Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Passage Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight In this passage, we find ourselves in King Arthur's court during a Christmas feast. A Green Knight has just proposed a challenge before the court, a game in which a blow for a blow shall be given. Seeing that no one is willing to accept this challenge, King Arthur himself steps up to the Green Knight, ready to defend his honor. Sir Gawain, being a noble knight, asks the court if he can replace King Arthur in the game. His wish is granted. The passage begins as King Arthur calls Sir Gawain to his side to give him his weapon and blessing. As Gawain kneels before his lord, King Arthur says: "Keep, cousin what you cut with this day, and if you rule it aright, then readily, I know, you shall stand the stroke it will strike after." (Norton p. 210) With these words King Arthur implies that since Sir Gawain has the first hit, he has nothing to worry about, since the Green Knight will be dead and unable to return the blow. The Green Knight asks Gawain to go over the terms of the game and asks to know his name. Gawain replies: "In good faith, Gawain am I whose buffet befalls you, what'er betide after, and at this time twelvemonth take from you another with what weapon you will, and with no man else alive." ( Norton p. 210 ) In this statement Gawain not only asserts himself but also makes sure that if he kills the Green Knight with his blow, no one shall take his place. Satisfied with that answer, the Green Knight reminds Sir Gawain that he must find him on his own, as promised before the court. However when Gawain asks the Green Knight where his home could be found, the Green Knight delays his answer, saying that Gawain will know soon enough after the blow where to find him. Not finding out the true identity of the Green Knight may be Gawain's first mistake. It is always important to know your enemies, especially when a very big, very green knight, who comes out of nowhere, presents one with a challenge. Having resolved the terms of the agreement, the Green Knight gets ready for the blow by kneeling down and moving his long green hair away from his neck. Gawain skillfully grips the ax and strikes the Green Knight with all his might, cutting through the flesh with such force that the blade ends up in the ground.

Anne Sexton’s Cinderella: An Analysis Essay

We’ve always read or been read fairy tales once in our lives, and how do they always end? Yes, happily ever after. In Anne Sexton’s â€Å"Cinderella†, she shakes up the traditional fairy tale, by adding her own tale. She uses sarcasm to finish the tale, causing the reader’s expectation of a happy ending and a traditional fairy tale to disappear. In doing so, she depicts the difference between the fairy tale and reality world. With Sexton’s harsh words of reality, she breaks the dreams of the readers seeking a traditional fairy tale. The use of Sexton’s sarcastic tone foreshadows what is to come in the poem. The line â€Å"That story† (Line 5), which is repeated numerous times throughout the poem, makes the readers think of the original Cinderella fairytale. Perhaps along with this, by stating â€Å"That story† throughout the poem, she is trying to remind us how every fairy tale is the same. It always goes something like this: poor girl meets prince†¦and POOF! They live happily ever after! Now, when is life ever that easy? By adding her own anecdote, Sexton is depicting to the readers a more realistic fairy tale. Sexton uses irony through her sarcasm as well. Perhaps, it changes the reader’s views on the classical fairy tale. Cinderella is described as, â€Å"Cinderella was their maid. / She slept on the sooty hearth each night / and walked around looking like Al Jolson† (Line 30-32). Al Jolson who was a white man, who impersonated a black man, is compared to Cinderella. However, dressing up as a black man was Jolson’s choice, and being their maid dressed in grime was not Cinderella’s. Another example of ironic imagery in Sexton’s poem is actual my favorite lines in the poem. â€Å"The eldest went into a room to try the slipper on / but her big toe got in the way so she simply / sliced it off and put on the slipper. / The prince rode away with her until the white dove / told him to look at the blood pouring forth. / That is the way with amputations. / They don’t just heal up like a wish† (Lines 81-86). Perhaps Sexton is trying to show the readers how life never goes like a fairy tale. We do not get a fairy godmother to grant us our one simple wish. We must fight for everything that we want to have in our hands. With the use of her sarcasm,  Sexton, depicts to the reader how far the stepsister went to achieve her happily ever after ending. After reading this poem, the reader’s expectations may change through Sexton’s use of sarcasm. â€Å"Cinderella and the prince / lived, they say, happily ever after, / like two dolls in a museum case / never bothered by diapers or dust, / never arguing over the timing of an egg† (Line 100-104), from these lines, Sexton is in fact changing her fairy tale into a myth, making Cinderella and the prince just a portraits hung on the wall. By her use of sarcasm, Sexton is depicting for the readers how the fairy tale ending is in fact not reality. Just because Cinderella marries the prince does not necessary mean that they will live happily ever. If a person runs off and gets married, it never turns out quite like a fairy tale. Through Sexton’s poem, the reader can receive the message of the happily ever concept, for we begin to realize that life is just never that easy and never runs a long, smooth road. Sexton uses sarcasm as well as her own anecdotes to foreshadow the ending of the poem. On top of this, she always uses ironic imagery and also changes the reader’s view on the classic fairy tale ending. Through her own remake of â€Å"Cinderella†, Sexton successfully proves to us that fairy tales do not exist in reality. Sexton is sending out the message to have realistic dreams and not sit at home just waiting for a prince charming to pull up in the pumpkin carriage.

