilak's first attempt to pursue him, much like the deer was timid and attempted to escape the hunter's approach (Pedrosa, p. 72). Sir Gawain pretends to stay asleep and stays put as long as possible to avoid this confrontation and does not move until he was forced, just like the deer. Lady Bertilak, the metaphorical hunter, was the most aggressive during the first approach because of Sir Gawain's reserved and scared manner (Pedrosa, p. 73).

Lord Bertilak, the actual hunter in the story, was also aggressive during his first hunt by driving the deer out. The importance of the two hunter's aggressiveness was to emphasize the innocence and shyness that the deer and Sir Gawain display. Sir Gawain stayed loyal to his word, even though he was being aggressively approached. The comparison between Sir Gawain and the game gives the reader a further idea into Sir Gawain's value by displaying that, like the deer Sir Gawain, was noble game worthy of the King (Savage, p. 5). Sir Gawain's innocence and his actions reaffirmed the reader's predetermined belief that Sir Gawain was, in fact, perfect, as he did not break his honor. As the story progressed, Sir Gawain gained confidence, which makes the boar a perfect embodiment of Sir Gawain's reconfirmed strength.

Sir Gawain and Lord Bertilak agreed to renew their deal, but this time, the hunt was not for an innocent deer, but for a ferocious boar which was well aware of its surroundings. Upon Lady Bertilak's second approach, Sir Gawain, like the boar, responded aggressively knowing the danger he was in. As Lady Bertilak entered Sir Gawain's chambers for the second time, Sir Gawain awoke quickly and this time he, Makes her welcome at once (Anonymous, p. 167).

It is clear from this action Sir Gawain has changed his tactics when it comes to Lady Bertilak. While in the original scene he stayed put until driven out, this time he defended himself before he was trapped into danger. He does not act ignorant upon the second approach by Lady Bertilak, and in fact shows her that he is very aware of her presence (Savage, p. 11). Likewise, the boar does not take shelter or hide from the men, but pursues them. Another obvious similarity between Sir Gawain and this ferocious pig is their history. Sir Gawain has refused Lady Bertilak in the past, making him a fearsome and difficult opponent. The author goes into a brief history of the boar, explaining that the boar has wreaked havoc on the men and their hounds (Anonymous, p. 168). The necessity in examining the past of the boar and Sir Gawain is that they both proved to be difficult opponents. While the past encounter with Sir Gawain was not aggressive, Sir Gawain had come out victorious, as did the boar in the previous encounters Lord Bertilak had with him. The boar takes action when his life is threatened and when Lord Bertilak trespasses and gets too close; he does not take kindly.

The boar is willing to defend himself by fighting his way out rather than staying put. The benefit that the boar carries over the stag is its tusks and muscular body. Therefore, the boar is well equipped for trespassers (Savage, p. 13). Similarly, Sir Gawain does not stay grounded when he is encroached upon; he rises and greets the trespasser. The author shows that Sir Gawain is also well equipped with confidence and knowledge of the events that are about to transpire. The necessity in the pairing of Sir Gawain and the boar is simply to highlight Sir Gawain's newfound confidence. As seen with the pairing of the deer, Sir Gawain was timid originally and attempted to avoid confrontation. When he was paired with the boar, the reader can see that the boar's aggressive behavior and confidence in its abilities, reflects Sir Gawain's own.

The fox's reputation of being a sneaky creature makes it the perfect candidate to symbolize Sir Gawain's nearly fatal fall into the open arms of temptation. The passage with the fox becomes the moment where the reader finally discovers that Sir Gawain is not perfect, and that his humanity is actually the reason he allowed himself to be tempted. The first thing to note is that Sir Gawain rejected the original temptation, which was lust. In the final scene, Lady Bertilak tempted Sir Gawain with survival, rather than lust, a completely new form of temptation (Waldron, pp. 17). Sir Gawain's innocent and aggressive approaches to temptation proved successful; however, the moment that he was tempted with survival, he failed. We see his humanity through his urge to survive (Waldron, p. 17). The fox responds to Lord Bertilak's hunts in the same way that Sir Gawain does to Lady Bertilak's final temptation approach (Savage, p. 6). Lord Bertilak was close enough to the fox that he was able to swing at it with a sword, He bares his bright sword and swishes at the beast, which shirks from its sharpness (Anonymous, p. 176).

