Career Development Theory Comparison Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Career Development Theory Comparison - Assignment Example Holland proposes that people prefer and find work environments according to their personality type and individuals are highly satisfied if they are able to work in a work environment that suits their personality. Another career development theory is Frank Parson’s theory of trait and factor, the theory was proposed in 1909. Parson states that first an individual’s personality traits needed to perform a particular job should be identified and the individual should be awarded that job if he has the required traits to perform the job. The theory further states if individuals are hired for a job in accordance with their knowledge skills and abilities, they are going to perform well and will be satisfied with the work. Donald Super came up with the theory of the development of self-concept, the theory states that self-concept (what you think about yourself) of individual changes with the passage of time and development of self-concept depends on an individual’s experiences. Super argued that career development takes place throughout an individual’s life and his career choices change as time passes. Super believed that career development takes place in following five stages: growth, exploration, establishment, and maintenance and declaration stage. Bandura’s theory of social cognitive development states that an individual learns how to perform tasks and job by observing others do a particular job. The theory states that through this learning process, individuals shape their attitudes, behavior, principles and acquire competencies. The theory further states that to obtain knowledge, skills, and abilities, a learner has to pay attention to what others are doing, a learner has to save and remember the information obtained from observation, the learner has to then practice the learned behavior. The theory even states that individuals have to be motivated in order to make sure that learning takes place.

The history of geisha Essay Example for Free

The history of geisha Essay The history of geisha is often rooted to the 11th century into two noble women who invented a new dance on which they entertained the warriors. In order to represent the court dress of the warriors these women donned white outfits, and they wore tall hat, long white gown, and swords sheathed on their waists. The dance remained and as time progress the costumes changed into a black hat and red skirts and eventually the hat along with the sword were taken away from the picture. On the other hand, there are also some versions in the history of the geisha from which people believe that geisha were originally males who gave entertainment in a society they refers to as the water world. As time goes on there had been a huge transformation and came the emergence of female geisha. As the geisha’s popularity increased they started to entertain in tea houses and started setting the trend of those which are in in the Japanese culture. In 1779, however, the authorities were outraged with the way the geisha conducts their selves without paying taxes to the government and thus disciplinary rules were established along with a code of conducts which is still being uphold in today’s time. Geisha claim that they do not sell their bodies, but their skills and for that they should not be compared to a prostitute. Fact is, geisha are highly respected and admired people in society. Geisha are well aware of the rules of their profession and they are given a choice on whether they want to continue being a geisha or not. Since the geisha knows beforehand everything which they would face in the name of their profession they accept all their duties and do it them perfectly. Geisha could also be affected by the public in that they are â€Å"walking work of arts† and it is their goal to please those people to whom they are performing. The public’s acceptance and appreciation of their effort matters greatly to a geisha and this is basically the reason why they continue to hone their skills all throughout their lives (Cobb, 1998). Geisha is a Japanese term which basically means â€Å"artist†. Geisha are proficient hostesses who are well adept in keeping their guests amused by means of numerous art presentations. They could normally be seen in tea houses which they call O-chaya. Geisha are educated in several customary skills like Japanese ancient dances (Chiyo was noted to dance one of these dances alone in one part of the movie Memoirs of a Geisha), and songs. They are also educated in handling musical instruments and that is basically the reason why they play so beautifully. Aside from that, the geishas usually wear kimonos and they are highly proficient in tea ceremonies, calligraphy, conversation, serving the guests with alcoholic beverages, and many more. Geisha would have to study and strive to perfect all of these skills all throughout their careers (Downer, 2001). The success of a geisha is based on the way they exhibit beauty, grace, artistic skills, charisma, flawless good manners, sophistication, and elegance, thus contrary to what others may think, geishas are not prostitutes who make their livings by selling their bodies