Epic Hero - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 856 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/09/19 Category Advertising Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Hero Essay Life Essay Did you like this example? Is fame or glory the only significance in life? During the Anglo-Saxon period, it is common to seek fame because it is alleged to be the utmost accomplishment possible for someone. Fame means that immortality could be attained and that is extremely important. In the poem Beowulf, the character Beowulf illustrates an ideal example of the desire to achieve fame. Beowulf is a young adventurer eager for fame and is also classified as an epic hero. An epic hero is someone who is on a quest, risks his or her life for glory or fame, and embodies the ideals or values of his or her culture. Clearly Beowulf possesses all of these essentials of an epic hero throughout the poem. One of the essentials that Beowulf possesses is the unquenchable desire for a quest. Beowulf is measured as an immense quest seeker by rapidly taking the initiative to accept the first mission to kill Grendel just by â€Å"[hearing] how Grendel filled the nights with horror† (112). Grendel is a horrifyi ng bayou creature of massive size that goes around slaying people from Herot. In spite of hearing Grendel’s appearance and actions, it does not intimidate Beowulf because the challenge is graciously accepted Immediately, after hearing about the events that occurred, Beowulf swiftly reacts to the situation by accepting an additional quest. These are just some of the signs that verify Beowulf as a true epic hero. Another sign that verifies Beowulf as a true epic hero is the role of a risk taker. By acquiring various quests, involves an enormous amount of risk or danger. Beowulf certainly experiences a great deal of risk throughout the battles. For example, Beowulf arrives at the lake preparing to fight Grendel’s mother without a clue of any sudden events that may occur: â€Å"Beowulf, anxious to take part in battle, leaps into the lake without waiting for anyone’s assistance. While Beowulf is in the lake for hours, the water exceeds its normal height until at last Beowulf arrives at the muddy bottom† (466-470). Beowulf has no idea of what might be in the lake waiting. It could have been a trap just to get Beowulf down there to be killed. But Beowulf took a vast risk and moves down to slaughter Grendel’s mother and comes out victorious. Also, proof that classifies Beowulf as a risk taker is when the last battle is accepted. Beowulf receives honors and rules Geatland for fifty years peacefully, until a dragon menaces the kingdom. Although Beowulf is an older man, determination increases the drive to accept the battle and slay the beast. the epic poem, Beowulf, describes the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. The hero, Beowulf, is a seemingly nvincible person with all the extraordinary traits required of a hero. He is able to use his super-human physical strength and courage to put his people before himself. He encounters hideous monsters and the most ferocious of beasts, but he never fears the threat of death. His leadership skills are superb and he is even able to boast about all his achievements. Beowulf is the ultimate epic hero who risks his life countless times for immortal glory and for the good of others. Beowulf is a hero in the eyes of his fellow men through his amazing physical strength. He fought in numerous battles and returned victorious from all but his last. In his argument with Unferth, Beowulf explains the reason he lost a simple swimming match with his youthful opponent Brecca. Not only had Beowulf been swimming for seven nights, he had also stopped to kill nine sea creatures in the depths of the ocean. Beowulf is also strong enough to kill the monster Grendel, who has been terrorizing the Danes for twelve years, with his bare hands by ripping off his arm. When Beowulf is fighting Grendels mother, who is eeking revenge on her sons death, he is able to slay her by slashing the monsters neck with a Giants sword that can only be lifted by a person as strong as Beowulf. When he chops off her head, he carries it from the ocean with ease, but it takes four men to lift and carry it back to Herot mead-hall. This strength is a key trait of Beowulfs heroism. Another heroic trait of Beowulf is his ability to put his peoples welfare before his own. Beowulfs uncle is king of the Geats, so he is sent as an emissary to help rid the Danes of the evil Grendel. Beowulf risks his own life for the Danes, asking help from no one. He realizes the dangers, but fears nothing for his own life. After Beowulf had served his people as King of the Geats for fifty years, he goes to battle one last time to fight a horrible dragon who is frightening all of his people. Beowulf is old and tired but he defeats the dragon in order to protect his people. Even in death he wished to secure safety for the Geats, so a tall lighthouse is built in order to help the people find their way back from sea. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Epic Hero" essay for you Create order

Does Affirmative Action Correct Past Injustices - 942 Words

