Sunday, March 29, 2020

Beowulf Archetypes rough draft free essay sample

Archetypes are used in almost every story ever told. Some may be basic, while others can be more elaborate. The most important archetypes are those used in characters. If one was to compare characters from different tales, no matter the time period in which they were created, a strong similarity would be strikingly apparent. This is because of archetypes. An archetype sets the tone for a certain thing. The archetype of the color white, for instance, is innocence. This causes one to associate the color white with innocence. The same goes for character archetype. The rchetypes of characters effectively placed unto the plotline of Beowulf both make Beowulf stronger, and essentially destroy him as well. These influences, combined with the heroic archetype shown in the character of Beowulf, have set a model for some modern tales of a heros Journey. An example of this is The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. In the hobbit, many of the character archetypes as first presented in Beowulf appear again. In Beowulf, you will see many archetypes used in characters placed into the story to move it along. Many will change the premise of stories forever. The se of archetypes in Beowulf both influence Beowulf in his quests as well as modern literature today. Out of the many archetypes shown in Beowulf, two characters show the greatest influence and biggest impact on the life and success of Beowulf. One of those characters is Wiglaf. He becomes a faithful follower of Beowulf towards the end of the tale, and in the end sets the tone for the character of a loyal sidekick. While most sidekicks accompany a hero on all of his endeavors, Wiglaf is only there for the last. The last, however, turns out to be the most important; as it is the las t thing Beowulf will do. Wiglaf is the only one to support our hero at this point, and does not give up on him even though he is well aware that Beowulf will go down in his last battle. He also knows that he is risking his own life as well, yet he goes without hesitation, quote (- ). This illustrates the type of character Wiglaf is, thus creating an archetype for the sidekick character, a common character used in most stories. An example of this is [ ], quote This is an example of the sidekick archetype appearing in more modern literature, proving the impact that archetypes have. In Beowulf, Wiglaf encourages Beowulf to finish the dragon before he perishes, hich he inevitably will. That is the Job of a sidekick. A sidekicks Job is not to rescue the hero, or to step in and save the day, but to support and encourage the hero that he or she is so devoted to. If it had not been for Wiglafs support, Beowulf may have withered away without finishing what he began, killing his legacy with him. Begin with Grendel quote. (- ). Grendel is perhaps the most important archetypal character in the tale; his archetype being the creature from the nightmare, shown when he savagely destroys the men in Herot; Grendel quote ( ). This shows that Beowulf: Archetypes rough draft By concetta98

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Astro-Hoaxes You Shouldnt Take Seriously

Astro-Hoaxes You Shouldnt Take Seriously Every year we see stories about how Earth is going to be hit by an asteroid, or that Mars will be as big as the full Moon, or a NASA probe has found evidence of life on Mars. In fact, the list of astronomy hoaxes is never-ending. One way to find out whats really happening is to check out the debunking site Snopes. Their writers are usually on top of the latest stories, and not just in weird science. Earth as a Target: Maybe, but Not the Way You Think The recurring story about Earth and an incoming asteroid  usually shows up in the supermarket press, often with a projected date, but few other details. It almost always cites NASA, but doesnt name a scientist who is making the prediction. In addition, the story rarely mentions amateur astronomers and their observations. There are thousands of these people around the world watching the skies, and if an incoming asteroid were to be on a collision course with Earth, theyd see it (unless it was really quite small). It is true that NASA and a world-wide group of both professional and amateur observers are monitoring the space near Earth for any possible Earth-crossing asteroids. Those would be the most likely types of objects to pose a threat to our planet. Announcements of Earth-crossing or Earth-approaching asteroids would show up at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Near Earth Object Program web page. And  such objects are usually spotted pretty far in advance. The known Potentially Hazardous asteroids have very, very small chances of colliding with Earth in the next 100 years; its less than one tenth of one percent of a chance.  So, the answer to whether or not theres an asteroid homing in on Earth is No. Just no. And, for the record, supermarket tabloids are not scientific journals. Mars Will Be as Big as the Full Moon!   Of all the astronomy hoaxes to circulate on the web, the idea that Mars will look as big as the full Moon on some given date is one of the most inaccurate. The Moon lies 238,000 miles away from us; Mars never gets closer than 36 million miles. Theres no way they can look the same size, not unless Mars wants to get a lot closer to us, and if it did, it would be pretty catastrophic. The hoax began with a poorly worded email announcing that  Mars - as seen through a 75-power telescope - would look as big as the full Moon would look to the naked eye. This was supposed to occur in 2003, when Mars and Earth were closest to each other in their orbits (but still more than 34 million miles apart). Now, the same rumor comes around every year. No matter where we are in our orbits with respect to each other, Mars will look like a small point of light from Earth and the Moon will look big and lovely. NASA Is (Not) Hiding Life on Mars The red planet Mars currently has two working rovers on its surface:  Opportunity and Curiosity. They are sending back images of rocks, mountains, valleys, and craters. Those images are taken during daylight hours under all kinds of lighting conditions. Occasionally an image shows a rock in the shadows. Due to our propensity to see faces in rocks and clouds (a phenomenon called pareidolia), its sometimes easy to see a shadowy rock as a form, a crab, or a statue of a debutante. The infamous Face on Mars turned out to be a rocky bluff with shadows that looked like eyes and a mouth. It was a trick of light and shadow playing across rock outcrops and cliffs. Its like the Old Man of the Mountain in New Hampshire in the United States. It was a rock overhang that, from one angle, looked like an old mans profile. If you looked at it from another direction, it was just a rocky cliff. Now, because it cracked and crashed to the ground, its a pile of rock. There are already some pretty interesting things on Mars that science can tell us about, so theres no need to imagine fantastic creatures where only rocks exist. And, just because Mars scientists debunk the existence of a face or a rock that looks like a crab does not mean theyre hiding life on Mars. If they had found any shred of evidence of living beings on the red planet now (or in the past), it would be huge news. At least, thats what common sense tells us. And common sense is an important factor in doing science as well as exploring the universe.