Chloe Nguyen, Period 5, 3/1/21, Day B

Chloe Nguyen

Period 5

3/1/21

Day B

Modern Mythology 2021

Literacy & Learning

Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.

Recently, we finished reading Beowulf in class and watched a modern adaptation of the film produced in 2007. Rather than the straightforward structure of the plot itself, centered around Beowulf as the demon slayer hero archetype who is blessed with God’s favor in battle until he isn’t, I am much more intrigued by the underlying themes presented in the poem, specifically the portrayal of kinship and the way in which it is measured as an evaluation of character. From my understanding of Anglo-Saxon culture, qualities such as loyalty and honor are heavily rooted in one another to the extent that one cannot exist without the other. The strongest case of this is most notably Beowulf’s final battle with the dragon. Wiglaf exhibits honor by deciding to fight alongside Beowulf although the odds are against them, while the rest of the men flee in terror, abandoning their leader despite knowing full well the consequences that their actions entail. He chooses possible death in battle over the shame associated with cowardice for the sake of self-preservation. In our last class, we engaged in a group discussion about whether or not it is fair for us to judge the Geats for running from the dragon, sparked by Ms. Fusaro’s comment about cowardice representing one of the most undesirable traits to be remembered for. During this conversation, the class advocated for two positions that essentially begged the question of what is worse: a coward or a person who openly possesses the intent to do harm? The hypothetical situations brought up in class primarily pertained to smaller scale scenarios like a coward who ghosts someone versus a person who blatantly insults someone they dislike to their face. Personally, I wonder how these opposing opinions fare under more serious circumstances. For example, is a cowardly bystander just as bad as the evil perpetrator in the context of bullying, abuse, assault, etc.?

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

No matter how long it takes me to wrap my head around the language and content of older texts like Beowulf, I find satisfaction in the challenge of examining ideas from both a structuralist and modern point-of-view. For instance, if loyalty equates honor, does it matter who/what this loyalty is focused towards? Many apocalyptic storylines in contemporary narratives and games including Life Is Strange and The Last of Us pose the dilemma of sacrificing one person to save the world or compromising humanity’s existence for their survival. Since each option depicts loyalty, whether it be to a single individual or a collective group, both should represent equally honorable choices. Yet, a majority of people would view the former as selfless and the latter as selfish. Sometimes I feel that by perceiving information this way, I end up with more questions than I started with. However, I believe that trying to broaden the scope of my critical lens by considering and investigating the historical and cultural context is necessarily in forming a fuller, more cohesive understanding of the big picture.

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

Perhaps, I will not be going off on a tangent about the lessons I learned from Beowulf in my other classes, which are more number-crunching and scientific concepts than anything else. Still, engaging in respectful and constructive conversations like the whole group discussions we have in class allows me to practice listening to other people’s opinions even if they differ from mine, so we can learn more from each other. In doing so, I have better been able to take things with a grain of salt. Rather than spoon-feeding myself content homogenous with my personal views of the world, I believe the process of learning truly begins in gaining exposure to a variety of perspectives.