Justice: Does Affirmative Action correct past injustices? Privilege and discrimination are very complex due to the fact that there is not only one factor that goes into causing a person to be discriminated against. Traits such as race, sex, class, gender, and sexual orientation are just a few of the numerous reasons why someone might possess privilege or be a victim of discrimination. This is the â€Å"concept of Intersectionality [which] recognizes that people can be privileged in some ways and definitely not privileged in others. There are many different types of privilege, not just skin color privilege, that impact the way that people can move through the world or are discriminated against,† (Crosley-Corcoran, Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person, p.4). No one form of privilege is exactly like the other and it is often futile to compare them. In considering race and gender, it becomes obvious that there is one distinct group in each that is and has been histo rically privileged, while there are problems that come with being of another type. White privilege is a set of advantages that white people benefit from on a daily basis that further the racial hierarchy. Essentially that means that many doors open to white people through no merit or virtue of their own, while these same doors remain closed to racial minorities. â€Å"As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something that put others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see oneShow MoreRelatedAffirmative Action Essay1151 Words   |  5 PagesAffirmative Action Blacks and other minority groups have been wrongfully persecuted and punished and have suffered the indignities of discrimination. As Martin Luther King stated so eloquently in his I Have a Dream speech, blacks should be judged #8230;not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Our American culture with its political, legal, and social considerations, is struggling with the idea of white redemption while offering minorities a more fairRead Moreaffirmative action1695 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ Abstract What is affirmative action? Affirmative action is an action or policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination, esp. in relation to employment or education; positive discrimination. In the 1940s: President Roosevelt signed an order making discrimination illegal in defense contracting. 1954: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that separate but equal facilities on the basis of race were unconstitutionally discriminatory. The Act of 1964: CongressRead MoreWhy We Still Need Affirmitive Action1493 Words   |  6 PagesWhy we still need affirmative action Because of the complex nature of the discussion on affirmative action and the controversies and the emotion surrounding it, it is imperative to first recap on the causes of race and inequality in the United States of America. The policies on affirmative action were proposed as a fractional remedy for the socio-economic impacts of past and present disadvantage faced by certain groups in the population, especially with regard to biases on gender and race. Such disadvantagesRead MoreEssay on Affirmative Action855 Words   |  4 PagesAffirmative Action Is It Really A-Firm-Action? What is affirmative action? This has been a very interesting question throughout the past thirty years. Many people would like to answer it with simply the name given to programs that try to correct past and ongoing discriminations against women, racial minorities, and others in the work force and in education. Affirmative action was created out of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It actually went into effect because of an executiveRead MoreAffirmative Actions1078 Words   |  5 PagesRunning Head: AFFERMATIVE ACTION Affirmative Actions Affirmative action is an action taken by an organization to select on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity by giving due preferences to minorities like women and races being not adequately represented under the existing employment. To make the presentation of all these compositions almost equal in proportion to do away the injustice done in the past. The Supreme Company need to design an affirmative action program in the light ofRead MoreThe Case Of Inequality And John Rawls1369 Words   |  6 Pages7. Arguing Affirmative Action Sandel starts off this chapter by describing the 1996 court case of a woman named Cheryl Hopwood Hopwood was denied admission to a Texas law school. This was made into a court case due to the fact that Hopwood had higher grades than many of the minority applicants that were admitted to the same school. This case was taken to court on grounds that the school’s affirmative action program violated Hopwood’s rights. Sandel asks whether this affirmative action policy violatesRead MoreAffirmative Action In The Workplace Essay1899 Words   |  8 PagesThe term affirmative action describes policies aimed at a historically socio-politically non-dominant group (typically, minority men or women of all races) intended to promote access to education or employment. Motivation for affirmative action is a desire to redress the effects of past and current discrimination that is regarded as unfair.[who?] It also serves to encourage public institutions such as universities, hospitals and police forces to be more representative of the population[1]. ThisRead MoreAffirmative Action And Its Effect On Education2230 Words   |  9 PagesAffirmative Action(,/;?) Necessary or Detrimental to Education? Martin Luther King Jr. once proclaimed â€Å"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.