Grendel’s Self Discovery Essay

Throughout the novel Grendel goes back and forth between the two beliefs nihilism and existentialisms. Through the journey of figuring out the belief in life, he struggles for being a cultural outsider. Gardner makes it tough for Grendel to make a decision because just like Grendel there are other cultural outsiders like the Dragon who shares his philosophy with him. Philosophies of life have a wide variety for people to choose from like in Grendel by John Gardner. The main character, Grendel, travels on a journey of self-discovery, eventually becoming a nihilist, and by the hero Beowulf was defeated. Grendel struggles with his own meaning of life between â€Å"being† and â€Å"nothingness. † With influence from others like the Dragon, Beowulf, and the Queen, Grendel switches between beliefs based off two philosophers named Jean-Paul Sartre and Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi. The philosophy that is existentialism is â€Å"a philosophical movement which exercised an influence on many of the arts as well as on philosophy and psychology. The belief in people have free will and can choose what they want to be is in other words what existentialism. Existentialism was a philosophical movement that dealt with the ideas of the way of life by many philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre did not agree with traditional arguments of human nature he argued that in the case of human beings â€Å"existence precedes essence. † In his famous quote, the meaning is that humans have no set or fixed nature that determines what they will do. After leaving his mother’s cave, he is free to an entirely different world, a world of humans and other creatures, â€Å"I played my way farther out into the world†¦ cautiously darting from tree to tree challenging the terrible forced of night on tiptoe. †(16). As a defense against the rest of the universe, Grendel establishes existentialism as his philosophy. Grendel discovers that the creatures that he watches share a common language and thought. This is when Grendel meets characters like the Shaper and Hrothgar, both of whom help shape his early belief of existentialism. May it be the destroyer of Hrothgar, or perhaps a somewhat benign antihero. The belief in Nihilism is the viewpoint that life is meaningless. There is no purpose to life because it will come and go. Nihilism is the more extensive version of determinism. That of which is a person’s main purpose in life is already mapped out for them and they cannot change it. Nihilism is the total opposite of existentialism, it is the view of having no purpose and existentialism is finding your own purpose. In a way, you can look it as binary opposition because nihilism could be evil and existentialism could be good. In Grendel, Grendel comes in to the presence of the Dragon. Through his conversation with the Dragon, Grendel is taught nihilism. The Dragon believes that all things in the universe will end and are therefore meaningless and discounts existentialism as a philosophy and nihilism as the absolute truth. The idea that nothing lasts forever and will die is the philosophy of the dragon, â€Å"The beginning, the present, the end. All time, all space. (62, 63) The Dragons conversation pursues Grendel on his philosophy of life that everything comes and goes â€Å"In a billion billion billion years, everything will have come and gone several times, in various forms† (70). These two different philosophies dictated Grendel’s life from start to finish. He was neither truly Nihilistic nor Existential, because he was a creation of both. His early experiences led to an Existential belief and his later ones a Nihilistic one. These conflicting ideas ultimates led to his ultimate peace, â€Å"Is it Joy I feel? † and his ultimate destruction. (173) Or are they the same thing?

Person Centred Counselling

What I understand by the term Person- Centred Counselling Person-Centred counselling was developed by the psychologist Dr. Carl Rogers . It is a humanistic non-directive approach to counselling where the counsellor allows the client to lead the conversation and not try to steer them in a particular direction. A fundamental part of this type of counselling is the therapeutic relationship between Counsellor/Client. An important part of this is providing an environment where a person feels free from threat, both physically and psychologically.This can be achieved by the counsellor providing three ‘core conditions’ genuineness, empathy and warmth which help that growth to occur. The approach relies on the personal qualities of the practitioner to build a non-judgemental and empathic relationship with the client. The objective of the counsellor is to listen without making any judgements, without giving advice, and make the client feel accepted for their own feelings. It trust s the client to find their own answers and direction and of being fully capable of fulfilling their own potential.There are many tools used in person-centred counselling, including active listening, , paraphrasing, summarising, minimal encourages etc. Person-centred counselling recognizes that achieving potential requires favourable conditions and that not having these conditions may lead the individual to not grow and develop in the best ways that are possible. When we are denied acceptance from others or it is made conditional upon the individual behaving in a particular way we may begin to lose touch with their own feelings and not be able to chose paths which are best for ourselves.When a client feels safe and accepted in the relationship they can explore their own feelings and desires and take any steps they feel necessary to self-actualize. This occurs when a person’s behaviour is congruent with the person they would like to be. Person-centred counselling encourages the client to freely look at themselves and accept themselves for who they are or make changes to eliminate the behaviours that they do not like. Positive regard is to do with how other people evaluate and judge us. If a person has not been accepted in life for numerous reasons it can affect their self worth.A person with low self-worth may avoid challenges in life, not accept that life can be painful and unhappy at times, and will be defensive and guarded with other people but a person who has high self-worth, that is, has confidence and positive feelings about themselves, faces challenges in life, accepts failure and unhappiness at times, and is open with people. By providing the client with the core conditions it allows for an environment where they feel accepted for who they are and can change the negative outlook they have on themselves and increase their self esteem.In summary person-centred counselling provides a therapeutic relationship which allows the client to explore their feelings freely. It promotes a person to go on in life and grow to be the best that they can possibly be. The overall aim of person-centred counselling is to help the client self actualise and become a Fully Functioning Person where they are Open to experience , live in the present moment, trust their own feelings, and live a fulfilled life where they are well adjusted and balanced.

