Saturday Night in a Jail Cell

Teddy was a top notch student- he did his own laundry, called his mom every now and then, and he was about to graduate from MIT with a degree in Economics. As he sat in the seat used by thousands of convicts, he thought back as to how he got into this situation. It was the Saturday after finals, he was at the bar with a couple of friends as the designated driver- he didn’t drink. Somehow one of his friends got into an argument, and he went to try to break it up. Next thing he knew, fists were flying and he found himself getting into the back of the police car as if he was a criminal. The memory flashed before his eyes as he sat in the dimly light cell alone. Nobody was answering their phone, nobody was answering his questions. He was left pondering what was to come of him- he’s heard stories of what it was like to be in jail, stories of dropping the soap, stories that made him believe that this would be the end of him. He believed that all the hard work would be gone as soon as that rusted down jail cell opened and he would meet the person that would end him. After all, they were actually criminals- he wasn’t. He was just a friend who tried to stop a bar fight, that’s all. Perhaps they’d put him in the same room in with a murderer, or a drug dealer. In the midst of his imaginations, he heard the dreaded sound of the creaking jail door opening, followed by the echoing of several footsteps.  “A full gang” Teddy immediately thought to himself. He quickly thought of what he would say when he was begging for mercy, maybe they would even let him join. His wild imaginations were abruptly ended at the sight of a boy and girl no older than the age of 12. Teddy wasn’t fooled by their innocence, after all they were in jail, they must be filled with evil and malice. As they both took a seat on the bench, their feet didn’t touch the ground- they were so young. Nonetheless, he continued to ignore them and sat in his own dark corner that smelled like pee. Maybe ten minutes passed when he began to sob and drown in his self-pity. He had no idea what would happen to him from now- this could be the end of him. The university would kick him out, he wouldn’t have a job, he would have to go back and live with his parents. He hadn’t realized that one of the kids had crept closer to him and the small concerned voice sent shivers down his spinal cord. When he finally realized that the small child was concerned for him, he let out a long sigh and thus began their conversation. The two children explained why they were sitting in that cell- they tried to steal prescription for their sick mother because their family couldn’t afford it. Suddenly, all of the sorrow in Teddy’s heart was lifted. He was touched by their story and their selflessness- they didn’t deserve to be sitting in that cell. He quickly befriended the two and shared endless stories until one of his friends came to bail him out. However, rather than following his friend out towards his freedom, Teddy turned around, bailed out his two new friends, and went over to the store to purchase the medicine for their family. 

Thankful

    During this time of thanksgiving, I am thankful for my classmate Nicolas Lau. Although he constantly nags me for homework help, and CONSTANTLY makes fun of me, he always manages to make me laugh, even if I'm laughing at myself. Believe it or not, Nick is extremely hard working, especially in school. Although he loathes school, he never gives up and always tries his best. He gives up countless hours of sleep to finish his work after his club practices, when he could so easily just give up. His time management is awful, and unfortunately inevitable, but knowing what he has to daily go through, and still manage his grades leaves me in awe. Whether he knows it or not, he does influence me to push myself harder, and I'm extremely thankful for that and for him. 

"Then he is dead?"

     For our 12^th journal entry, we had to decide whether or not all of Macbeth’s actions were truly worth the reward of being king, and were given options from a month to a lifetime. Despite these options, I went the other way and created the option of “none”. After reading about the tasks Macbeth had to carry out, just for the short period of time of being king, would you say it was really worth it? Sure, Macbeth became king, but he couldn’t truly enjoy it because he was constantly worried about who was next to murder him, and rather than becoming a good king, he became a hated tyrant. I would imagine that becoming a king involves constant lessons of what a good king was prior to actually achieving a title. Take Malcolm, for example, he was basically the image of innocence. Perhaps Macbeth was the same way- that is until he committed the bloody deeds, which could have completely changed him. But I believe that the reason why Macbeth was such an awful ruler was because he was prepped for the title of being king. From what we read, he didn’t have the right mentality or motive.  And because of that, he had no experience or right to rule over a people. During our class discussion, we talked about how the murders would cancel out if the person who became king did good, and helped many people. Macbeth, however, wasn’t that type of king. How could he be content with himself after killing people, and still be an awful tyrant? He probably went crazy, after all he could barely sleep. And if he’s like me, no sleep means no sanity. 

"Mrs." Macbeth

"And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty!"