The importance of this line is the visual imagery and symbolism that this line bears. This line describes Lord Bertilak's swift motion toward the fox, and the fox's quick reflexes to escape the blade. The symbolism develops when the fox's maneuver forced him into the teeth of the hounds (Savage, p. 6). The temptation of the ring did not persuade Sir Gawain, however, the protective girdle changed the noble Knight into a sinner. The irony and comparison truly develops when the reason behind Sir Gawain's sin is analyzed: He wanted to save his life. Sir Gawain took the green girdle to dodge the blade of the Green Knight's axe. Similarly, the fox dodged Lord Bertilak's sword in an attempt to save his life, however, both Sir Gawain and the fox ended up causing themselves more harm after their attempt to swerve danger (Savage, p. 6). Both of these movements developed out of pure adrenaline and the natural instinct to take any opportunity to avoid harm (Savage, p. 6). Lady Bertilak was able to provide enough temptation to appeal to Sir Gawain's natural instinct. These animals are creations of nature. Therefore by pairing every story and action that Sir Gawain takes with an animal which represent that action, the author reveals a new point about nature.

The author also displays the reactions to the animals that Lord Bertilak had slain, in order to better show the value of the animals. After the deer hunt and boar hunt there was a large celebration, while after the fox hunt there was no celebration, just the exchanging of the pelt (Pedrosa, p. 72). The reactions to the killings correlate perfectly with the reaction to Sir Gawain. The deer and the boar were praised for their contents and were celebrated for what they were giving to the members of the castle. However, the fox was greeted with disappointment for it was not worth much, which can run parallel to the disappointing reaction that the reader's have to Sir Gawain's actions (Pedrosa, p. 72). Following the deer hunt, Lord Bertilak called all the servants and the women into the dining hall so, The venison be revealed in full view (Anonymous, p. 166). Lord Bertilak praised the size of the kill and was so proud of what it was worth that he called his entire staff to view it. This shows how large-scale their celebration truly was and emphasizes how valuable the deer really was to them. This correlates with the reader's reaction to Sir Gawain's faithfulness.

Likewise, when he kills the boar, he announces it in front of everyone, and tells his story about defeating the beast. The reader, once again, shares this joyful reaction to Sir Gawain's loyalty. Finally, the reaction to the fox was not joyful at all. In fact, it was a reaction of disappointment. When referencing his return gift of the fox pelt for Sir Gawain's passionate kisses, Lord Bertilak announces, Mine's a miserable match (Anonymous, p. 177). This announcement displays just how much disappointment Lord Bertilak had in the fox pelt. When Sir Gawain took the green girdle, the readers felt the same sense of emotion in his actions. The inclusion of the detailed reactions of the characters in the story to the animals, truly displays the natural reactions that viewers of this story have.
Lord Bertilak's detailed hunts in the story, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, are matched with the detailed approaches of Lady Bertilak upon Sir Gawain. These stories help to develop the realization that Sir Gawain is in fact, human. The author does this through placing Lord Bertilak's hunts and Lady Bertilak's hunts parallel to each other. The author also uses the character's reactions to the killings to express similar reactions that readers have to Sir Gawain's actions. The author portrays these specific elements by using the hunting scenes of the deer, boar, and fox, and the reactions to them.