because in the contrary, geishas sells their skills and not their body and this is primarily the reason why in the movie Memoirs of a Geisha one of the ladies who handles geisha became so furious when she caught one of the geisha with a sperm on her legs, as a result the lady gave severe punishment to the geisha in question (Cobb, 1998). The only ones allowed in geisha houses are those guests who are established customers of the establishments and they do not take on new clients unless they are introduced by one of their old customers (this was also seen in the movie Memoirs of a Geisha). Basically, the being a geisha is an extremely expensive and exclusive business, in fact, geisha parties could cost a person thousands of American dollars. In 1920s geisha were about 80, 000 in number, however nowadays existing geisha are only about 10, 000 in number and this is partly due to the westernization taking place in Japan (Mishima, 2007). The roles of a geisha include training their selves in a variety of traditional arts like classical dancing, knowing how to play the Shamisen, and singing. Nowadays, geisha could also act as a model and they could even attend international tours. The work of a geisha is to entertain their guests at expensive tea houses, they would have to serve the guests their drinks, they have to talk with them, and most especially guests go to geisha houses to watch them perform. Geisha keep various different relationships with men, and yet they could not be called prostitutes. It is considered proper for a geisha to have herself a patron or what they call danna whom she is greatly involved with. Their involvement could come in financial, emotional, and even sexual terms and yet it is for the geisha to decide whether she wants to have a danna or not. Geisha could always be seen with their hair fashioned in a bun and they always wear chic kimonos and white make-ups (Marshall, 2005). Geisha also entertains at business meals and parties but these could costs a sizeable sum of money. One could rest assure that whatever it is talked about inside the premises would never be repeated by the geisha outside, also one should not expect geisha to do one-night stands because they do not, nor do they cook or serve their guests with food (Marshall, 2005). Basically, there are two kinds of geisha, the other one is referred to as tachikata (usually made up by maiko girls) and they mainly perform traditional dances the other one is called jikata (usually made up by older women) who usually perform by singing or playing an instrument (Marshall, 2005). Geisha are usually those who are daughters of a geisha or those who were sold by their relatives to an O-chaya. A large number of geisha were sold by their relatives because they either lost their parents or the family could not afford to raise them because of poverty. At the beginning of Memoirs of a Geisha, this was clearly depicted when Chiyo and her sister were separated and Chiyo ended up in the hands of an O-chaya (Fisher, Spielberg, and Wick 2005). The O-chaya would spend considerable amount of money in order to train beautiful young girls into the art of becoming a geisha. It is mainly the duty of the okamisan (mother who runs the O-chaya) to teach the girls into becoming proper geishas. The training is hard and rigorous, another aspect which was carefully portrayed in the movie. Upon reaching the age of 15-20 these girls eventually becomes maikos and they are made into an apprentice of a geisha, in Chiyo’s case the geisha she was apprenticed into is a vicious female. By the age of 20 a maiko is faced with a decision if she wants to carry on becoming a geisha or if she wants to quit. The initiation ceremony of becoming a geisha is called erigae, this also the same time when the girl’s virginity would be sold to the highest bidder (another factor which had been clearly illustrated in the movie), however, this kind of arrangement no longer takes place in today’s time. Basically, geisha are respected women in the society and they are known for their skills and beauty. They could not be likened to prostitutes in any way because surely, prostitutes are not admired by people and certainly they are not looked upon by young girls (in the Memoirs of a Geisha, Chiyo could be seen admiring the dresses, make-ups of a geisha, she is seen peeping and admiring the way a geisha conducts herself). Geisha are one of the most respected profession in Japan, in fact it is possible that it is the only profession in Japan a woman could have which would make her consistently rank her above men in the profession. Geisha also gives women opportunities to work in spite of their old age and due to the cultural and traditional values associated in this maintenance of traditional art geisha are given and treated with a great deal of respect they otherwise would not be able to acquire had they been given another profession (Fisher, Spielberg, and wick, 2005). Most geisha accepts their roles in the society and they even find their fate better that of other women. Most geisha have an intimate relationship with one of their clients and they are often referred to as the geisha’s patron. In traditional Japanese, almost every marriage was arranged by the parents or other relatives in order