Evaluation of leadership theories Research Proposal

Evaluation of leadership theories - Research Proposal Example From this research it is clear that for an effective leadership within an organization, the situational theory points out that the leader should be in a position of adjusting the situation and circumstances at the organization. Under the Hersey and Blanchard’s situational theory of leadership, a team develops from the immaturity stage to the maturity stage during which leadership style and management tend to develop progressively. Fiedler’s contingency model is another type of leadership style that is applicable to the CCS Group based in London. This particular theory indicates that there is no one leading style that can make leadership effective. This style of leadership tends to be effective in the CCS Group since it has helped in the improvement of the performance quality of the organization. The leadership of the CCS Group is normally linked to its performance. According to the theory, there is a concern to assess the traits of the leader if the organization needs t o be successful through effective leadership. Its effectiveness in the improvement of the quality of performance of the CCS Group because it uses the least preferred co-worker scale for assessing the attitude of the leader by asking the leader about the individual they would wish to unite in their work. The trait theories of leadership indicate that leaders who are regarded as effective tend to share common traits and personalities. This is effective in the CCS Group of organizations because the majority of leaders at the organization is self confidence, honest, intelligent, and are self driven.

Carbon Trust Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Carbon Trust Company - Essay Example The social factors do not affect the company’s strategies. It will work the same way as it is already even if the pension funds are increasing or decreasing. It will work the same way even if the population is aging. All of these factors are not influencing the company in any major way. Markets have always been developing with the help of advanced technology every day. The basic pioneer of the operations of the Carbon Trust Company is technology as CRM plays a major part. Theagingopment of mutually beneficial longer term relationships between the companies is the basic essence of CRM. And this is what Carbon Trust is flourishing on. First the customer acquisition is the main focus of the company, and once it is over with this stage, it focuses on long term achievement for the operations of its own company and ultimately other organization. Among all the environmental factors, the climate is of major concern as it is the one on which Carbon Trust is working on. To reduce the effects of carbon on our climate and to save it from further destruction is the main aim of this company. This would include how their competitors influence the overall strategies of the company. The list of Carbon Trust competitors includes all those companies which are working for this matter. There are many areas that are enlisted for which the company is working and many small companies are also dealing in the same field. The competition takes place in the fields of wind energy, industrial energy accelerator, marine energy accelerator and biomass heat accelerator. Carbon Trust is producing various technology driven inventions that are needed to fight the competition, for example, they introduced  £8m competition designed to help UK firms secure a chunk of global fuel cell market that new research estimates could be worth $180 billion a year by 2050 (Guardian, 2009).