Works Cited

Anonymous.Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Norton Anthology: English Literature: The Major Authors, Edited by Stephen Greenblatt, Norton, 2013, pp. 135-188, 2 vols.
Goldhurst, William. The Green and the Gold: The Major Theme of Gawain and The Green Knight. College English, vol.20, No. 2, Nov. 1958, pp.61-65. JSTOR www.jstor.org/stable/372161 Accessed, Nov. 12th, 2018.
Pedrosa, Antonio Vicente Casas. Symbolic Numbers and Their Functions In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. Universidad De Las Palmas De Gran Canaria, 2006, acceda.ulpgc.es:8443/xmlui/bitstream/10553/6418/1/0234349_00012_0004.pdf. Accessed Nov. 12th, 2018.
Savage, Henry L. The Significance of the Hunting Scenes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, vol. 27, no. 1, 1928, pp. 115. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27703094.
Waldron, R. A. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Google Books, Northwestern University Press, 1970,
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=99-SAHCAMmoC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=sir+gawain+and+the+green+knight&ots=prp2sWNSM9&sig=loGGJj50zm3ZMaqLt1Mpi8AWD8Q#v=onepage&q=sir%20gawain%20and%20the%20green%20knight&f=false. Accessed, Oct. 8th, 2018

Did you like this example?

The Value of Hunting in Sir Gawain. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Themes Used Within Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The epic poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by an adept, anonymous author in the mid to late fourteenth century, is a classic amongst the literary world. It is a story that resides in a medieval setting and procures the classic subject matter of good and evil. The poem contains several themes and motifs, such as man and the natural world, principles, rule and order, tradition and customs, as well as respect and reputation, which are key to making the epic poem a literary work of art. In this essay, the topics of the origins of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight will be discussed, along with how the themes were utilized throughout the story.

The author of the epic poem remains unknown, but translator, Burton Raffel, believes that he or she was either an aristocrat or someone who was intimately familiar with the way of aristocracy and knew about the French and French customs. The poem was originally written in Middle English, which was prevalent between 1150 and 1475 a.d., it is estimated from evidence of events and lifestyle that the poem was composed between 1350 and 1400 a.d. Many literary intellects believes that the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight composed a poem that truly captured a clear vision of the realm of knights for modern generations.

As discussed in the introduction to this essay, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is comprised of different themes and motifs. Each of these themes play a vital role in the complexity of the epic poem. For example, good vs. evil is displayed very early within the poem when the Green Knight first appears (Part 1, lines 237- 249) because once he appears upon the scene the atmosphere drastically changes, moving from one of exultation to one of apprehension.

Another example of the themes used within the poem is when the theme of traditions and customs is made palpable at the end of the poem. “The King comforted his nephew and claimed that henceforth all knights and ladies of the Round Table would wear silk girdles of green for the sake of Sir Gawain. So it was declared by Arthur, and so it was done forevermore.” (Part IV. Lines 2475- 2476). This is an example of traditions and customs because wearing the silk girdles is now something that the people of the Round Table would do in order to honor Sir Gawain for centuries to come.

In final thought, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a classic literary work that is credited with possessing several forms of lessons, motifs, and themes that could still be learned from today just as it was 500 years ago.

Did you like this example?

Themes Used within Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Movie Game Night

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the movie Game Night have a lot of unique connections that deal with the plot and the role of free will. In both of these stories, the characters experience similar journeys that involve a game and the real world. The characters are all unaware of reality and they must undergo difficult trials to reach one goal. The problems that are designed to test their knowledge cause them to act on free will and they have to carefully think about their own actions. Even though they are oblivious to the truth, their decisions are extremely important because it will have a major effect on them later. The characters are greatly impacted by their choices and the role of free will plays a big part in these two texts.