Reading Lady Macbeth's soliloquy tells the reader a lot about Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and their relationship. Traditionally, Lady Macbeth contradicts the entire image of what a women was back then, and instead displays aggressiveness, determination, and ambition. All of these characteristics are the opposites of what a woman should have been- gentle, patient, kind. The overall image of women would be somebody who is kept out of conflict and is left behind the scene. The introduction of Lady Macbeth's character does provide a twist, as she becomes the very person who devises the plan to kill the king. Furthermore, she displays her boldness by encouraging husband to perform the deed and even attempts to make the deed justifiable. And in the long run, she's the one who finishes the scheme, as she had to go back to smear blood all over the servants, because Macbeth cowered out. Despite the evil intentions, I do enjoy Lady Macbeth's presence in the story. I like how her character as a whole pushes the limitations and expectations that readers put on women, and leaves them surprised by her boldness. She clearly displays how powerful women can be, especially when it comes to their husbands. Plus, without her, the story could have easily ended with Macbeth being the Thane of Cawdor, and the king lives on. That would have been a bore. But overall, one thing is clear- Lady Macbeth is the man in the relationship.

Timeless Greed

Greed is the excessive, selfish desire to have more of something. From this definition, it can be inferred that one can be greedy for anything- wealth, fame, attention. This leaves the trait to become restricted", which is why it can be said that greed is "timeless". The earliest example that comes to mind, and that we discussed, is the story of Cain and Abel. The idea is that Cain killed Abel because Abel was favored, meaning that Abel received all the praise and attention. Out of lust and greed, Cain killed Abel. From that first murder and act from greed, greed has been and is continually present in everybody’s life.  

It’s amazing how much greed can change a person, and how big of an influence it plays when it comes to decisions. But I think greed only takes a big role if you succumb to it. So maybe greed shouldn’t be described as a trait, but more of an instinct. Everybody has some sort selfish instinct within them, which may be extremely pessimistic, but that’s just how I see it.  But returning back to my point, everybody has the instinct, but I think what really matters is whether or not a person falls into the instinct or rejects it. Once they choose to accept it, greed begins to control their life- changing their perspective, their priorities, and their morals. It ultimately changes the person. The Pardoner, for example, became a preacher who rather focused on forgiveness of sins, became obsessed with attaining wealth and goods. I would like to believe that before he decided to take on the role of “the pardoner”, he had some innocence and pure intentions, rather than selfish desires. But maybe he already adopted greed into his life, and saw the role as a gateway to wealth.

In our world today, greed plays a similar role as it did for the Pardoner and Cain. It somehow has the manipulating power to change a person entirely, and acts like a drug. You become obsessed with just getting more, not only pertaining to wealth. And it doesn’t just stop once you attain your desired object, but it just continues as you become greedier for more.  

Truth

    What is the truth? In Grendel's perspective, truth became a concept that was no longer valid.  With the arrival of the Shaper, the word itself lost all of its meaning. The Shaper would sing of past events, which consisted majorly of praises, thus leaving Hrothgar and his people with great pride and confidence. The only problem was that Grendel knew the truth, and he knew that everything the Shaper sang of was not it, as he said on page 43 "I crept away, my mind aswim in ringing phrases, magnificent, golden, and all of them, incredibly, lies. The man had changed the world, had torn up the past by its thick, gnarled roots and had transmuted it, and they, who knew the truth, remembered it his way- and so did I." The Shaper had this ability that could somehow transform memories and persuade people to believe his lyrics. This is evident, as Grendel admits that he too, while knowing and witnessing everything the Shaper sang of, began to believe what he [Shaper] said. Another example of this confusion of "truth" is from the movie we watched in class on Friday- after the Shaper sang his song, the people, and even the Hrothgar himself, didn't recognize half of the things he [Shaper] sang about, but they took the credit anyways. Rather than wondering what the truth is, there should be more focus on why people should believe in the Shaper's version of the "truth". There are people who know the truth, such as Grendel. The real question is why do they drop their knowledge so easily when the Shaper comes around. 

I guess we'll never know. 

Today's Beowulf

                Throughout the story, Beowulf has been described as brave, fearless, strong, daring, etc; and after reading about his adventures and his battles, I can see why he deserve all of those titles. But when dealing with a “modern-day Beowulf”, I tried to abridge the main ideas from the story. Now-a-days, we don’t have monsters that have flesh of evil, or warriors that can naturally swim to the bottom of a lake, or dragons. With that being said, it made me wonder how great Beowulf’s deeds would be if he was put in our reality. I managed to simply it to Beowulf going out of his comfort zone to help others. Beowulf went to Denmark to help Hrothgar and his men, all of whom he was unfamiliar with, who have been harassed by this demon named Grendel. So by my definition of a “modern-day Beowulf”, I believe that anybody can achieve that title. Of course it may not be as dramatic as slaying a demon, and bringing the demon’s head back, but if you really think about it, with our society, many people won’t go out of their way to help others. I think that every person has their own personal “Grendel” that constantly harasses them, causing them stress, or discomfort; and sometimes, having a “Beowulf” to be there and reach out to help can change a person’s world. It sort of goes in a cycle, people don’t realize that others have “Grendel” because they’re dealing with their own personal “Grendel”. But going back to what I said earlier, people can achieve being like Beowulf simply by trying to help others.