to ensure their status in lives. Due to this particular course of event, Japanese men were often found with two women in his lives, the one being the wife while the other is the woman the man really loves. It is then considered natural for powerful and influential men to have such arrangements in their lives and most of these women happen to be a geisha. However, a relationship between a geisha and her patron is not often based on love, usually they only manage to find contentment and some sort of a happy relationship without being tied to one another. Although a geisha and her patron may have an affectionate relationship it is not always based on love. In a way this somehow retains the contentment in spite of being married to the woman one does not love. As was mentioned earlier most geisha came from poverty stricken families and as such, marriage to a man of higher rank is somehow impossible for them, however, their status as a geisha gives them the chance to select which man she would have as a patron and she could have a happy life with her loved one which would have been impossible had she not been a geisha (Downer, 2001). The relationship between a wife and a geisha is not also strained or bad since geisha are not seen as a threat to marriage. Customarily the wife and the geisha have a different role to play in the Japanese society and as was already mentioned earlier most relationship between a geisha and her patron is not based on love and thus they are not seen as a threat to marriage. In fact, women usually know the identity of their spouse geisha and there are even times when the wife and geisha meet together. Geisha usually visits the house of their patron particularly during Obon Festival or New Year festivity on which the geisha would offer some sort of present to their patron’s wives, they also, at times, do some performances meant for the family of their customers. There are even times when a wife seeks the help of a geisha in persuading her husband into doing something. Geisha’s are also present in the funeral of their patron’s and most of the times they are the ones in charge in making the necessary preparations something which the family accepts and welcome especially in their time of grief (Cobb, 1998). It is thus a sad thing that the umber of geisha are dwindling due to the westernization of Japanese culture as well as for the fact that geisha comes in expensive prices, something men are no longer very willing to pay especially since there are those hostesses who are not as expensive as geisha are. Another reason why their numbers are dwindling is because the training to be a geisha is very expensive and demanding. Most geisha nowadays (including those which could be found in Kyoto) is not really the same as the traditional geisha of before. In fact, the numbers of real geisha are low and they could mostly be found only in Kyoto. It is even probable that years from now â€Å"real geisha† would no longer be available. Although most westerner sees geisha as some kind of prostitution, such is not the case. Nowadays, geisha themselves chooses to be a geisha because of their love for art and in this regard there is basically no reason why this should be seen as a prostitution of some sort (Downer, 2001). Basically of the facts stated earlier in this paper regarding the lives of a geisha were clearly portrayed in the movie â€Å"Memoirs of a Geisha†. Although you could fault the movie in other ways, one could not really say that the movie or the book from which it was based was made without thorough and meticulous research on the lives of a geisha. As mentioned earlier, most geisha were sold on O-chaya by their relatives because of poverty and this is also what happened with Chiyo and her sister. Chiyo, though was easily accepted in the O-chaya because of her beauty and blue eyes. However, her sister did not meet the same fate and thus, she was sold elsewhere. The public treats a geisha with respect and admire their so many skills and the geisha reap the rewards of their hard labor to perfect so many arts once they are greatly admired by their audiences. Hatsumomo, the vicious geisha Chiyo was apprenticed to saw a threat and a rival in Chiyo’s person, and this is because geisha are respected figures and they are greatly admire by people. One reason probably why Hatsumomo acts the way she did is because she had been so drunk with the glory she reaped from the public from being an excellent geisha that she does not want to share any of it to Chiyo. She also fears that all of those glories would be taken away from her because of Chiyo’s potentials, not to mention the fact that she fears that the O-chaya would be left to Chiyo instead of her. Influence of people could also be seen in the movie when Chiyo, as a young girl was shown kindness by a good gentleman she met in the market, from then on Chiyo promised herself that she would be an excellent geisha and she would make the gentleman she met, her patron (Fisher, Spielberg, and wick, 2005). It was mentioned earlier that maikos were put under tutelage of geisha so that they would be able to better master the art of becoming a geisha. This particular aspect of a gisha’s life was also seen in the movie in that although the geisha Chiyo was apprenticed