Sir Gawain and the friend group in Game Night do not realize what is actually happening and they do not notice that they are continuously being tricked by the people around them. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain expects to continue the Christmas game once he reaches the Green Chapel; however, he is unknowingly playing the game during his visit at the Lord's castle. When he met up with the Green Knight, the knight revealed to him that his real name is Lord Bertilak de Hautdesert and that Gawain's stay at the castle was a trial to test his virtues. Lord Bertilak de Hautdesert, who is disguised as the Green Knight, informs Gawain that it was he who arranged it [himself] and [he sent his wife] to test [him] (296). Gawain then learns that the contract he had with the Lord was meant to reveal his true qualities and their exchanges represented his interaction with the Green Knight. Like Sir Gawain, the characters in Game Night went through a similar experience.

The main characters, Max and Annie, host weekly game nights with their friends Ryan, Michelle, and Kevin. Max's brother, Brooks, decides that he will host game night when he comes to visit, and planned for the them to participate in a murder mystery game. Brooks explains that they will not know what's real and what's fake (Game Night). Unfortunately for Brooks, he is kidnapped by real criminals and no one helps him because they think it is all part of the game that he set up. Throughout the night, they discover that Brooks is actually involved in a dangerous crime and they have to go through difficult tasks to save him. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Game Night both consists of the reversal of a game and actual events, and how the characters are completely blindsided by the truth.

The role of free will is particularly important in these two texts. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain gets to choose his actions and what he got to do for himself as he was on his way to fight the Green Knight. Initially, King Arthur was the one who was supposed to play the Christmas game, but Gawain stepped in because he thought his death would be least loss (246). Gawain volunteered himself to play the dangerous game because he wants to protect the honor of his uncle, King Arthur, and his court. He also chooses to accept the Lord's agreement in exchanging what he has acquired in the castle to the Lord's hunting prey for three days. The Lord's wife, Lady Bertilak, decides to give him a kiss on the first day of the contract and she proceeds to do so on the second and third day. Each day, Gawain exchanged the kisses from Lady Bertilak as the Lord gives him his hunting prey in return.

On the final day, however, she also gives Gawain the green girdle as he leaves the castle to go to the Green Chapel and compete with the Green Knight. Gawain chooses not to give the Lord the green girdle because Lady Bertilak convinced him that it had the power of survival. Gawain thought that the girdle was a godsend for the hazard he must face when he reached the chapel to receive his deserts (283), so he did not return it. He did not trade the girdle because he wanted to live when he went up against the Green Knight, which resulted in the Green Knight to choose to spare Gawain's life. The role of free will affected Gawain because his actions were responsible for his future, even though he did not know the circumstance.

The characters in Game Night also had the ability to act on free will. They all choose to participate in the murder mystery game because they are highly competitive, which causes them to do anything to win. When they discover that Brooks has actually been kidnapped by real felons, and they go on a long adventure that involves tough challenges to save him. Max assumes that he will go through this mission by himself because he thinks that it's up to [him] to fix it (Game Night) since he is Brooks' brother, but everyone decides that he will not go through it alone. No matter how dangerous the situations are, they still continue to risk their lives to save Brooks, placing themselves deeper into crime. They crash a top secret party that is filled with the richest people in the world in attempt to retrieve a jeweled egg that Brooks stole from a criminal. Annie knows that Brooks' captor wants the egg and the only way to save [Brooks] is to get that egg from[Marlon Freeman] (Game Night), the man who the egg was sold to.

They also choose to get involved in many car chases, fights, and shootings in order to rescue Brooks from the threatening criminals. They all actively work together to figure out how to escape from crime and to think of clever ways to get Brooks back to safety. The way Max and his friends react to these obstacles will determine whether or not Brooks survives.

The unique situation in these texts about the reversal of a game and the real world causes the characters to act on free will. Because of their unfamiliarity with the truth, the decisions they make do not reflect what will actually happen since the truth is kept a secret from them. The role of free will creates a connection between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Game Night because each character unexpectedly made decisions that will end up affecting them in their future.

Did you like this example?