Open economy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Open economy - Term Paper Example The primary advantage for consumers living in a country with an open economy is obvious in that they have a much larger variety of goods to choose from. The caveat here must be â€Å"if they can afford to buy them.† Additionally, these consumers may also invest financially outside of the country. Regarding country as a political entity, it is not required to equal its output of goods and services and can, if it wishes, spend more money than it itself produces within its economy by borrowing from abroad, or it can spend less than it produces and lend the difference to other countries. A primary example of this previous statement is the United States as the former country mentioned, and China as the latter, a situation widely discussed and criticized by many as detrimental to the future economic and political stability of our nation as well as its security. ChinaDaily.com quotes President Obama. â€Å"The long-term deficit and debt that we have accumulated (with China) is unsustainable. We cant keep on just borrowing from China... We have to pay interest on that debt and that means that were mortgaging our childrens future with more and more debt" (para. 2-3). At over $700 billion in U.S. government securities, and despite its own mixed participation in the open economy which discourages foreign investment, China is the single largest holder of U.S. debt. With a budget deficit of over 1.8 trillion, the US continues to import Chinese goods and allow it access to investment and debt purchase at a disproportionately alarming rate. With the world economy shrinking, c oncerns are many that China will either stop buying our debt or call in markers we are unable to pay. Much of what is touted about the benefits of open economy to poorer nations is largely theoretical. Chidambaran in India in Transition presents a positive view of the

Business Communication Trend Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Communication Trend - Essay Example Business Communication Trend: Introduction: Life in the contemporary age is changing faster than ever before. Modern age is extremely influenced by technology, and we depend upon technology for almost every matter in our daily life. Our personal and social lives revolve around technology one way or another. Modern age business is no less influenced by technology. More and more businesses are becoming paperless in order to acquire the most appreciated â€Å"green† tag. Distances have lost their meaning with the readily available transport. Work does not require daylight to be executed. Hence, development has become a never stopping process. Globalization has brought cultures close to one another. Societies are becoming more and more multicultural with every passing day. Likewise, workplaces have become culturally heterogeneous in many advanced countries of the world in the present age. In modern business environment, people from different cultures and belonging to different cas tes, colors and ethnicities have to frequently interact with one another in order to accomplish the organizational objectives and keep the work flowing smoothly. Linguistic barriers have for long, remained one of the biggest obstacles in the way of growth of business. On the other hand, multiculturalism in business has always been encouraged because it allows consideration of business strategies from different cultural standings. Taking this into consideration, business entrepreneurs have traditionally remained exposed to extreme challenges of inculcating unity in a multicultural workforce. However, some of the communication strategies recently discovered have been widely implemented in business settings, and have produced fruitful results. This paper discusses some of the modern trends is business communication and explains, how they are best suited to the contemporary industrial world. Role of communication in business: Communication is a vital element of business. In the past, wh en there was no technology to facilitate business, communication in business used to be conducted through written memos. Business letters used to be the fundamental means of conveyance of strategies across the branches, and thus business had to suffer from large delays of mail delivery. â€Å"Face-to-face meetings were held, often ending with a handshake† (Hunt, 2010). With the evolution of technology, business communication matured manifolds and facilitated the business in many potential ways. In the modern business scenario, workers interact with one another through various means of communication that include but are not limited to email, videoconferencing and teleconferencing. Some principles of communication in modern age business: In any kind of business, communication must be conducted according to some basic principles that include composition, capitalization, wording, persuasion, abbreviation, organization, tone, grammar and spelling (Blake and Bly, 1991). Various mea ns of business communication: Email: Since the advent of computers, and more truthfully, the internet, significance of papers in business has faced a severe downfall. Emails have replaced the traditional paper memos that have for long, remained an integral part of business for the purpose of communication. However, in order to make the communication effective, certain email etiquettes have to be complied

Business enivronemnts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business enivronemnts - Essay Example External factors have the capacity to determine whether an organization adopts new technologies. In the IT company I worked for, one of the external factors that placed the company under pressure was the rival adoption of the technology. Notably, there is an increased competition between information technology companies. Since many of the companies operating in the same industry had not adopted the new technology, the company had to carry out a critical analysis of its potential benefits. Theorists have highlighted that it is easier to adopt a new technology when other companies in the industry have already adopted and implemented the technology. The reason for this emanates from the fact that when the first company adopts the technology, other companies can learn how to implement it and can discern the potential benefits. In addition, prices are likely to be lower. Organizations that choose to go fast in the adoption of new technology undergo experiential learning. This was the case with the IT company, which sought to adopt a new technology that competitor had not received. However, the competitors were not the only external factors. The company considered the social factors of the new technology. Worth noting is the fact that the information and technology sector presents numerous social impacts.