to a geisha with a vicious streak, Chiyo still had the good fortune to be apprenticed to another geisha, â€Å"Mameha†. Under Mameha’s tutelage, Chiyo blossomed into the butterfly she really is. Again, a geisha is not an exalted prostitute, rather a geisha is a social entertainer adept in many skills and this was also finely illustrated in the movie. In the movie, they show what a geisha really is like. Geisha represents the mysterious and rare ideal of Japanese femininity; this is evident in that every little detail from flower arrangement to the proper etiquette ought to be present in a geisha. In an O-chaya, no one could fault a geisha for anything in that they worked hard and rigorously to ensure that their attitude and skills are perfect when they are faced with guests (Cobb, 1998). Before, a geisha’s virginity is sold to the highest bidder, and this was mentioned earlier in this paper. However, such things no longer occur at today’s point in time. The setting of the movie â€Å"Memoirs of a Geisha† though happened in the early 90s and thus there was a scene wherein a geisha’s virginity was sold to the highest bidder. The movie also illustrated how the most successful geisha becomes mistresses of the most powerful and influential men in the country. A geisha knows this stuff, and as was mentioned earlier in this paper they are given a chance on whether a maiko wants to continue becoming a geisha or not. Thus, a geisha have to accept everything which accompanies their line of profession an this easy acquiescence was evident when Choyo (or Sayuri, her geisha name) did her best to please the chairman while alternately struggling against and submitting to the attentions of the Chairman’s business partner, Nobu, a creepy doctor, and The Baron (Fisher, spielberg, and Wick, 2005). As was mentioned earlier in this paper Japanese marriages are usually decided upon by the family and they are usually based on how they could better retain or enhance their current situation in the society, thus Japanese marriages are not based on love but on convenience and among geisha’s role is to better this course of event by stimulating men who are aggravated with their arranged marriages. The geisha plays an important role in making these men enjoy their selves with intelligent female companions without the geisha having the need to have sex with these men just to please them. The Westerners usually views a geisha as a very expensive prostitute but a prostitute nonetheless. However, Japanese knows better and that although the geisha’s job requires them to please their customer and to somehow flirt with them if necessary, the customers still knows that nothing could come out of those light-hearted innuendos since a geisha is prohibited to engage in a sexual intercourse for money, not even for love and thus the only course of action for an in love geisha is to leave her profession and marry (Cobb, 1998). The notion that a geisha is an expensive prostitute may be traced in the times when Japan was occupied by Americans since a number of prostitutes pretended to be a geisha and sold their bodies to American GIs. It is then that when the American GIs left for their homeland the notion that a geisha is a prostitute was instilled in their minds. In the movie however, they showed real geisha who did not stick with the rules and one of them is Chiyo’s best friend, who sold her body to American GIs. However, the film was still successful in showing what a geisha’s life is like and this is not surprising considering the fact that the story was derived from a real life experience of a geisha (Berardinelli, 2005). To conclude, geisha are not prostitutes, instead they are what others refer to as â€Å"Walking Form of Art† in that they were highly adept in so many kills which requires artistic talents. A geisha is a respected member of a society and this is also one main difference they have with a prostitute. A geisha is treated by society with respect and not contempt and they also have impeccable manners which made it easier for people to respect and admire them at the same time. A geisha also knows the rules and regulations of being a geisha and they accept them without questions since for them acquiescence is a must. The public or their customer’s approval as well as being able to hone their artistic talents is among the greatest reward which could attract a person into becoming a geisha, however only a select few are allowed the chance to be one since geisha needs to be beautiful and to talented at the same time. In this regard, one could never really say that geisha are not to be respected and they are nothing but expensive prostitutes for they are not. A geisha is a walking form of art and they are treated with respect by the society. Works Cited Berardinelli, James. â€Å"Geisha. † (2005). December 8, 2007 http://www. reelviews. net/movies. html. Cobb, Jodi. Geisha: The Life, the Voices, the Art Knopf; New Ed edition, 1998. Downer, Lesley. Geisha Headline Book Publishing; New Ed edition, 2001. Memoirs of a Geisha. 2005. Lucy Fisher, Steven Spielberg and Douglas Wick. Mishima Shizuko. â€Å"Japanese Geisha† (2007). December 8, 2007 http://gojapan. about. com/od/geisha/. Underwood, Eleanor. The Life of a Geisha Smithmark Publishers, 1999.