Movie Game Night. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Sir Gawain’s Persuasive

Sir Gawain's Persuasive

In the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight translated by John Gardner, we see the literary element Romance' used. We see it exercised in a few different ways. Sir Gawain is an example when he stands up to the Green Knight. Due to this act the chivalrous knight deserves the respect of sir arthur the king, an all others; especially those who resided in the great hall when the Green Knight appeared.

When the Green Knight, in the narrative Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, appeared in the great hall during the feast he brought a challenge with him. His challenge included something that was dangerous but a challenge no less. The Green Knight was a romance of the color green. A bizarre and shocking sight for those around. The hall fell silent when he claimed his challenge. He asks which knight was bravest to find and meet him in a year and a day to accept the challenge he had presented them with, which was a blow for a blow. The only man in the hall brave enough to accept was Sir Gawain. And with it the Green knight got himself into his position,his head bent forward a little, the bare flesh showing...Sir Gawain laid hold the axe...he slashed at the naked neck (lines 1,2, 5,7 page 161).

A year and a day later Sir Gawain kept his word and set off for the Green Knight. On his journey to seek him out he unfortunately got lost but stumbled upon a keep. The Lord invited him to stay with him and his very beautiful wife who was very bewitching with her seductive charms. Throughout his stay they played a game. Sir Gawain and the Lord. They would would exchange a gift they gained throughout the day. Being a sport and truthful, the stolen kisses he received from the Lords wife, were gifted to the host on the cheek. It had been difficult to refuse the lady and her advances but thus far he's succeeded.

That was until she tried to present tokins of her affection but tricked him inn the end after he refuses the others. She told him he who knew what charms are woven within it...for the man who goes into battle in this...for nothing on this earth, however uncanny, can kill him(lines 150,152,155 page 165) when she presented him with her green sash. This he took, an when the Lord came for his gift the knight presented him with three more kisses but he did not present the sash; he kept it in secret.

Although he kept the ladies green sash he did so for the fear of his life. The knight departed for the Green Knight. When found he got ready to exchange the blows. I'll pay you promptly all that I promised before (line 229 page 167). The Green Knight boasted. The green knight teases Sir Gawain a few times but the third strike he does meet the nape of his neck but does not cut his head off. We learn here that the Green knight was the Lord. Sir Gawain was put under a test as the Lords keep and he prevailed all but one when he kept the sash. The Lord did not blame the knight for the reasoning he kept it. The knight realized his mistake but in his honor to keep his word he atoned for his wrongdoing.Over all he was brave and honorable.

In the narrative In the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight translated by John Gardner, a ratiocination of this essay; due to his acts of; chivalry the knight deserves the respect of sir arthur the king, an all others. He had been brave and honorable in the end given his rights of a human to be afraid of death. He still knelt down to take the blow.

Did you like this example?

Sir Gawain's Persuasive. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Income Contingent Loans

Income Contingent Loans Can Solve the Student Loan Debt Crisis

Students in the US are currently drowning in student loan debt. One recent study found that the majority of American borrowers, 56% of them struggle with paying their student loan payments in the first five years after college.(Paragraph 12) Finding a solution to the problem will help millions of students. This US should adopt income contingent loans to solve the student loan debt crisis.
Imagine yourself being fresh out of college, wondering what you are going to do next. What would your plan be? In America young adults have fewer opportunities to land a good paying job without an education. Students believe that after graduating college that they will land an awesome paying job and things will be great.

This is usually not the case, entry level paying jobs pay much less than what students expect. Students then end up in defaulting in their student loans. In Britain, by contrast, 98% of their borrowers are meeting their obligations (Paragraph 12) to their income contingent loans. These loans are simple for students. The payments are at a fixed percentage of the borrowers income, The IRS then automatically deducts payments from the students paychecks. Since income contingent loans go by the students income the students with lower paying jobs below poverty level end up paying little to nothing. Students with higher paying jobs and up paying more to paying off their loans quicker. After 20 to 30 years of a loan not being paid the student loan is forgiven.