† This quote is infamous, and has been adopted as the essential basis of the minority equality movement. However, minority equality supporters and activists also support a policy that directly contradicts Martin Luther KingRead MoreIs Affirmative Action Ethical?4820 Words   |  20 PagesRunning Head: IS AFFIRMATION ACTION ETHICAL? Is Affirmation Action Ethical? Mehlia Adkins Baker College of Allen Park Cultural Diversity Seth Persky Is Affirmation Action Ethical? Introduction Nowadays, the confrontational subject of affirmative action is rising and becoming a controversial issue. This study will explore and analyze the controversy over an ethical affirmative action perspective, and examine the social policy behind this basic premise that every individual should receiveRead More Affirmative Action Essay2147 Words   |  9 PagesAffirmative Action Affirmation Action In Today Society: Myths and Facts As America nears the end of the twentieth century, we still face many lingering problems that stand unresolved. One of the most pressing and difficult problems is that of human relations, or to many, the trigger word race relations. For over 225 years America has been trying to fulfill the promise of the founders of this nation that â€Å"All Men Are Created Equal†, yet we still see institutionalized injustices and discrimination

A Game of Thrones Chapter Seventy-one Free Essays

string(26) " to where the waters met\." Catelyn It seemed a thousand years ago that Catelyn Stark had carried her infant son out of Riverrun, crossing the Tumblestone in a small boat to begin their journey north to Winterfell. And it was across the Tumblestone that they came home now, though the boy wore plate and mail in place of swaddling clothes. Robb sat in the bow with Grey Wind, his hand resting on his direwolf s head as the rowers pulled at their oars. We will write a custom essay sample on A Game of Thrones Chapter Seventy-one or any similar topic only for you Order Now Theon Greyjoy was with him. Her uncle Brynden would come behind in the second boat, with the Greatjon and Lord Karstark. Catelyn took a place toward the stern. They shot down the Tumblestone, letting the strong current push them past the looming WheelTower. The splash and rumble of the great waterwheel within was a sound from her girlhood that brought a sad smile to Catelyn’s face. From the sandstone walls of the castle, soldiers and servants shouted down her name, and Robb’s, and â€Å"Winterfell!† From every rampart waved the banner of House Tully: a leaping trout, silver, against a rippling blue-and-red field. It was a stirring sight, yet it did not lift her heart. She wondered if indeed her heart would ever lift again. Oh, Ned . . . Below the WheelTower, they made a wide turn and knifed through the churning water. The men put their backs into it. The wide arch of the Water Gate came into view, and she heard the creak of heavy chains as the great iron portcullis was winched upward. It rose slowly as they approached, and Catelyn saw that the lower half of it was red with rust. The bottom foot dripped brown mud on them as they passed underneath, the barbed spikes mere inches above their heads. Catelyn gazed up at the bars and wondered how deep the rust went and how well the portcullis would stand up to a ram and whether it ought to be replaced. Thoughts like that were seldom far from her mind these days. They passed beneath the arch and under the walls, moving from sunlight to shadow and back into sunlight. Boats large and small were tied up all around them, secured to iron rings set in the stone. Her father’s guards waited on the water stair with her brother. Ser Edmure Tully was a stocky young man with a shaggy head of auburn hair and a fiery beard. His breastplate was scratched and dented from battle, his blue-and-red cloak stained by blood and smoke. At his side stood the Lord Tytos Blackwood, a hard pike of a man with close-cropped salt-and-pepper whiskers and a hook nose. His bright yellow armor was inlaid with jet in elaborate vine-and-leaf patterns, and a cloak sewn from raven feathers draped his thin shoulders. It had been Lord Tytos who led the sortie that plucked her brother from the Lannister camp. â€Å"Bring them in,† Ser Edmure commanded. Three men scrambled down the stairs knee-deep in the water and pulled the boat close with long hooks. When Grey Wind bounded out, one of them dropped his pole and lurched back, stumbling and sitting down abruptly in the river. The others laughed, and the man got a sheepish look on his face. Theon Greyjoy vaulted over the side of the boat and lifted Catelyn by the waist, setting her on a dry step above him as water lapped around his boots. Edmure came down the steps to embrace her. â€Å"Sweet sister,† he murmured hoarsely. He had deep blue eyes and a mouth made for smiles, but he was not smiling now. He looked worn and tired, battered by battle and haggard from strain. His neck was bandaged where he had taken a wound. Catelyn hugged him fiercely. â€Å"Your grief is mine, Cat,† he said when they broke apart. â€Å"When we heard about Lord Eddard . . . the Lannisters will pay, I swear it, you will have your vengeance.† â€Å"Will that bring Ned back to me?† she said sharply. The wound was still too fresh for softer words. She could not think about Ned now. She would not. It would not do. She had to be strong. â€Å"All that will keep. I must see Father.† â€Å"He awaits you in his solar,† Edmure said. â€Å"Lord Hoster is bedridden, my lady,† her father’s steward explained. When had that good man grown so old and grey? â€Å"He instructed me to bring you to him at once.† â€Å"I’ll take her.