Introduction to religion

Introduction to religion Religion is defined as the belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship, a set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion. This definition of religion is true to the three major religions of the world. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are known as the Abrahamic religions because they traced their history to the covenant God made with Abraham in the Hebrew Bible. Religion is one of the driving forces behind many of the events and attitudes that have shaped our world. Throughout the centuries, laws have been enacted; cities and countries have been created and destroyed; and wars have been fought, all to promulgate or protect one religion or another The origins of Judaism can be traced back to the stories of the Old Testament, or Tanakh. A lthough these stories cannot be substantiated by other historical means (there are no historical references to the Hebrews until 1230 BCE) careful examination of the Tanakh indicate that Abraham, was the first patriarch. Because of the history of political and religious warfare that has separated them, the underlying unity of Judaism, and Islam is seldom recognized except by scholars. Yet these two great world religions have the same origins, the same central belief in monotheism and to a large extent the same genealogical and scriptural authorities. It is in a greater sense a tale of two sons or two brothers. It is not surprising that these religions should share a common belief of creation and patriarchy, since the roots of these two are to be found in the basin of Mesopotamia, in the Fertile Crescent of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. There, in the ancient civilization of Samaria, the descent of the Patriarchs of the Bible can be traced to an historical basis: Abraham was probab ly born in the Sumerian City of Ur four thousand years ago a scholar invented a label for the descendents of Shem; he called them Semites. The Jews are a people who trace their descent from the biblical Israelites and who are united by the religion called Judaism. They are not a race; Jewish identity is a mixture of ethnic, national, and religious elements. An individual may become part of the Jewish people by conversion to Judaism; but a born Jew who rejects Judaism or adopts another religion does not entirely lose his Jewish identity. In biblical times the Jews were divided into 12 tribes: Reuben, Simeon (Levi), Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, and Manasseh. The word Jew is derived from the kingdom of Judah, which included the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. The name Israel referred to the people as a whole and to the northern kingdom of 10 tribes. Today it is used as a collective name for all Jewry and since 1948 for the Jewish state. (Citizen s of the state of Israel are called Israelis; not all of them. They find out that Muslims consider Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and many other biblical personages who are known to both Jewish and Christian scripture to be Muslim .This does not mean that Muslims consider these historical figures to have been, literally, followers of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of the Islamic faith. What it does mean is that these men individually surrendered themselves to God and His will. The phrase, surrendering to God is the literal meaning of the word Islam., the root words in Arabic for both Islam and Muslim refer to what human beings of faith are called to do, i.e., surrender to God. As this observation suggests, these major world religions have similar roots and commonality. In order to find out more on this topic, this literature search was instigated. Christianity is one of the major religions of mankind. It has been the dominant religion in Europe and America; Christianity has also spr ead throughout the world and has a greater number of adherents then any other religion. The Jewish teacher known as Jesus of Nazareth founded Christianity. Christianity drew on the expectations for a Messiah common in the region during these centuries. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, near Jerusalem, and grew up in the town of Nazareth. He was educated from the Pharisaic school of thought and was practicing as an observant Jew. He was not preaching to non-Jews so therefore only Jews could follow him. They started to think of him as their Messiah. As he traveled through towns in Judea he gathered small groups of followers. He chose twelve from these groups and they became known as the twelve apostles. They traveled around the world preaching. According to the gospels, he created great excitement among the people. In 30 CE Jesus traveled to Jerusalem. There he was hailed as the Messiah. Others denied that he was the Messiah. According to the gospels, Jesus rose from his grave, and went ba ck to his followers for forty days and preaches. By following the teachings of Jesus, all people could be saved from the consequences of their sins. He eventually agreed to have Jesus crucified. All men could be saved from sins before and in the after life. They believe that the people should be good citizens and obey the laws. That he was the messiah and regarded him as a revolutionary. Jesus tells Saul to go to a certain Christian to get healed. Between 45 and 65 CE, he journeyed throughout the eastern Mediterranean region, spreading the teaching of Jesus and founding Christian communities. They both encourage them to practice charity and to care for the poor and outcast. Pauls Epistles to Christian congregations form an important part of the New Testament. In 200 CE there was a civil war in the empire and many people turned to Christianity. The UnIslamic Nation of Islam The mention of the Nation of Islam will undoubtedly Cause an immense number of