In Britain and Australia they have proven that income contingent loans have worked for their students for many years. This idea was proposed by and noble prize winning economist Milton Friedman back in 1955. One might wonder why they don't already exists. Historically, administrative complications had been the major culprit. Until last year, the federal government managed most student loans by paying private banks to act as Linders and then guaranteeing their losses. (Paragraph 8) The problem arises when students sign on the dotted line, they don't realize that the consequences of all the debt will affect them the rest of their lives.

These students end up not being able to pay their student loans, causing them to go into default along with paying late fees and extra interest. Going into default means that the students credit is decreasing month by month as it is in default. Students begin to get married and have children they are looking into buying houses and new cars, this then becomes an issue due to their student loans being in default for so long. Because student loans can almost never be discharged in bankruptcy, default in loans can hunt students for a lifetime. (Paragraph 13) If not paid off before retiring this can result in garnishment of Social Security checks to make good on defaulted student loans.

The student loan debt crisis can't be solved with income contingent loans. this week the US erased $13 million of unpaid tuition receivables belonging to 9438 people associated with Everest college a Corinthian subsidiary. (Taylor) Nobody ever defaults on a federal student loan ever again. The whole concept of Default is expunged from the system. (Para. 5) Income contingent loans are extremely simple. They are the easiest way to pay back student loans.

This allows student to be able to buy cars, houses and live a quality life. Students wouldn't have to worry about receiving 10 calls a night from creditors haseling them to have to pay money back. people unlucky enough to graduate during the horrible recessions or even more likely to have bad jobs or no jobs and struggle paying back their loans. (Paragraph 3) The students who want to enter low paying jobs such a teacher, or social work would no longer have to worry about unimaginable student debt. With this being said the republicans and democrats both agree that income contingent loans are a great idea, helping students with loans debts. This isn't a political issue this is a human issue that all political sides agree upon.

It is true that students who pay over long periods of time with pay more interest and that the taxpayers will bear the cost of partially forgiven loans. But, under the current system the federal government is already eating the cost of defaulted loans, and low income students who can't repay loans are often hit with fines and penalties that dwarf the cost of extra interest. (Paragraph 10) Even though they may be simple, with the government controlling the loans, it is hard for student to meet all the requirements such as different rates, terms, lenders and consolidation options. While trying to solve the student loan crisis, the prices of community and university colleges are still on the rise and don't plan to drop any time soon. But this does provide an outlet to paying back student loans.

The millions of young people today, who owe over $1 trillion in loans, may want to consider my example (Siegel) I believe that income contingent loans will solve the student loan crisis for all Americans. When it is based on the student's income the student loans will never be an issue. Even students below poverty will never have to suffer from their student loan debt. Student will no longer have to deal with the annoying collection phone calls that threaten people with up to 10 phone calls a night. People will be free of debt and more open to purchasing houses and homes helping the economy be better for everyone. Students will no longer have to be haunted by default of loans. Income contingent loans are just one way to help students be debt free and in helping our government by not having to write off defaulted loans.

Did you like this example?

Income Contingent Loans. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Walmart Supply Chain

Contents

Recommendations
Warehousing
Evaluation
References

Walmart of China's poor transportation system contributed to their supply chain inefficiencies. The issues with the transportation was caused by the various amounts of disbursement centers and the distance between them. Although, the company had large cube trucks the issue was that they would only ship with full loads and with the various disbursement centers carrying limited inventory it could take up to two weeks before a shipment was ready. (Johnson, 2015) With this cost effect method for the transportation department many inefficiencies were created for the stores, either empty shelves for lack of product or over packed inventory spaces to avoid running out of goods for sale.