The Effects Of Violent Video Games On Adolescents

The Impact of Violent Video Games on Adolescents Jessica Fentress University of the Cumberlands Abstract Violence in association with video games has been a debate that has been circulating for some time now. In light of the onslaught of recent public shootings, most shooters being adolescent males, research is resurfacing once again posing the question, â€Å"Do violent video games influence or cause extreme aggressive behavior and cognition?† The research suggests that while violent video games may stimulate internal arousal, there is no evidence to support the theory that violent video games actually cause or provoke adolescents to commit violent crimes. Around 90% of children in the United States play video games. 80 % of video game sales are violent games. Juvenile crime and arrest rates have declined 48% since 1996 indicating that violent video games do not prompt adolescents to commit violent crimes. Video games are considered among the top forms of entertainment for youth in America. An estimated 90% of adolescents play video games, spending approximately 2 hours per day, sometimes more digitally interacting with the world around them (Prot, McDonald, Anderson, Gentile, 2012). The top selling video game titles are ones with concentrated violence and many times first person shooters such as the Call of Duty series. Because of their growing popularity, and the violent crimes that have been directly associated with them, video games have become a particularShow MoreRelatedViolent Video Games and Their Effects on Adolescents794 Words   |  3 Pages2012, U.S. video game software sales reached $6.7 billion (174.8 million units) and computer game sales were $380 million (13.2 million units)† (Improving Economy). To many, the violent video game industry has turned all adolescents into mass murderers. However, they’re absolutely wrong. Very seldom do adolescents who play v iolent video games commit acts of violence, and the ones who do usually have a mental disorder. Instead of blaming the tragedies that occur on violent video games, the news mediaRead MoreThe Effects Of Violent Video Games On Children And Adolescents Essay1325 Words   |  6 PagesOne of the hottest issues in the media in the past decade is violence in video games and how violent video games influence aggressive and violent behavior in children and adolescents. Some psychologists believe violent video games influence violent behavior in children through social learning and modeling behaviors after characters in video games that â€Å"glorify† violence and criminals (Schultz Schultz, 2013, p. 331). 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Violent video games are a conflict in modern day society because children are witnessing harsh behaviors that are conditioning them to believe it is acceptable to commit these actions displayed before their eyes. There are many health effects that are involved with participating in these products of entertainment such as an increase in aggression, poor social skills and the formationRead MoreThe Effects Of Playing Video Games On Adolescents1554 Words   |  7 PagesNovember 2016 Adolescents Playing Video Games An Issue Analysis Essay Introduction: Are there people who have never played video games at least once in their adolescence? You might recall some happy memories of playing video games with your best friends or that your parents punished you because you spent a lot of time playing video games. Most school teachers and parents are apt to think that playing video games in adolescence might only have negative impacts on adolescents. Playing video games is considered