responses in any situation. To s ome, this organization symbolizes racism. To others, it is seen as a savior of the black community. Regardless of ones opinion of the Nation, though, the differences between Al-Islam (traditional Islam) and the beliefs of the Nation cannot be denied. The Nation of Islam is a social movement. This social movement is undoubtedly rooted in religion, and Its principles are derived from those of traditional Islam, but their basic philosophies are They are so strikingly different that the Nation of Islam cannot be considered Islamic. In 1930, the Nation was founded by an African immigrant who called himself Wallace D. Far Muhammad. He stated that his mission was to take the black nation to the full range of The black mans possibilities in a world, temporarily dominated by the blue-eyed Devils. This philosophy was carried on to the next leader of the Nation, Elijah Muhammad. The Koran states that, those who believe, and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabaeans-whoever believeth in Allah and the Last Day doeth right- surely their reward? Is with their Lord, and no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve (2:62). Zakuh is rejected by the nation, as it believes charity is a way to benefit the dominant classes of the culture. The rejection of the five basic requirements of Islam is representative of the differences Between the Nation of Islam and traditional Islam. The traditional wording of the Koran, however, states that diversity in race is one of Allahs greatest creations (Koran, 30. Some may argue that the often outrageous methods and beliefs of the Nation of Islam have done more good than harm. The Nations philosophy clearly states that, We believe that intermarriage and race mixing should be prohibited. In 1996, Farrakhan organized the Million-Man March which brought over 400,000 black men to the nations capitol. Islam, on the other hand, is all encompassing. Islam has long been viewed by many in America as a fringe religion. When many Americans here the term Islam or Muslim they associate it with such groups as the Nation of Islam or the Black Muslims. However these groups and others like them often have very little in common with the true Islamic faith. They use the term Islam to generate support for their causes, but in so doing they often destroy the publics view of the main Islamic faith. The People of the Book are an honorary title given to the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. All three religions believe in one God and in his word, delivered through the prophets: Moses received the word of God in the Torah, Jesus and the Gospels and Muhammad and the Quran. The three religions also share a similar belief in prophet hood; many Christians are stunned to hear that many Biblical prophets are also considered Islamic prophets. Judaism is one of the worlds oldest religious traditions. Pre-modern Judaism constituted (and traditional Judaism today constitutes) an integrated cultural system of Jewish law, custom, and practice enc ompassing the totality of individual and communal existence. It is a system of sanctification in which all is to be subsumed under Gods rule. Judaism originated in the Middle East, but Jewish communities have existed at one time or another in almost all parts of the world, a result of both voluntary migrations and forced exile or expulsions. Christianity most widely distributed of the world religions, having substantial representation in all the populated continents of the globe. Its total membership may exceed 1.7 billion people. Islam, a major world religion, founded in Arabia and based on the teachings of Muhammad, who is called the Prophet. One who practices Islam is a Muslim. Muslims follow the Koran, the written revelation brought by Muhammad. In Mohammeds time (570?-632), the Arabian Peninsula was inhabited by nomadic Bedouins and city-dwelling Arabs. Muslims also believe in a final judgment when individuals will be judged according to their deeds. They would acknowledge God, agreeing to obey his laws; God, in turn, would acknowledge Israel as his particular people. These Jewish Christians began the first churches, in Jerusalem. The earliest apocalyptic writings were composed during this period. Works Cited http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html David Barrett et al, World Christian Encyclopedia: A comparative survey of churches and religions AD 30 to 2200, Oxford University Press, (2001). http://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/koran/ http://www.holybible.com/resources/KJV_DFND/

Origins of Prehistoric People in North and South America Essay

Introduction Researches on the beginnings of coastal adaptation and exploitation of maritime adaptations have been carried out by John Erlandson and colleagues. There are existing anthropological theories which are over 10, 000 BP but Erlandson believes that the societies of hunter-gather used aquatic resources and among them were popular terrestrial hunter-gatherers (Slaymaker, 2007). This has been challenging since it is difficult to define exactly constitutes of fully maritime culture. There is also the change in environment in which there are rise and fall of sea levels and erosion of coastal environments. This paper discusses different theories that have emerged on the origin of early Americans. It looks at the Clovis first model, coastal migration theory which is based on Kelp Highway Hypothesis. Further it describes the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets that might have facilitated the migration of early Americans. Finally it explains the scientific method and the reason why this metho d cannot be applied in determining the origin of the first Americans. The origin of the North and South America has raised concerns for many years. Archaeologists in 1927, who was working near Folsom, New Mexico found a stone spear point embedded in the rib cage of an extinct bison. This gave a hint of the existence of mammals and that humans had arrived in North America in the late Pleistocene. This was about 11000 years ago. Years later, a long spear was also discovered near Clovis in New Mexico that was believed to have existed 11200 years ago (Straus, 1996). Clovis first theory At this time of the discovery of Clovis and Folsom, Clovis first theory with little evidence developed and was accepted as fact. The theory claimed... ... References Grandson, J. (1994). Early hunter-gatherers of the California coast. New York: Plenum Press. Erlandson, J., Rick, T. C., & Vellanoweth, R. L. (2008). A canyon through time: Archaeology, history, and ecology of the Tecolote Canyon area, Santa Barbara County, California. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. Goudie, A., & Parker, A. (2013). Global environments through the Quaternary: Exploring environmental change. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lucassen, J., Lucassen, L., & Manning, P. (2010). Migration history in world history: Multidisciplinary approaches. Leiden: Brill. Slaymaker, O., & Kelly, R. E. J. (2007). The cryosphere and global environmental change. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. Straus, L. G. (1996). Humans at the end of the Ice Age: The archaeology of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. New York [u.a.: Plenum Press.

Beowulf Motifs Paper Essay

In classic literature, one will often see traces of literary devices that enhance the reading fluency as well as entertainment for the reader. Often, the reader will enjoy literature because of the writer’s attention to bring humor, suspense, drama, and many more genres to life. In a narrative a motif is any recurring or consistent element/entity that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition a motif can help produce other narrative or literary aspects such as a theme or mood. They are defined as â€Å"entities/symbols that reoccur throughout a literary work; sometimes appearing in multiple forms.† In the epic tale, Beowulf, many motifs bring together the characters and the plot. Consequently, three significant motifs that enhance its theme are loyalty, revenge, and envy. One of the central themes of Beowulf, embodied by its title character, is loyalty. At every step of his career, loyalty is Beowulf’s guiding virtue. Beowulf comes to the assistance of the Danes for complicated reasons. He is interested in increasing his reputation and gaining honor and payment. Beowulf does become king and rules with honor and fidelity to his office and his people for 50 years. In his final test, the burden of loyalty will rest on other, younger shoulders. Preparing for his last battle, with the fiery dragon, Beowulf puts his trust in 11 of his finest men, retainers who have vowed to fight to the death for him. Although the now elderly king insists on taking on the dragon alone, he brings along the 11 in case he needs them. When it is apparent that Beowulf is losing the battle to the dragon, however, all but one of his men run and hides in the woods. Only Wiglaf, an inexperienced thane who has great respect for his king, remains loyal. Wiglaf calls to the others, but realizing that they will be no help and that his king is about to be killed, he stands beside the old man to fight to the death theirs or the dragon’s. For Beowulf, sadly, it is the end. Although he and Wiglaf kill the dragon, the king dies. As he dies, Beowulf passes the kingdom on to the brave and loyal Wiglaf. Revenge serves as a motivating factor for several characters throughout the poem, initially stirring Grendel and his mother. Grendel seeks revenge upon mankind for the heritage that he has been dealt. He delights in raiding Heorot because it is the symbol of everything that he detests about men: their success, joy, glory, and favor in the eyes of God. Grendel’s mother’s revenge is more specific. She attacks Heorot because someone there killed her son. Although she is smaller and less powerful than Grendel, she is motivated by a mother’s fury. When Beowulf goes after her in the mere, she has the added advantage of fighting him in her own territory. As she drags him into her cave beneath the lake, her revenge peaks because this is the very man who killed her son. Only Beowulf’s amazing abilities as a warrior and the intervention of God or magic can defeat her. Finally, Despite Unferth’s jealous rant at the first banquet, the most serious embodiment of envy in the poem is Grendel. The ogre who has menaced Hrothgar’s people for 12 years is envious of the Danes because he can never share in mankind’s hope or joy. The monster’s motivation is one of the few undeniably Christian influences in the epic. Grendel is a descendant of Cain, the biblical son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother Abel out of jealousy (Genesis 4). The legend is that the monsters of the earth are Cain’s descendants and eternally damned. Grendel resents men because God blesses them but will never bless him. The bright lights and sounds of joy emanating from Hrothgar’s magnificent mead-hall, Heorot, especially annoy the ogre. The scop’s â€Å"Song of Creation† angers Grendel because it reminds him of the light and hope of God’s creation and the loss he suffers because of Cain’s sin. Grendel stomps up from the mere to devour Danes and rule nightly over Heorot as a form of revenge stemming from this envy. Coming from a highly valued family name, Beowulf must earn his own reputation within his own family. Throughout his battles, Beowulf personifies the motifs of loyalty, revenge, envy, reputation, vengeance, and fate which contribute to the overall epic theme. Each of these contrasting themes contributes as to why Beowulf was such a tremendous epic hero.