† Edmure escorted her up the water stair and across the lower bailey, where Petyr Baelish and Brandon Stark had once crossed swords for her favor. The massive sandstone walls of the keep loomed above them. As they pushed through a door between two guardsmen in fish-crest helms, she asked, â€Å"How bad is he?† dreading the answer even as she said the words. Edmure’s look was somber. â€Å"He will not be with us long, the maesters say. The pain is . . . constant, and grievous.† A blind rage filled her, a rage at all the world; at her brother Edmure and her sister Lysa, at the Lannisters, at the maesters, at Ned and her father and the monstrous gods who would take them both away from her. â€Å"You should have told me,† she said. â€Å"You should have sent word as soon as you knew.† â€Å"He forbade it. He did not want his enemies to know that he was dying. With the realm so troubled, he feared that if the Lannisters suspected how frail he was . . . â€Å" † . . . they might attack?† Catelyn finished, hard. It was your doing, yours, a voice whispered inside her. If you had not taken it upon yourself to seize the dwarf . . . They climbed the spiral stair in silence. The keep was three-sided, like Riverrun itself, and Lord Hoster’s solar was triangular as well, with a stone balcony that jutted out to the east like the prow of some great sandstone ship. From there the lord of the castle could look down on his walls and battlements, and beyond, to where the waters met. You read "A Game of Thrones Chapter Seventy-one" in category "Essay examples" They had moved her father’s bed out onto the balcony. â€Å"He likes to sit in the sun and watch the rivers,† Edmure explained. â€Å"Father, see who I’ve brought. Cat has come to see you . . . â€Å" Hoster Tully had always been a big man; tall and broad in his youth, portly as he grew older. Now he seemed shrunken, the muscle and meat melted off his bones. Even his face sagged. The last time Catelyn had seen him, his hair and beard had been brown, well streaked with grey. Now they had gone white as snow. His eyes opened to the sound of Edmure’s voice. â€Å"Little cat,† he murmured in a voice thin and wispy and wracked by pain. â€Å"My little cat.† A tremulous smile touched his face as his hand groped for hers. â€Å"I watched for you . . . â€Å" â€Å"I shall leave you to talk,† her brother said, kissing their lord father gently on the brow before he withdrew. Catelyn knelt and took her father’s hand in hers. It was a big hand, but fleshless now, the bones moving loosely under the skin, all the strength gone from it. â€Å"You should have told me,† she said. â€Å"A rider, a raven . . . â€Å" â€Å"Riders are taken, questioned,† he answered. â€Å"Ravens are brought down . . . † A spasm of pain took him, and his fingers clutched hers hard. â€Å"The crabs are in my belly . . . pinching, always pinching. Day and night. They have fierce claws, the crabs. Maester Vyman makes me dreamwine, milk of the poppy . . . I sleep a lot . . . but I wanted to be awake to see you, when you came. I was afraid . . . when the Lannisters took your brother, the camps all around us . . . was afraid I would go, before I could see you again . . . I was afraid . . . â€Å" â€Å"I’m here, Father,† she said. â€Å"With Robb, my son. He’ll want to see you too.† â€Å"Your boy,† he whispered. â€Å"He had my eyes, I remember . . . â€Å" â€Å"He did, and does. And we’ve brought you Jaime Lannister, in irons. Riverrun is free again, Father.† Lord Hoster smiled. â€Å"I saw. Last night, when it began, I told them . . . had to see. They carried me to the gatehouse . . . watched from the battlements. Ah, that was beautiful . . . the torches came in a wave, I could hear the cries floating across the river . . . sweet cries . . . when that siege tower went up, gods . . . would have died then, and glad, if only I could have seen you children first. Was it your boy who did it? Was it your Robb?† â€Å"Yes,† Catelyn said, fiercely proud. â€Å"It was Robb . . . and Brynden. Your brother is here as well, my lord.† â€Å"Him.† Her father’s voice was a faint whisper. â€Å"The Blackfish . . . came back? From the Vale?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And Lysa?† A cool wind moved through his thin white hair. â€Å"Gods be good, your sister . . . did she come as well?† He sounded so full of hope and yearning that it was hard to tell the truth. â€Å"No. I’m sorry . . . â€Å" â€Å"Oh.† His face fell, and some light went out of his eyes. â€Å"I’d hoped I would have liked to see her, before . . . â€Å" â€Å"She’s with her son, in the Eyrie.† Lord Hoster gave a weary nod. â€Å"Lord Robert now, poor Arryn’s gone . . . I remember . . . why did she not come with you?† â€Å"She is frightened, my lord. In the Eyrie she feels safe.† She kissed his wrinkled brow. â€Å"Robb will be waiting. Will you see him? And Brynden?† â€Å"Your son,† he whispered. â€Å"Yes. Cat’s child . . . he had my eyes, I remember. When he was born. Bring him . . . yes.† â€Å"And your brother?† Her father glanced out over the rivers. â€Å"Blackfish,† he said. â€Å"Has he wed yet? Taken some . . . girl to wife?† Even on his deathbed, Catelyn thought sadly. â€Å"He has not wed. You know that, Father. Nor will he ever.† â€Å"I told him . . . commanded him. Marry! I was his lord. He knows. My right, to make his match. A good match. A Redwyne. Old House. Sweet girl, pretty . . . freckles . . . Bethany, yes. Poor child. Still waiting. Yes. Still . . . â€Å" â€Å"Bethany Redwyne wed Lord Rowan years ago,† Catelyn reminded him. â€Å"She has three children by him.