No New Tale to Tell

The Pardoner's Tale is a great example of how greed unfortunately prevails when something comes across a group of people. Three men, who have a common goal of finding gold, eventually kill each other despite their initial plan to work together to obtain it and share it. It is just another tale with the same underlying problem: greed. It is prevalent all throughout the world today. Fairy tales depict people who ruin the lives of others and eventually themselves over their greed from their jealously of the specific features of others. Rich people aim to own larger yachts than their counterparts, and people spend millions to have a chance at winning the lottery.
It seems that there just may be no point in having any stories that reference greed and its destructive effects, but in reality, these stories are crucial in the understanding of how society lives. Sure, all of the things mentioned happen all around us and all the time, but it takes a great story for people to actually realize that many of the actions taking place around them conflict with their moralities and even society's moralities as a whole. The greediness of people will persist (which is always at an all-time high right after Thanksgiving), but it takes a perspective-changing story to help the world realize that society still has almost infinite room for improvement.

"Truth"

Grendel shows two different realities, shown by the Shaper and the dragon. Grendel first starts realizing the way the world really works, where beings are just present with no meaning. As he hears the Shaper, who "shapes" the way the people in the kingdom think, he knows that he is just creating a reality on the spot that he knows will be followed by anyone who listens. He describes a world of two different sides, the good and the evil, where Grendel, a monster (in the peoples' terms) fits right in the evil side. Grendel finds the melodic tones of the Shaper pleasing enough so that he would want to believe the things he says.
Th dragon shatters Grendel's hope to turn to a simpler, more ignorant reality, by describing blatantly how the universe works, including the complex scientific rules, and how the rituals of the people are just things organized by them, nothing with a higher meaning. Grendel eventually becomes angry because of the fact that the people are killing each other simply over beliefs that do not exist in the eyes of the dragon, and now him. So both the dragon and the Shaper are Shapers, but Grendel found the dragon's word to fit more with his perspective that following something made up, no matter how convincing, simply doesn't have any importance in life.

Modern Day Beowulf

Beowulf is depicted as a brave warrior, with no sense of fear, and a man who aims for eternal glory. Today, these values don't seem prevalent throughout our society, but I believe that there still is a glimpse shown in our law enforcement. Although there are calls that bring fear in our bravest police officers and firefighters, they are still brave and make sure to complete their mission, wary of the fact that fate might be knocking on their door. Similarly to how Beowulf saved the Danes from danger, paramedics save people's lives daily when someone calls for help. In the story, the legacy of a hero lives on for long periods of time, or even forever, which brings me to the realization that soldiers also relate to Beowulf. As a soldier himself, he fights with courage and determination to defeat an enemy to the death if necessary. Afterwards, his life is commemorated through statues, mourning, and eternal thanks for the bravery he had to protect what he loved the most. These people usually don't have glory as their main purpose for fighting, unlike Beowulf. Despite this difference, everyone who protects something valuable to society is considered a hero. It's just the reason for doing so that sets the law enforcement and modern soldiers from Beowulf.

Me

My name is Leonardo Blanco, and I am a junior at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. I am involved in the Band program, and soon I will be joining Jazz to play the saxophone. As you have figured out, I have an affinity for music, and in my free time, I play the saxophone and piano, and also I am attempting (but failing) to learn to play the guitar. Once I'm finished with music, I spend the rest of the day on the internet or I take much-deserved naps, but obviously that's after I do my homework (supposedly that's how it works). Anyway, although science seems to be my favorite subject, I am looking forward to English with Mr. McCarthy this year, because in the few days that have passed, my perspective on the works of others has started to evolve so that I am able to analyze them more explicitly. I hope that I eventually have a deep understanding of Beowulf, so that I can rethink how I perceive poetry. I usually read fantasy fiction and nonfiction, but not poetry. Even if it still doesn't become my reading of choice, I will be aware that there are different types of  literature with different purposes, which let people expand their ways of thinking so they can continue making society more knowledgeable with every passing moment.