Epic Hero Comparison(Beowulf and The hobbit) Essay

An epic hero is a larger than life character who has legendary skill and prowess. An epic hero has to perform heroic deeds. An epic hero is thought of having traditional charm and charisma. He has very strong ethics morals and a code of conduct. The epic hero is always thought of as a male as the tradition of the epic hero originated in the Anglo Saxon culture which was a male dominant society. A perfect example of an epic hero is Beowulf. He kills Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon all of which are heroic deeds that no one else was able or willing to take on. The foes that Beowulf fought were all beyond human strength and capabilities and required superhuman abilities to bring down. In Bilbo’s case he takes down the spider by himself and tries to face up to challenges that he would normally never have done in his comfortable hobbit home. This shows a hero putting the need of the many against the need of the few. The heroic tradition in literature has definitely moved from epic heroes, the creation of larger-than-life characters that had legendary strength and physical characteristics, to the move towards anti-heroes, which particularly developed in the 20th and 21st centuries, with the focus on leading protagonists who lack certain heroic qualities such as idealism courage and generosity. In both stories, the concept of vengeance is the first to appear. In Beowulf, vengeance is what drives the entire plot of the poem, as one action is carried out in response to a former action – to seek vengeance for a prior wrong. It is Beowulf, introduced as a strong, powerful character from the start, whose own heroic code compels him to seek vengeance against Grendel for deeds the monster committed against Hrothgar. Beowulf himself is an epic hero who even before arriving at Herot has already built for himself a tremendous reputation that goes before him and is based on acts that no mere mortal could accomplish or achieve. He arrives at Herot as a fully formed character. When considering Beowulf as a character, it is clear that his exploits and fame confirm his as a character whose strength is certainly out of this world, and more powerful than any other character alive today. This shows he is definitely a hero in the epic hero tradition. Bilbo by contrast starts the novel as a quiet, peaceful and unadventurous hobbit that sometimes goes through periods where he wonders what on earth he is doing on this adventure with dwarves and a wizard. Bilbo is called upon to do more than he imagines himself capable of. He does not like to travel, preferring the safety of his hobbit-hole, but he has inherited a streak of adventurousness from his mother’s side, the Tooks. His adventurous Took side and his comfort-loving Baggins side are in conflict throughout much of the story. It is clear from his early attempts to sneak up on enemies, such as with the trolls that he has a lot to learn and his early failures show that he is much more of a dynamic character than Beowulf is in the way that he learns heroism and courage and refines his skills as time goes by. Near the beginning of their journey, Bilbo was quite vulnerable to the dangers and was frequently rescued by the others. As the adventure continues and Bilbo shows his worth and value first in the Misty Mountains and then secondly with the Elves and then finally the spiders, Bilbo becomes a hero in his own right. As he progressed through the quest, he went on his own little adventures which helped him become braver and wiser. Bilbo willingly forfeits his own claim to the treasure in order to secure peace. Bilbo shows himself to not just be a hero in terms of his skills and qualities but a hero in his character as well which is something arguably that Beowulf does not show as he seems to risk his own life against the dragon knowing that his death would be disastrous for his own people. Finally, his heroic status is secured when he delivers the Arkenstone of Thrain to the Elvenking and Bard in order to secure a peace between the dwarves and the elves and humans.