Contingency leadership theories and contemporary leadership Essay

Contingency leadership theories and contemporary leadership - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the general definition of contingency theories is that it is a class of behavioral theory. More so, contingency theory is a process of trying to identify and measure the conditions under which things or circumstances are likely to occur. These behavioral theories claim that there is no perfect way of organizing a corporation and the organizational structure of the company. An organizational or leadership style that is effective in some situations may differ from other organizations. This is so because organizations are different in structure and size. Therefore, the best way of having an organized organization is contingently depending on the external and internal situation of the company. This is the case because; external environments have numerous impacts on an organization in numerous ways. Critical external factors include the size of the organization, availability, labor markets, cost of capital, competitors, strategies, governme ntal laws and policies, managerial assumptions about employees, technologies used, and other diverse situations. Traditional leadership theories elaborated on leadership as nature borne of individual and established on the impossibility to create such attributes on a grown individual as illuminated by the great man theory, whilst a contrasting theory of the behavioral implicates on the possibility of an individual to be a leader as shown through traits.... Commonly, the contingency, transformational, and transactional approaches derive the best results whenever forecasting on the capabilities of an individual (CDR Associates, 2007:7). However, changes in leadership are continuously emerging because of the dynamics in the environment and acquisition of skill. Authenticity, building of trust and relationships are the modern approaches to effective organizational leadership. The cognitive perspective approach assigns that follower’s posses shared beliefs about a leader’s behaviors and beliefs about their leaders’ behaviors and traits (Gilbert, 2003:443). This influences how the followers encode information about their leaders by targeting the quality of ideas, quantity of speech and leaders ability to open up for friendliness. This means that the leader’s behavior influences his follower’s behaviors who perceive the reflection that leadership offers. Therefore, a leader should have the capability of buil ding up healthy and ethical relationships that would interconnect the personnel to a single group targeting to deliver performances to enhance organizational performances (Gill, 2010:50). The leader should remain emphatic to employees and avoid biases that would divide the employees. In order to ensure that the company performs obligations to the fullest, the leader should bear motivational characteristics and avoid any act that would seem to induce pressure on the personnel (Collins & O'Rourke, 2009:16). Though scholars had their own perspective of leadership, the bottom line of each of them was that every organization despite the size should have an efficient and outstanding leader. This is the case because efficient managerial leadership influences

Origanum Majorana Essential oil Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Origanum Majorana Essential oil - Research Paper Example Therefore some essential oils are used in order to fasten the overall recovery process of patients. Origanum Majorana Essential Oil is one of the them which is extracted from herbs; possessing relatively higher sedative, analgesic, anti-spasmodic, anti-fungal, anti-viral, expectorant, stimulant, disinfectant and calming effects (Marjoran, 2011). In this paper only one essential oil is discussed i.e. Origanum Majorana Oil with respect to the treatment of surgical ICU patients. Origanum Majorana is a Latin name for Marjoram which means ‘greater’ not because of some physical or chemical compositions but due to the ancient perception that the use of Origanum Majorana oil can increase lifespan of humans (Marjoram, 2012). This herb belongs to the family Lamiaceae. It has penetrating smell, slightly spicy taste and overall warm nature. Its chemical components include Thymol, Caryacrol, Pinenel, Camphor, Origanol, etc. The Origanum Majorana oil is extracted from its flowers. It is yellow in color and turns brown as it decomposes. It has some distinctive properties which makes it highly applicable for the treatment of surgical patients. These include (Marjoram, 2012): The oil has soothing and calming effect when consumed internally or when applied externally over the body. Its distinctive chemical composition helps in reducing stress. It provides relief to the muscle pain and throbbing. The oil has an ability to deal with the miseries of congestion and common cold. The warm and woody smell of the oil provides relaxation to human senses. Massage of Origanum Majorana releases pain during menstruation. It is also recommended for the treatment of insomnia as it regulates the functioning of nervous system. The oil is extensively used in body massage after sports. It provides warm effect to the body when used in hot bath. Description The Romans have categorized Origanum Majorana as the ‘herb of happiness’ and for the Greeks it was a key source of â⠂¬Ëœjoy to the mountains’ due to its sedative properties and an ability to reduce tension. Surgical patients experience tension before and after the surgery which is a natural phenomenon. However, the tension and emotional imbalance might lead to high blood pressure which can cause problems particularly during and after the surgery. Therefore it is the prime concern of medical professionals to reduce tension and mental stress of these patients. For this purpose several medicines and therapies are used. The application of Origanum Majorana essential oil