Cultural Relativism

"The Challenge of Cultural Relativism" shows that even though there are many differences between cultures, every culture follows "some moral rules that all societies will have in common."  This occurs because these rules are "necessary for society to exist."  Examples of these rules shown in the article are lying and murder.  It says that there are laws in place against both of these in all cultures.  Even though there are different punishments for each of these, there are punishments. 

Recently, the Sandusky Scandal is a prefect example of how certain morals are present in all cultures.  The United States's Justice System had its own way of handling the situation, whereas other cultures have their own ways of resolving the issue.  In the United States, all charged will have to go through court and will then be handed their punishments.  In another culture, such as the Peoples Republic of China, the perpetrators would be arrested without a court trial.

Cultures sharing the same morals is also present in literature.  In Things Fall Apart Okonkwo murders a man in his village accidently.  Even though his village is more violent then most, he must still face a punishment for murder.  In this case, he had to leave his village for seven years.  There is also punishment for murder in the Christian community, which is being arrested and put on trial.  In my opinion, I think it is a good thing for all cultures to have to at least a few morals in common because it gives us at least something to agree on and will hold all people together.

Hamlet

Overall, Hamlet is a serious play about Hamlet's revenge of his father's death.  In his revenge, many people die along the way, including Ophelia, who was in love with Hamlet.  The gravediggers who were digging her grave argued whether or not she should have a proper burial in the churchyard because all indications show that she committed suicide.  Their conversation in the play is comedic and many critics believe that a scene like this should not be present in a play as serious as Hamlet.  It is humorous because the gravediggers are just going on with their normal day's work and giving each other riddles to solve and singing songs.  It is a break from the tension in the rest of the play, and after their short conversation, the play goes back to that tension with Ophelia's funeral.  Scenes like this are seen often in Shakespeare's plays.  They are known as comic relief and are included to contrast the tragedy of the rest of the plot. 

I believe that a scene of comic relief is necessary in a play like Hamlet.  It shows that even if something terrible is happening in your life, everyone isn't going to know what's going on and they are going to continue their own lives.  The gravediggers don't know that they are talking to Hamlet when he asks who's grave they are digging.  Because of this they make jokes about digging their own grave becuase they are the ones actually digging it.  In life, not everyone knows your problems and most people have their own problems to take care of.  All of the time, people make remarks and jokes about something that they know or have heard about.  Someone around them may have personal experiences or problems with that and may have a bad reaction and negative feelings towards that person.  In Hamlet, Hamlet questions the gravedigger because he is digging up skulls of people who Hamlet had known, like the jester Yorick.  This causes Hamlet to realize that no matter how great you are, even if you were Julius Caesar, eventually everyone turns to nothing but dust.

That is why, in my opinion, the play needed a scene of comic relief.  Not only does it relieve tension in the audience, but it also proves that in life what happens to one person doesn't effect the lives of everyone else.

Grendel

Many times in life people look at someone or something by what they want to see.  In Beowulf, the kingdom's people believe that Beowulf is a villain who is out to get them.  In Grendel by John Gardner however, we see the story through Grendel's point of view.  At the beginning of the novel, we find Grendel scavenging in the woods.  He kills animals for food, but leaves no remains.  Everything that Grendel does is in nature's best interest.  He wastes nothing.  When Grendel watches the people in the surrounding villages, he notices that they kill only to kill.  It is a game to them.  This frustrates him.  When he goes to talk to the villagers, they think he is trying to attack them, so they attack. Becuase of their acts towards him, Grendel becomes obsessed with killing and turns into a villain in the end.

In life, many times we don't notice it, but we are always judging others.  Even though we may not take notice, people are affected by things we say and take it to heart.  This can cause people to take a turn for the worse and isolate themselves.  An example of this would be bullying of any kind.  Kids take in what others say, and when they hear things about themselves enough times, they will start to believe it.  This causes a great deal of pain and the kid may become mentally weak.  Like Grendel, they may begin not to think straight and do something that they wouldn't have normally done.  I think that people should try to think about what they say before they say it.  In Grendel, if the villagers would have listened to Grendel in the first place they might have not suffered due to his rebellion.  This also applies in the real world as well.  I believe that the world would be a better place for everyone if people would stop hurting others.  In my opinion there needs to be stricter rules on bullying to try and put a stop to it.

Beowulf

An issue presented in letirature is what are the characteristics of a true hero.  This can be seen in the poem Beowulf .  Grendel is the first monster that Beowulf slays, but before Beowulf's arrival to the Land of Shielding, every man that had attempted to kill him in turn was killed by Grendel.  Everything they did had no effect on him.  No one in the kingdom wanted to face Grendel until Beowulf arrived.  Beowulf came because he heard of the Danes' stories and wanted to help.  The characteristics that Beowulf had had never been seen before by Hrothgar and his followers, and they believed that the characteristics of Beowulf must be those of a noble hero.  These characteristics are loyalty, bravery, and pride.

These same characteristics can sometimes be seen in today's world.  With the tenth anniversary of September 11th earlier this month, we are reminded that there still are modern day heroes.  The firefighters and the police of New York risked and some even sacrificed their lives to save others.  This shows great bravery and their loyalty to our country.  The men and women who survived have great pride in what they did that day, and those who died for their country will always be remembered.  They truely are heroes.