† â€Å"Even so,† Lord Hoster muttered. â€Å"Even so. Spit on the girl. The Redwynes. Spit on me. His lord, his brother . . . that Blackfish. I had other offers. Lord Bracken’s girl. Walder Frey . . . any of three, he said . . . Has he wed? Anyone? Anyone?† â€Å"No one,† Catelyn said, â€Å"yet he has come many leagues to see you, fighting his way back to Riverrun. I would not be here now, if Ser Brynden had not helped us.† â€Å"He was ever a warrior,† her father husked. â€Å"That he could do. Knight of the Gate, yes.† He leaned back and closed his eyes, inutterably weary. â€Å"Send him. Later. I’ll sleep now. Too sick to fight. Send him up later, the Blackfish . . . â€Å" Catelyn kissed him gently, smoothed his hair, and left him there in the shade of his keep, with his rivers flowing beneath. He was asleep before she left the solar. When she returned to the lower bailey, Ser Brynden Tully stood on the water stairs with wet boots, talking with the captain of Riverrun’s guards. He came to her at once. â€Å"Is he—† â€Å"Dying,† she said. â€Å"As we feared.† Her uncle’s craggy face showed his pain plain. He ran his fingers through his thick grey hair. â€Å"Will he see me?† She nodded. â€Å"He says he is too sick to fight.† Brynden Blackfish chuckled. â€Å"I am too old a soldier to believe that. Hoster will be chiding me about the Redwyne girl even as we light his funeral pyre, damn his bones.† Catelyn smiled, knowing it was true. â€Å"I do not see Robb.† â€Å"He went with Greyjoy to the hall, I believe.† Theon Greyjoy was seated on a bench in Riverrun’s Great Hall, enjoying a horn of ale and regaling her father’s garrison with an account of the slaughter in the Whispering Wood. â€Å"Some tried to flee, but we’d pinched the valley shut at both ends, and we rode out of the darkness with sword and lance. The Lannisters must have thought the Others themselves were on them when that wolf of Robb’s got in among them. I saw him tear one man’s arm from his shoulder, and their horses went mad at the scent of him. I couldn’t tell you how many men were thrown—† â€Å"Theon,† she interrupted, â€Å"where might I find my son?† â€Å"Lord Robb went to visit the godswood, my lady.† It was what Ned would have done. He is his father’s son as much as mine, I must remember. Oh, gods, Ned . . . She found Robb beneath the green canopy of leaves, surrounded by tall redwoods and great old elms, kneeling before the heart tree, a slender weirwood with a face more sad than fierce. His longsword was before him, the point thrust in the earth, his gloved hands clasped around the hilt. Around him others knelt: Greatjon Umber, Rickard Karstark, Maege Mormont, Galbart Glover, and more. Even Tytos Blackwood was among them, the great raven cloak fanned out behind him. These are the ones who keep the old gods, she realized. She asked herself what gods she kept these days, and could not find an answer. It would not do to disturb them at their prayers. The gods must have their due . . . even cruel gods who would take Ned from her, and her lord father as well. So Catelyn waited. The river wind moved through the high branches, and she could see the Wheel Tower to her right, ivy crawling up its side. As she stood there, all the memories came flooding back to her. Her father had taught her to ride amongst these trees, and that was the elm that Edmure had fallen from when he broke his arm, and over there, beneath that bower, she and Lysa had played at kissing with Petyr. She had not thought of that in years. How young they all had been—she no older than Sansa, Lysa younger than Arya, and Petyr younger still, yet eager. The girls had traded him between them, serious and giggling by turns. It came back to her so vividly she could almost feel his sweaty fingers on her shoulders and taste the mint on his breath. There was always mint growing in the godswood, and Petyr had liked to chew it. He had been such a bold little boy, always in trouble. â€Å"He tried to put his tongue in my mouth,† Catelyn had confessed to her sister afterward, when they were alone. â€Å"He did with me too,† Lysa had whispered, shy and breathless. â€Å"I liked it.† Robb got to his feet slowly and sheathed his sword, and Catelyn found herself wondering whether her son had ever kissed a girl in the godswood. Surely he must have. She had seen Jeyne Poole giving him moist-eyed glances, and some of the serving girls, even ones as old as eighteen . . . he had ridden in battle and killed men with a sword, surely he had been kissed. There were tears in her eyes. She wiped them away angrily. â€Å"Mother,† Robb said when he saw her standing there. â€Å"We must call a council. There are things to be decided.† â€Å"Your grandfather would like to see you,† she said. â€Å"Robb, he’s very sick.† â€Å"Ser Edmure told me. I am sorry, Mother . . . for Lord Hoster and for you. Yet first we must meet. We’ve had word from the south. Renly Baratheon has claimed his brother’s crown.† â€Å"Renly?