The inefficiencies in Walmart of China's transportation department is largely since the countries transportation infrastructure is very poor, according to Robert Salomon in his article, Here's Why Walmart Stumbled on the Road to China. Although recently China has invested heavily in its transportation infrastructure it is still inefficient to transport goods due to both the country's size and its air, ground, and rail infrastructure does not meet developed country standards. (Salomon, 2016) These inadequacies burdens Walmart financially and erodes its ability to properly supply their facilities with scheduled inventory levels. Especially their highway systems only the larger cities in the country have adequate roadways for travel making the trucking distribution of inventory extremely difficult. Until China's transportation methods are more efficient the delivering of goods and meeting those supply demands will remain impossible.

Recommendations

Transportation costs of goods in China is four times as high as western countries. (Yanrong, 2013) This is a major concern for Walmart of China, because there is a high risk of impacting profit margins if transportation and logistics were to encounter any inefficiencies. The need to evaluate and rectify any potential gaps in the supply chain can reduce business strains and improve product flow from suppliers to consumers. They have already been successful in consolidating both its distribution centers and purchasing locations to aid in a more efficient distribution hub. With a strong centralized distribution they can now expand its capabilities and connect with the growing distribution networks According to Knowler as of July 2018, China now has over 12,500 miles of high speed rail lines that are now beginning to be utilized to ship cargo items, (Knowler, 2018) and with these new connections to their distribution centers items can be shipped across longer stretches in shorter timelines.

This implementation will enable Walmart to keep pace with a growing economy and the necessity to maintain inventory levels for consumers. With improving distribution, the focus of the transportation department Walmart of China can work with the existing trucking distribution centers by focusing their routes on closer locations making routine stops easier for replenishing their inventory and focusing on implementing the use of the railway cargo system to accommodate the locations that are outside trucking areas. Although this use could be costly to implement the return on investment could be strong because the stores will stay stocked with inventory to maintain profits.

Warehousing

Evaluation

Walmart of China has been damaged with supply chain inadequacies which embodied multiple warehouse locations without central direction and alliance. In 2011, Walmart of China had five distribution centers that serviced all their stores, which suffered for operation shortfalls and could not properly service both product suppliers in the stores. This lead to many stores taking on the extra cost of renting extra warehouse space to store extra inventory so they could keep their shelves stocked. To fulfill this space Walmart of China has increased their amount of distribution centers to 20 by 2015. (Johnson, 2015) Along with expanding physical locations they consolidated the buy offices and adopted the Walmart of the United States warehousing strategies of cross docking and staple stock. (Johnson, 2015) With the increased distribution centers, they solicited third party logistic service providers to aid in inventory requirements. Some of this is a shared space with limited availability, it was a critical decision to allow proper support to maintain current growth and forecasted demand. Walmart of China runs a risk of limited space in a short amount of time when using third party providers.

These distribution centers have successfully adopted the practice of cross docking and staple stocking to reduce inventory holding costs and warehouse space requirements. The ability to cross dock allows warehouse flexibility and the ability to service a larger number of stores and products with little to no barriers since the items are rapidly transferred to another truck within the facility. This practice does however become problematic when it comes to scheduling with both product and store delivery distributers. Logistics must be scheduled proficiently, if not deliveries will become conflicted. To prevent this conflict, they need to use the staple stock method, where they store warehouse inventory and tactically load the crates for delivery. This allows for easy substitutions to prevent any mistakes. By applying these strategic methods, it has allowed Walmart of China to reduce costs that effect their competitive customers pricing.

The ability to securely hold hazardous material has become a large concern as of late 2015, after a warehouse explosion in Tianjin. The explosion was due to the improper handling of hazardous materials in a warehouse facility. This resulted in increasing investigations to ensure hazardous materials or dangerous goods are stored within the safety compliant measures. (Trayner, 2015) This has resulted in an increase of security which end results were two harbors being shut down. This presents real adversity for supply chain practitioners who are used to holding a safety stock of product after import in a licensed DG warehouse; and likewise, for those who are used to manufacturing for stock and then shipping for export or domestic sale at short notice. This possibility now no longer exists. Stocks have had to be eliminated, and production cycles for export now need to match exactly the departure of the intended vessel so that the container can be carried straight from the factory to the harborside DG warehouse. (Krassenstein, 2016) The importance of a dangerous goods qualified warehouse is a necessity to facilitate the ability to supply hazardous material products to Walmart of China's consumers.

