Algonquin Round Table Essays

Brooke Jakins Mrs. Huval English II-H 6th 18 September 2015 The Wittiest Woman in America Poetry is an escape from emotion. It doesn’t show someone’s character, but how they escape it. Only people who have emotions and character would know what it feels like to want to escape them. In Dorothy Parker’s poem “Symptom Recital” she states, “My soul is crushed, my spirit sore; I do not like me anymore” (15-16). Dorothy Parker, the wittiest woman in America, captures her audiences with poems expressing

The Game of Baccarat Specific Purpose: To inform my audience the history of Baccarat and how the game is played. Thesis Statement: One of the oldest poker games to date, Baccarat, is iconic for being played in movies like as seen in James Bond films however, overshadowed by other poker games like Texas Hold’em, Baccarat can go under the radar of most poker players never being played by many. Introduction Attention Getter: Baccarat is one of the oldest poker games in human history. Notably famous

1. The dichotomous Nature of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight The topic of spirituality, divinity and otherworldly phenomena is quite common in medieval literature and there is a multitude of contexts, in which these topics are addressed. The protagonists of those texts find themselves in a balancing act between the secular world and a supernatural world, where they need to overcome struggles to master the difficulties of their worlds’ dualisms. Be it an otherworld of fairies or the christian hereafter

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a romance, composed in the mid-to late 14th century. It is one of the prominent Medieval English romance in the Arthurian tradition. Larry Benson describes the peom as “both a tragic romance with the sad moral that perfection is beyond our grasp and an unromantic comedy with the happy point that if a man aims high enough he can come as near perfection as this world allows.” There is only one copy of the earlier original manuscript, which dates from 1400. It has

Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons and Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye are both portrayed as heroes. Robert Bolt and J.D Salinger allow the reader to identify heroic qualities in each of the protagonists as the narratives progress. Although More and Caulfield both possess heroic qualities, they approach their heroic quests in a different manner to the archetypal hero. More, in A Man for All Seasons, is illustrated as an existential hero, who instead of receiving motivation and power from

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval romance written in the late fourteenth century by an unknown author. It is part of the Arthurian legend and takes place in England during the winter. The knights of the Round Table have virtues tested when a mysterious Green Knight appears with a suspicious challenge, that leads Sir Gawain on an epic journey of self-discovery. Even though Sir Gawain is considered to be the perfect knight, his character is put to the test through a series of unbeknownst

Men are known in the real life and in fabrication as the heroes or the strongest and bravest of people, while women are known to be the damsel in distress, or the ones who tempt the protagonist. However, in the poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” by the so-called Pearl Poet and the book Paradise Lost, specifically books nine and ten, by John Milton, both depict the roles of women and how they help shape the events that take place in the stories. To start off, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”

Beowulf is The Battle with Grendel. In the movie Grendel attacked Beowulf in the Heriot while everyone was dancing and singing. In the book he attacked while everyone was drunk and passed out sleep. When Grendel attacked Beowulf was laying on the table naked. The soldiers tried to use weapons on Grendel; however, his skin was magically treated so no weapon could harm him. In the movie Beowulf stabbed him with a knife, but he soon realized he had special skin; however, Beowulf dropped the knife and

A valiant knight who rides his noble steed while a damsel dreams for the one who will rescue her. This plot which continually inspired modern works started during the medieval era and was known as the courtly love. Many historians have analyzed how the courtly love ideal was formed. From the several factors that could have influenced the creation of this ideal, this essay presents how courtly love was a product of the sociological aspects but not the religious aspects of medieval culture. The

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tell about a loyal servant (Sir Gawain) of King, Arthur who accepted a dangerous challenge from the Green Knight in place of the king. He felt that his life would be less missed if anyone were to lose their life. He was a man of great integrity for accepting and holding his end of the deal with the Green Knight. Sir Gawain had faced a few problems on his journey in this story which tested his morals and caused him to have an internal conflict. You will see the trials

