When Worlds Collide Essay - 757 Words

When Worlds Collide The world of Beowulf and that of modern America have some interesting similarities. The Anglo- Saxon belief in wyrd, or fate, is alive and well in the 21st century. Like the Anglo- Saxons, our culture regards the crime of killing one’s own kin or family to be the most heinous of all. Americans love entertainment just as much as the Anglo- Saxons of Beowulf’s time did. Of course, with our modern technology like movies, television, and the Internet, we are allowed to experience many more methods of enjoyment than medieval people were able to enjoy. However, their culture is remembered through portions of our popular culture. Within its pages, Beowulf contains the notion of†¦show more content†¦In Beowulf, Hrothgar refers to the story of Heremod, an evil king who kills his own people, and in turn his people finally kill him: â€Å"He lived joyless to suffer the pain of that strife, the long- lasting harm of the people.†(p.30) In our society, the weight of a crime against one’s own family is a heavy one as well. The Andrea Yates case is one such incident that has gripped the country’s attention by the sheer unbelievable nature of the crime. Yates’ drowning her own children has shocked the entire nation. According to psychiatrist Phillip Resnick, who testified on Tuesday, March 5, â€Å"Yates knew she was legally wrong when she killed her children in the bathtub on June 20th.†(NBC) However, she murdered them anyway, and regardless of her mental state, it is hard to forgive or even understand this crime. Like the Anglo- Saxons’ culture, American society beli eves that the family unit is most important part of our civilization and it is unthinkable to harm anyone in ones own family. Our society loves entertainment just as much as the Anglo- Saxons did. Warriors would sit around the mead- hall listening to the scops spinning their tales and hearing of the feats of their heroes. Modern Americans go to movies and love to watch television shows, especially those with hero themes. Movies like Gladiator and The Patriot are excellent examples of this style of storytelling with larger than life heroes who perform amazing acts to save others. We also payShow MoreRelatedA Brief Look at Global Warming1036 Words   |  4 Pageswarmer†? The sun isn’t getting hotter; the world isn’t traveling closer to the sun. Global warming is when rapid moving particles collide more and more with other rapid moving particles and are trapped by the atmosphere’s thick layer of gas molecules. 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