Originally thought to be a description of the hostility between men and snakes, later theology came up with a different understanding. The snake represented the Devil and the Son of God would come and destroy the Devil. Although not in the Old Testament, there is a passage in John that gives further proof that the coming of Christ had been foretold by the figures of the New Testament. John states “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth” (Jn. 1:45).
Another approach that Poe showed the readers that the story is foreshadowing Fortunato’s death is the use of the title itself. The title has the word “cask” in it which suggests a casket (Freehafer). This even further suggests that the Amontillado may actually be a barrel ground that the Montresors’ family has used for ages. Finally, the Montresors’ family crest is a form of foreshadowing within this story. Montresor states that his family crest is, “A huge human foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel” (Poe 192), which the readers can see that this is foreshadowing in that Fortunato would be the heel that gets bit and that Montresor would be the serpent who will eventually bite him or in reality murders him
Cody DeLong Mrs. Jenkins British Literature 1A (5) 28 November, 2012 Beowulf, is an Epic in which the reader follows Beowulf, on a several quest to defeat three monsters. The three monsters include Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon. This English poem uses dichotomies. Dichotomies are defined as “opposites on the same spectrum.” For example, good to evil, hero to villain, and young to old, etc. The dichotomies are used throughout the story, but the one that sticks out the most is good to evil.
His devolution into an ape represents a change towards a more primitive nature, and possibly violent due to the lack of sentience. The metaphor "hiss" compares Jacks speech to a snake, an animal that commonly has negative connotations, such as lies, deceit and simple evil. These connotations are primarily derived from the genesis book of the bible, in which the snake tempts eve into sinning and results in both Adam and eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The snake in the genesis story is believed to be Satan taking the form of a snake; while extreme it is possible that Golding is comparing Jack to The Devil himself, the literal manifestation of evil and sin. Else the reference to the snake could be a comparison of Adam and Eves fall from grace to Jacks own fall.
The serpent represented evil in both, the Bible and Gilgamesh; however the outcome may not have ended that way for each character. The serpent is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. They are generally characterized as beings and officiators of evil. The two stories tell of defeat and success, by the actions of two same but different serpents. The serpent is first heard of in Genesis, the first book of the bible.
Although in Christianity, the dragon represents Satan the devil and sin. These feelings are expressed in Revelation 20:2 where it states, “He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” As shown from the text, the Bible is comparing the fire-breathing monster to Satan the devil, who is the cause and ruler of all sin, thus having the dragon be associated with all that is sin. The pagan tale then combines the two different beliefs and morphs them into one, thus allowing its non-Christian readers to be able to fully understand its hidden Christian principles of what is sin. Another example of a Christian element would be when Beowulf is dying and gives thanks, some of his last few words being “To the everlasting Lord of All, to the King of Glory, I give thanks that I behold this treasure here in front of me, that I have been allowed to leave my people so well endowed on the day I die.”. By thanking God for all of the victories and the treasures that he earned all throughout his life, it demonstrates how he is not taking full glory for all that he has obtained.
The following paper topics are designed to test your understanding of the novel as a whole and to analyze important themes and literary devices. Following each question is a sample outline to help get you started. Topic #1 The theme of the mockingbird is an important one in To Kill a Mockingbird. Write a paper on the mockingbird theme in Harper Lee’s only book. Be sure to tell what a mockingbird is and tell exactly why both Boo and Tom are mockingbirds.
Philip Reeves ~ Grendel Essay Despite the character Grendel being the “monster“ in the poem Beowulf, the first-person narration of Grendel shows a different side of him that is not portrayed in Beowulf. In both the poem Beowulf and in the noel Grendel, Beowulf was a warrior that was called upon by Hrothgar’s kingdom to destroy Grendel for being a killer. Although this is true about Grendel, what he went through to become his titled “monster” is really explained to the reader in the novel Grendel. Most people reading just Beowulf would think he is a psycho running around killing and eating men. Grendel is not a monster; he just went down the wrong path and was influenced by the wrong type of individuals.
Monster and Beast This paper will compare the themes of the novel Frankenstein, a book written by Mary Shelley which was published anonymously in 1818 with Disney’s 1991 animated film, Beauty and the Beast, a musical by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. The novel and the film both have remarkable similarities and connection in terms of the characters, settings and symbols used. The novel starts with Victor Frankenstein’s meddling with the natural set of things including death. In Frankenstein’s intelligent but obsessive mind, he reanimates a creature only to realize his mistakes and in the end makes him miserable. In the film, the beast’s story begins with an old woman begging for shelter from the cold on a castle owned by a heartless prince.
The Balanced Beowulf In J.R.R. Tolkien’s essay, “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics”, he describes the epic poem Beowulf, as a balance between ends and beginnings. He says that Beowulf establishes a contrast of rising and setting, youth and age, and first achievement and final death. All of these paradoxes can be found in several places throughout the poem. For example, the poem illustrates the rise and fall of Herot, and the difference between Beowulf, the protagonist, in his youth and in his later life.