† she said, shocked. â€Å"I had thought, surely it would be Lord Stannis . . . â€Å" â€Å"So did we all, my lady,† Galbart Glover said. The war council convened in the Great Hall, at four long trestle tables arranged in a broken square. Lord Hoster was too weak to attend, asleep on his balcony, dreaming of the sun on the rivers of his youth. Edmure sat in the high seat of the Tullys, with Brynden Blackfish at his side, and his father’s bannermen arrayed to right and left and along the side tables. Word of the victory at Riverrun had spread to the fugitive lords of the Trident, drawing them back. Karyl Vance came in, a lord now, his father dead beneath the Golden Tooth. Ser Marq Piper was with him, and they brought a Darry, Ser Raymun’s son, a lad no older than Bran. Lord Jonos Bracken arrived from the ruins of Stone Hedge, glowering and blustering, and took a seat as far from Tytos Blackwood as the tables would permit. The northern lords sat opposite, with Catelyn and Robb facing her brother across the tables. They were fewer. The Greatjon sat at Robb’s left hand, and then Theon Greyjoy; Galbart Glover and Lady Mormont were to the right of Catelyn. Lord Rickard Karstark, gaunt and hollow-eyed in his grief, took his seat like a man in a nightmare, his long beard uncombed and unwashed. He had left two sons dead in the Whispering Wood, and there was no word of the third, his eldest, who had led the Karstark spears against Tywin Lannister on the Green Fork. The arguing raged on late into the night. Each lord had a right to speak, and speak they did . . . and shout, and curse, and reason, and cajole, and jest, and bargain, and slam tankards on the table, and threaten, and walk out, and return sullen or smiling. Catelyn sat and listened to it all. Roose Bolton had re-formed the battered remnants of their other host at the mouth of the causeway. Ser Helman Tallhart and Walder Frey still held the Twins. Lord Tywin’s army had crossed the Trident, and was making for Harrenhal. And there were two kings in the realm. Two kings, and no agreement. Many of the lords bannermen wanted to march on Harrenhal at once, to meet Lord Tywin and end Lannister power for all time. Young, hot-tempered Marq Piper urged a strike west at Casterly Rock instead. Still others counseled patience. Riverrun sat athwart the Lannister supply lines, Jason Mallister pointed out; let them bide their time, denying Lord Tywin fresh levies and provisions while they strengthened their defenses and rested their weary troops. Lord Blackwood would have none of it. They should finish the work they began in the Whispering Wood. March to Harrenhal and bring Roose Bolton’s army down as well. What Blackwood urged, Bracken opposed, as ever; Lord Jonos Bracken rose to insist they ought pledge their fealty to King Renly, and move south to join their might to his. â€Å"Renly is not the king,† Robb said. It was the first time her son had spoken. Like his father, he knew how to listen. â€Å"You cannot mean to hold to Joffrey, my lord,† Galbart Glover said. â€Å"He put your father to death.† â€Å"That makes him evil,† Robb replied. â€Å"I do not know that it makes Renly king. Joffrey is still Robert’s eldest trueborn son, so the throne is rightfully his by all the laws of the realm. Were he to die, and I mean to see that he does, he has a younger brother. Tommen is next in line after Joffrey.† â€Å"Tommen is no less a Lannister,† Ser Marq Piper snapped. â€Å"As you say,† said Robb, troubled. â€Å"Yet if neither one is king, still, how could it be Lord Renly? He’s Robert’s younger brother. Bran can’t be Lord of Winterfell before me, and Renly can’t be king before Lord Stannis.† Lady Mormont agreed. â€Å"Lord Stannis has the better claim.† â€Å"Renly is crowned,† said Marq Piper. â€Å"Highgarden and Storm’s End support his claim, and the Dornishmen will not be laggardly. If Winterfell and Riverrun add their strength to his, he will have five of the seven great houses behind him. Six, if the Arryns bestir themselves! Six against the Rock! My lords, within the year, we will have all their heads on pikes, the queen and the boy king, Lord Tywin, the Imp, the Kingslayer, Ser Kevan, all of them! That is what we shall win if we join with King Renly. What does Lord Stannis have against that, that we should cast it all aside?† â€Å"The right,† said Robb stubbornly. Catelyn thought he sounded eerily like his father as he said it. â€Å"So you mean us to declare for Stannis?† asked Edmure. â€Å"I don’t know,† said Robb. â€Å"I prayed to know what to do, but the gods did not answer. The Lannisters killed my father for a traitor, and we know that was a lie, but if Joffrey is the lawful king and we fight against him, we will be traitors.† â€Å"My lord father would urge caution,† aged Ser Stevron said, with the weaselly smile of a Frey. â€Å"Wait, let these two kings play their game of thrones. When they are done fighting, we can bend our knees to the victor, or oppose him, as we choose. With Renly arming, likely Lord Tywin would welcome a truce . . . and the safe return of his son. Noble lords, allow me to go to him at Harrenhal and arrange good terms and ransoms . . . â€Å" A roar of outrage drowned out his voice. â€Å"Craven!† the Greatjon thundered. â€Å"Begging for a truce will make us seem weak,† declared Lady Mormont. â€Å"Ransoms be damned, we must not give up the Kingslayer,† shouted Rickard Karstark. â€Å"Why not a peace?† Catelyn asked. The lords looked at her, but it was Robb’s eyes she felt, his and his alone. â€Å"My lady, they murdered my lord father, your husband,† he said grimly. He unsheathed his longsword and laid it on the table before him, the bright steel on the rough wood. â€Å"This is the only peace I have for Lannisters.† The Greatjon bellowed his approval, and other men added their voices, shouting and drawing swords and pounding their fists on the table. Catelyn waited until they had quieted. â€Å"My lords,† she said then, â€Å"Lord Eddard was your liege, but I shared his bed and bore his children. Do you think I love him any less than you?