Free Essays - Seamus Heaneys Beowulf :: Epic Beowulf essays

Seamus Heaney's Beowulf Having a good and noble king is vital to the succession and happiness of a group of people. Unfortunately, not all kings are good kings, but the welfare of their people reflects on their ability to do the job. Having a foreign or pariah king will cause the people's welfare to suffer, but when a group of people has an excellent king, they will remain joyful and prosperous until the day he dies. If the reign of a king causes feud, then this would not have a positive effect on the group of people under his reign. In Seamus Heaney's Beowulf, Hrothgar, king of Denmark, considers giving his kingship to Beowulf, the Geat warrior who came to Denmark in order to defeat Grendel, who is the devilish monster attacking the Danes, as a service to King Hrothgar. When Queen Wealtheow, King Hrothgar's wife, hears of this, she says to him, "The word is that you want to adopt this warrior as a son. So, while you bask in your fortune, and then bequeath kingdom and nation to your kith and kin before decease. I am sure of Hrothulf" (183.1175-9). By saying this, she is warning her husband about what problems may arise if he were to give his kingship to a foreigner. She then reminds Hrothgar of Hrothulf's distinguished traits and that he is also stripping his own sons of their rights to kingship if he goes through with handing the throne over to Beowulf. Wealtheow is most likely worri ed about Beowulf just simply conquering their people for Geatland, the people not liking his foreign methods, she obviously does not want to take kingship rights from her beloved relatives whom she considers worthy of the role, and does not want to see friction occur between Beowulf and their kin. Wealtheow knows that allowing a foreigner to take over the throne of Denmark will cause the welfare of the Danes to suffer. When a king goes bad, his people lose respect in him, are no longer content and successful as a people, and are likely to rebel against him. Hrothgar says to Beowulf, "Do not give way to pride"(121.1760). He is explaining to Beowulf that excessive pride is a king's worst enemy.

Nursing During Civil War Essay

The American Civil War occurred between 1861 and 1865. When the war began, there was no organized medical corps for either the Union Army or the Confederate Army. Up until then, nursing was still considered a â€Å"loose term† as far what a nurse is and does. There were no official nursing schools or professional trained nurses available. As newspapers wrote about the poor and unsanitary conditions that wounded solider were subjected to, hundreds of women volunteered to help provide assistance to the wound solders (Egenes). Make-shift hospital and clinics were created on the battlefield to care for the wounded. As a result of having no organized medical corps in the army, conditions at most of the hospitals were poor. More soldiers during this time died of complications other than battlefield wounds such as dysentery, small pox, and pneumonia. (Son of the South). Hospitals were overcrowded and nurses lacked adequate quality of food and water, clean clothing, sanitation equipment, and other medication supplies to properly provide care for the injured. Because of this, hospitals were breeding grounds for disease and death. During this time, army physicians did not favor female volunteer nurses, believing female nurses were inexperienced and disorganized. Several woman help elevate the status of nurses during the Civil War and on. One woman that did just that was Dorothea Dix. Dix was a school teacher that was appointed as the Superintendent of Army Nursing for the Union Army. Through her position she was able to help organized medical efforts, set standards for military nurses, and to lobby for medical supplies for the Union Army. Another woman that had an impact on nursing was Clara Burton, also known as â€Å"Angel of the Battlefield. After her father died, she began to collect supplies and provide care to the wounded at the front lines. As word around the army grew about her compassion and care, Burton began getting support for her cause and the nursing cause as a whole. After the war, she continued her efforts in nursing and eventually inaugurated a movement to gain recognition for the International Committee of the Red Cross by the United States government (Epler).

The Differences Between The And The British Welfare State

Welfare state in a country is essential for the economic and social well-being of their citizen, this is also historically a very important achievement for the inhabitant who are supported in case of need. Welfare state is different in every nation and there are four models in Europe: the Nordic model, the Continental model, the Anglo-Saxon model and the Mediterranean model. Because of these differences it would be interesting to make a contrast between two of them, as among the Italian Welfare state and the British welfare state, in order to understand the weaknesses and strengths of both the systems. The Mediterranean model includes the Italian welfare state, in which the ideal of family has a central role, in facts it is the main resort of this system. Family has the responsibility of children and elderly people and the state has only a marginal function, which is assist them in doing this task. The six main pillars of this system are the health care, the social security, the education, the housing, the unemployment and the pension. On the other hand, there is the Anglo Saxon Model, which main purpose is the prevention of poverty and social exclusion. This model was built upon the proposal of Lord Beveridge, who in 1942 declared that there were â€Å"five giants on the road to reconstruction†, those were poverty, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness. After World War II Beveridge proposed an idea of welfare state, which was based on social security, National HealthShow MoreRelatedThe Welfare State Essay1669 Words   |  7 PagesTHE WELFARE STATE: The role and significance of the Beveridge Report in establishing the Welfare State in Britain. 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