References

Johnson, F., (2015). Walmart China-Supply Chain Transformation. Richard Ivey School of
Business Foundation. Retrieved from: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/download?url=%2Fcourses%2F562993%2Fitems%2FW15534-PDF-ENG%2Fcontent&metadata=e30%3D
Knowler, G. (2018). China-Europe Rail Growth Unsettles Air Cargo Service Providers.
Retrieved from: https://www.joc.com/rail-intermodal/international-rail/china-europe-rail-growth-unsettles-air-cargo-service-providers_20180720.html
Krassenstein, D., (2016). China Restrictions on Hazardous Cargo Threaten Supply Chains,
Companies. Retrieved from: https://www.joc.com/port-news/asian-ports/china-restrictions-hazardous-cargo-threaten-supply-chains-companies_20160105.html
Lu, C., (2014). Walmart's Successful Supply Chain Management. Retrieved from:
https://www.tradegecko.com/blog/incredibly-successful-supply-chain-management-walmart
Salomon, R., (2016) Here's Why Walmart Stumbled on the Road to China. Retrieved from:
https://fortune.com/2016/02/21/why-walmart-stumbled-on-road-to-china/
Yanrong, L., (2013). Strategy Adjustment of Walmart China. CS Canada Management
Science and Engineering. Retrieved from: https://cscanada.net/index.php/mse/article/view/j.mse.1913035X20130704.Z012

Did you like this example?

Walmart supply chain. (2019, Jul 26). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/07/page/9/

Advantages of Vegetarian Diets

Cite this page

Gilgamesh was a Real Historical Figure

Was Gilgamesh a Real Person?

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Sumerian Poems of Gilgamesh

References

Cite this page

The Epic of Gilgamesh Explication Assignment

Cite this page

Warrior Ethos in the Tale of Sohrab and the Epic of Gilgamesh

Works cited

Cite this page

Vegetarian: is it Better than Eating Meat?

References:

Cite this page

Grief in the Epic of Gilgamesh

Cite this page

A Book History of the Epic of Gilgamesh and Looking at the Book as Artifact

What is the Epic of Gilgamesh? A History

The Discovery of the Tablets

Cite this page

Great Leaders: Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois

Cite this page

Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois Compare and Contrast

Cite this page

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe’s Death

Cite this page

How Social Media Affects Self-Esteem

Cite this page

Social Media and its Effects on Adolescents Self-Esteem

Introduction

Search Process

Key Findings

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Appendix

Cite this page

Affirmative Action: Racism or Not?

Cite this page

Slavery and Racism Throughout the History of the United States

Cite this page

The Tempest Vs. Macbeth

Cite this page

Debate over Whether or not there is God

Cite this page

About the Negation of God

Cite this page

Religious Knowledge and the Nature of God

Cite this page

The Crusades and the Spread of Christianity

Cite this page

Review of the Book the First Crusaders

Cite this page

Urbanization in the Gilded Age

Cite this page

The Gilded Age: a Time of Transformation

Cite this page

Red Badge of Courage Analysis

Cite this page

Comparison of the Red Badge of Courage and the Veteran

Cite this page

The Value of Hunting in Sir Gawain

The Value of Hunting in Sir Gawain

Works Cited

Cite this page

Themes Used Within Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Cite this page

Movie Game Night

Cite this page

Sir Gawain’s Persuasive

Sir Gawain's Persuasive

Cite this page

Income Contingent Loans

Income Contingent Loans Can Solve the Student Loan Debt Crisis

Cite this page

Walmart Supply Chain

Recommendations

Warehousing