† Her voice almost broke with her grief, but Catelyn took a long breath and steadied herself. â€Å"Robb, if that sword could bring him back, I should never let you sheathe it until Ned stood at my side once more . . . but he is gone, and hundred Whispering Woods will not change that. Ned is gone, and Daryn Hornwood, and Lord Karstark’s valiant sons, and many other good men besides, and none of them will return to us. Must we have more deaths still?† â€Å"You are a woman, my lady,† the Greatjon rumbled in his deep voice. â€Å"Women do not understand these things.† â€Å"You are the gentle sex,† said Lord Karstark, with the lines of grief fresh on his face. â€Å"A man has a need for vengeance.† â€Å"Give me Cersei Lannister, Lord Karstark, and you would see how gentle a woman can be,† Catelyn replied. â€Å"Perhaps I do not understand tactics and strategy . . . but I understand futility. We went to war when Lannister armies were ravaging the riverlands, and Ned was a prisoner, falsely accused of treason. We fought to defend ourselves, and to win my lord’s freedom. â€Å"Well, the one is done, and the other forever beyond our reach. I will mourn for Ned until the end of my days, but I must think of the living. I want my daughters back, and the queen holds them still. If I must trade our four Lannisters for their two Starks, I will call that a bargain and thank the gods. I want you safe, Robb, ruling at Winterfell from your father’s seat. I want you to live your life, to kiss a girl and wed a woman and father a son. I want to write an end to this. I want to go home, my lords, and weep for my husband.† The hall was very quiet when Catelyn finished speaking. â€Å"Peace,† said her uncle Brynden. â€Å"Peace is sweet, my lady . . . but on what terms? It is no good hammering your sword into a plowshare if you must forge it again on the morrow.† â€Å"What did Torrhen and my Eddard die for, if I am to return to Karhold with nothing but their bones?† asked Rickard Karstark. â€Å"Aye,† said Lord Bracken. â€Å"Gregor Clegane laid waste to my fields, slaughtered my smallfolk, and left Stone Hedge a smoking ruin. Am I now to bend the knee to the ones who sent him? What have we fought for, if we are to put all back as it was before?† Lord Blackwood agreed, to Catelyn’s surprise and dismay. â€Å"And if we do make peace with King Joffrey, are we not then traitors to King Renly? What if the stag should prevail against the lion, where would that leave us?† â€Å"Whatever you may decide for yourselves, I shall never call a Lannister my king,† declared Marq Piper. â€Å"Nor I!† yelled the little Darry boy. â€Å"I never will!† Again the shouting began. Catelyn sat despairing. She had come so close, she thought. They had almost listened, almost . . . but the moment was gone. There would be no peace, no chance to heal, no safety. She looked at her son, watched him as he listened to the lords debate, frowning, troubled, yet wedded to his war. He had pledged himself to marry a daughter of Walder Frey, but she saw his true bride plain before her now: the sword he had laid on the table. Catelyn was thinking of her girls, wondering if she would ever see them again, when the Greatjon lurched to his feet. â€Å"MY LORDS!† he shouted, his voice booming off the rafters. â€Å"Here is what I say to these two kings!† He spat. † Renly Baratheon is nothing to me, nor Stannis neither. Why should they rule over me and mine, from some flowery seat in Highgarden or Dorne? What do they know of the Wall or the wolfswood or the barrows of the First Men? Even their gods are wrong. The Others take the Lannisters too, I’ve had a bellyful of them.† He reached back over his shoulder and drew his immense two-handed greatsword. â€Å"Why shouldn’t we rule ourselves again? It was the dragons we married, and the dragons are all dead!† He pointed at Robb with the blade. â€Å"There sits the only king I mean to bow my knee to, m’lords,† he thundered. â€Å"The King in the North!† And he knelt, and laid his sword at her son’s feet. â€Å"I’ll have peace on those terms,† Lord Karstark said. â€Å"They can keep their red castle and their iron chair as well.† He eased his longsword from its scabbard. â€Å"The King in the North!† he said, kneeling beside the Greatjon. Maege Mormont stood. â€Å"The King of Winter!† she declared, and laid her spiked mace beside the swords. And the river lords were rising too, Blackwood and Bracken and Mallister, houses who had never been ruled from Winterfell, yet Catelyn watched them rise and draw their blades, bending their knees and shouting the old words that had not been heard in the realm for more than three hundred years, since Aegon the Dragon had come to make the Seven Kingdoms one . . . yet now were heard again, ringing from the timbers of her father’s hall: â€Å"The King in the North!† â€Å"The King in the North!† â€Å"THE KING IN THE NORTH!† How to cite A Game of Thrones Chapter Seventy-one, Essay examples

The Fiery Trends Not to be Missed

