The Spoils

Beowulf’s Bravery Beowulf, in the famous medieval poem of the same name, is the courageous and mighty protagonist in the story. He is a fierce warrior that is much beloved by his people and followers, as well as those he has helped through the years with vanquishing monsters and such. With every challenge that comes his way and through every battle he partakes in, he shows a tremendous amount of bravery, something that is most admired knowing the danger he constantly places himself in. There are 2 kinds of courage that Beowulf demonstrates throughout the poem; these include both passive and active courage. Active courage is exactly how it sounds, its the act of displaying and being courageous while actually doing an impressive feat like slaying a dragon that is terrorizing a kingdom. Passive courage is when someone takes part in the impressive feat, but also knows there will be hardship and suffering tied to it and accepting that. Beowulf is persistently displaying active courage throughout the poems entirety. When the horrible, terrifying monster Grendel comes on the scene, Beowulf is not phased by the threat in the slightest of ways. He goes so far as to give his armor and sword to his advisor and boasts; “when it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous anyday as Grendel. So it won't be a cutting edge i’ll wield to mow him down, easily as I might”(Heaney, lines 677-680, Beowulf). He feels completely and entirely at ease and capable to fight this beast wholly…

Don Quixote and “The Spoil of Antwerp” “The Spoil of Antwerp” (1575) by George Gascoigne (1535–1577) and Don Quixote (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) are two pieces of literature from late the 16th century to early 17th century, respectively; that can that have several parallel elements that helped each of them achieve a different purpose for the time and place that they were published. Just like in all literature, the lives of the authors significantly impacted the writings as a…

In the article “Art as Spoils of War” I read about how artwork has been stolen from museums in the past. Although museums are wonderful places for artwork, there are some pros and cons about these particular places. Artwork shown in a museum can be very interesting for people that love artwork and history, there they can learn about the artwork, study it, research it, and inspire a person to go further with their research and studies, but as a person can enjoy the art this way another can be…

Introduction Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767 in a log cabin on frontier Tennessee. He the first frontier president and served in office from 1829 to 1837. Due to the fact that Jackson wasn't born into a family with money and great social status, he was very "for the people." He was the forefather of the modern Democratic Party and believed that no man was better than another, no matter his wealth, position or even his education. He fought for the working class people and tried to show…

Andrew Jackson The United States’ seventh president, Andrew Jackson served two terms from 1829-1837. He is known for making many difficult decisions, but I believe that his decisions on the Indian Removal Act, the Spoils System, and Bank War were wrong. The Indian Removal Act created tension between the United States and the Native Americans. The Indian Removal Act granted the United States land the Native Americans were living in east of the Mississippi River. This forced Natives Americans…

Spoils System The spoils system a system in which your friends come into power with you. A system in which if you are the most loyal follower of a certain person in power you get into power. A great example is shown on pg 40 of the novel The Destiny of the Republic when it states that “ ten years earlier then President Grant had given Conkling his most fiercely loyal supporter, control of the New York Customs house.” That is the spoils system at its finest because it shows that supporters of…

Debate on How to Punish a Child Have your parents ever spanked you as a child when you were misbehaving? Did your parents negotiate with you instead of spanking you? I can remember a few times where my parents spanked me when I misbehaved. I always thought that the way my parents would punish my sister and I was a normal thing that would happen when a child was disobedient. It turns out that there are parents who oppose using corporal punishment (spanking) on children as they find that it is…

The thought of handling, and taking care of another human being without guidance of any sort, is very stressful. It's understood that parents want the best for their children, they want to please, and make them happy. They may not want their children to grow up with the same frustrations they had as à child. With this they tend to instill à “privileged” attitude into their child’s mind. In à interview conducted at Buchtel High School, pre-med teacher Mrs. Kastor states that parents may feel…

Nine Thirty AM, July 2nd, 1881. President James A. Garfield was shot by Charles Giteau, a man angered after being rejected for a position in government. Giteau, a deranged supporter of Garfield, believed he deserved to be in Garfield's administration because he gave speeches during his campaign; however, after being rejected by Garfield, Giteau took action. The spoils system, which increased in popularity during President Andrew Jackson’s terms, gave government positions to those who supported…

Jackson claimed that the spoils system provided a equal rotation in distributing political power. However, Jackson 's true intention was to appoint members who were loyal to him. He threw out capable members, and replaced with loyal supporters. This judgement was based on personal benefits rather than the abilities of the members. This caused corruption in the nation, where Jackson placed untrustworthy man who cared little about the economy. These types of members, were more focused on rewards…