3.2 The Doppelgänger Motif in The Monk The Monk exemplifies the doppelgänger motif through the character of Ambrosio, as the story follows his fall from holiness to immorality. At the beginning of the novel, Ambrosio is the abbot of a monastery of Madrid and idolized by everyone. Consequently, he is obviously proud of himself and feels superior to normal people because he has never committed any sins. He has no divided self, or, at least, his honorable self prevails, while the other is hidden somewhere:

Consider how the theme of courage is treated in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a story that celebrates courage in a positive light in the majority of situations but we see that courage can have a negative impact on some of the characters in the story and it questions knighthood. Courage is an honourable term defined “The ability to do something that frightens one; bravery:” (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/courage) and for Gawain to be called

In the poems, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf, each main character faces a supernatural adversary. Each adversary is placed within the poem in order to test the main character, Gawain and Beowulf, proudest virtue; Gawain’s honor is tested on multiple occasions by Morgan La Fye, while Beowulf’s reputation is challenged. Each main character meets the expectations of a hero; however, they do so in different formats. Gawain is a chivalric hero, possessing characteristics such as physical

When being told a tale, perspective is key to developing thoughts and opinions about the story. Such an argument is often applied to the farcical play The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, where Petruchio takes the hand of the devilish Katherine in marriage. Although displayed as a figure unworthy of love, Katherine grows soft and humane through her marriage with Petruchio. In spite of that, some view Petruchio as a figure of force and suppression towards Katherine, who they see as a subservient

Reflection Chapters 13-18 This was quite the eventful section! At the beginning, it was obvious that Janie was trying to keep her guard up and listen to her friend in regards to her money when marrying Tea Cake. Nonetheless, he still found it and spent almost all of it. At this point, I thought for sure everyone was right about Tea Cake. After he gambled and won back the money, I found it slightly charming that he assured her they were going to live off of his money alone. Although I do not think

In the play, ¨Antigone¨ There was a royal family that fought to the death and killed themselves. They were a type of family that knew each other too well. The old king and queen had a baby and the baby ended up marrying the queen at the time. She killed herself and Oedipus, the baby, blinded himself and then died. They had four children, the two brothers fought to become the king but both died in battle. Antigone killed herself and her fiance, Haimon, tried to kill his dad, Creon. Haimon died by

Leadership Introduction Handsome, tenderness, strong, and active those are the ideas that come to mind whenever we hear the word "prince". People think about a prince as a person who is perfect such that he is a real hero that protects his nation from enemies and helps citizens, so it is better to be said that we see an angel in the shape of human being. This is the definition of a prince in the function of stories and fairy tales. Can a prince be that wonderful in real life? The purpose

The Symbolism of the Chinese Dragon in Ancient and Modern Popular Chinese Culture Chinese Dragons have been symbolic of power and strength all throughout history and continues into present-day. The Chinese Dragon plays a major role in current popular culture and media exploration. Not only can you find them in films such as Disney’s Mulan, but also in artwork, modern and traditional dances, and writings. Chinese Dragons are essential to the culture of modern, traditional, and ancient Chinese

In the epic poem, the Iliad written by Homer, several characters taking part in the warfare between the Achaeans and the Trojans are portrayed as embodying the heroic code of courage, physical strength, leadership, arete of value of honour, and the acceptance of fate. The heroic code is illustrated by the actions of the Trojan prince, Hector and the Achaeans strongest warrior, Achilles. Both of these characters display the Greek’s image of a hero, and can also let the reader discern what the society

I believe we can reasonably understand why Rembrandt chose this Biblical situation with the two characters. What is noteworthy, is his arrangement. The son is the first face we see. By use of his arm, Rembrandt led our eye from him to Saskia, the real reason he is there. From her, we transition back to him; but, in between them we see the other vice. His composition is full of movement and excitement. The line work is busy and almost chaotic. The only straight lines are the sword and glass; however