The aura of freedom, the thrill of momentum, unparalleled productivity and disruptive innovation are what adorns the essence of Holacracy. By injecting the spirits of profound Holacracy practices companies can reap unimaginable profits and benefits. It is a catalyst to give air to innovation, to motivate agility, to introduce transparency and to make everybody accountable for the tasks undertaken. It is a toolkit for realizing the utmost value of potential among the employees and to bring out every little bit of talent which is inherent in some corner of an expert. Holacracy will become a revolutionary invention in the field of corporate management system. It is a clash between openness to welcome innovation and responsibility which lies in the hands of CEO. The art of Holacracy Democratic decision making and giving regard to everyones views and ideas are the key ingredients of the newly introduced and much hyped up system of Holacracy. It is a transition from traditional vertically aligned hierarchy to hierarchy redefined in the terms of circles. The higher circles rule over the lower ones and command them to meet the required tasks. It is a cosmo of nets within the nets with a neutral hierarchy within the organization. An employee in power in a particular circle is under the power in the next one. The job roles are clearly and crisply defined, regarded and sustained in this system. So why not call it, a new operating system for the technology of business! No more being traditional Holacracy has possibilities and potentials for implementing Agile practices within the organization for an excessive value based intense line of action. Holacracy is a relief from traditional centralized, conventional, structured, governed and rules organizational structure by providing an open, friendly, accountable, innovative work system. The team based projects and proposals guided by the team leader and ruled by the top management was put to an end with Holacracy which distributes the power into the hands of teams which are mentored by the leads who may also function as a subordinate in other circles. The roots of Holacracy lies deeply intrigued into the Greek word holon which signifies a whole which is part of another bigger whole. This concept widely exemplifies the structure of circles, distributing power among all. The structure speaks The organizational structure is the driving force to lead the company to the zeniths of horizon. The structure of the company initiates the thinking ideologies and ideas towards strategies to be defined for marketing and production. As suggested by Yves Morieux, that strategies are preceded by structure, is not always the picture. Some companies also illustrates that innovative structures with more decentralized control and more distribution of power into the hands of employees affect the quality, quantity and the essence of strategies formulated. The strategies which translates them into procedures can sometimes be borne out of processes and practices which are core components of the structure of the organization. We can integrate the concept of Holacracy to the views of Yves Morieux by supporting the argument created that, Holacracy in the structure of the organization highly manipulates and rules the trend behind the strategies formulated by the organization. Its policies and openness are the driving forces to call for innovative strategies and creative procedures. However, other half of the times strategies are mapped into the structure and the culture of the organization which practices agile techniques are able to create world class structures which can guarantee success. Zappie Zappos Zappos, the shoe retailer company entered into the domain of Holacracy by understanding the limitations of conventional structure and to let the company grow and prosper without the commanding voice of CEO and other top management officers. The company realized the demise of innovative ideas under the chocking tentacles of centralization. They called for encouraging experimentation with the strategies to open the doors for innovation and invention. The operational circles are self organized and self maintained which trigger the growth of creativity in practices. The roles in Zappos are clearly defined and every employee functions as per the regarded role. A committee is managing the nerves of the organization by opening the prospective of decision making to everybody in the circles. The new lens is able to look at eventful new arenas of development by dissolving the boundaries of decision making. Grain of innovation Innovation should be in the DNA of todays competent world in order to gain competitive advantage and an edge over other competitors. Agile development practices and the organizational structure influenced by agile principles are fuels for innovative developments. And innovative principles further lead to a culture and structure which provides everybody with a space to enhance the authority framework and expectation scenario of the organization. Holacracy: Into the field David Allen Company aiming to Getting Things Done adopted the culture of Holacracy and restructured he organization to include smooth and efficient functioning which acknowledged talent and innovation. Work was done under the meta structure providing a stable rhythm to the organizational framework. It was not a complete miracle for the company but surely a magic to translate the unproductive ways into potential strategies at circle and individual level. The final call Holacracy is a rich system and an altogether new paradigm to redefine concepts and clauses of organizational structure and the way in which strategies govern them or they govern the innovation imbibed in the strategies. It is one of the hottest management trend and a structure which can well suit the organization which rewards and regards innovation and creativity. It is a bold step taken by CEOs to let the company prosper and grow at their own nourishment by providing doses of creativity and self decisions. It makes the company well adjusted in the dynamic and change triggering environment of the industry. So, organizations must gear up their bags and baggage to move in the direction of holacratic culture and structure in order to make the organization a hub for creativity and a trademark of innovation.