Custom term paper on Beowulf and the dragon

I want to discuss the symbol of dragon. I’d like to use different cultures and nations for this analysis, because the symbol of dragon was very popular in ancient times and even now many people use it for their aims. For example, on the east a faith in dragons is strong till today. In a most degree it behaves to China, Tibet, Japan and Korea.
In China of legend about dragons ascend by 5000 years to our era. The Chinese people honored and worshiped a dragon from times of deep antiquity, and gradually its appearance took the central place in beliefs and myths of China. Numerous legends were saved about that, how at the court of some mythical sovereigns saw to the dragons, and also – about filiations of legendary rulers and heroes from the union of woman and dragon. There is also legend, that ancestor of all objects and people – Nyuy-va, was a woman-dragon.
Dragons in China symbolize by itself a valor and nobleness and considered creatures wise, possessing magic and secret knowledge. In “Book of Changes” a dragon means a hieroglyph “sage”. The pictures of dragons are closely related to the weather and harvest. Most dragons patronize some certain natural phenomenon. More frequent than all east dragons are attributed to positive or neutral forces, but, equally with kind, there are wicked dragons, ruining a harvest and sending down illnesses. Such happens usually, when a death man inflicts a dragon an insult. Revenge of the infuriated dragon will be terrible and then. There are legends and about by an evil, Black dragon to which, in order that to cajole it, in a victim brought young girls. And however more frequent people behaved to the dragons, as to the defenders.custom term paper
Unlike east, western dragons usually presented as spiteful, thirsty murder and blood, by creatures. About the mountains of gold and jewels, hidden in their caves, legends walk. Getting treasures of dragon is possible, only putting to death their owner. Western dragons are dangerous and cruel and, as well as east, quite often possess magic force. It is talked that at meeting with a dragon it is never impossible to look it in eyes, otherwise it will find lordship over you and will subordinate you. Often dragons are considered the servants of Satan or even its embodiment. There is a popular belief that, who will eat the heart of dragon, will find knowledge of bird language, than, who will eat the tongue of dragon, will be able to win in any dispute, blood of dragon protects from wounds and any weapon. Murder of dragon was considered for a knight an obligatory exploit; therefore almost all dragons were destroyed in middle ages.
In the West dragon always presented spiteful. One of classic exploits of heroes there was the victory over a dragon. In “Beowulf”, written in England in seventh or eighth age, a dragon stayed three hundred years on the guard of treasure. An eloping slave had hidden in his cave and steals a cup. Waking up, a dragon notices a theft and decides to put to death a thief, but from time to time goes back into a cave – to check, whether he did not put cup not into its place. (It is surprisingly, that a poet adds a monster with pure human uncertainty.) Then a dragon begins to beggar a kingdom, Beowulf searches for it and, battling with it, kills, soon whereupon dies from a vital wound, inflicted by the dragon’s fangs.
Also I can add to the above stated the next description said by Puhvel & Laurier: “The author describes the thief as “someone’s slave”. The thief is the first character in Beowulf that is not a warrior or a king. The dragon is guarding a treasure hoard left by “the last survivor of a noble race,” who, before he died, locks his gold and jewels in a stone fortress. After that Last Survivor dies, his treasure-hoard is guarded by a dragon for whom the treasures are useless. The thief angers the dragon by stealing a single cup from the treasure-hoard.” (Puhvel & Laurier, 1979)
Character of dragon was brought to Britain Romans which carried its image on the colors; ancient Britons did a dragon the character of fight against Saxon invaders; at Celt it symbolized ability to suggest horror, and also invincibility, and from here is independence. National character of Wales is a red dragon of the Wales hero 7 centuries of Kadvallader (on the Wales flag a red dragon is represented on the green-white field); Henry VII adopted a red dragon, to underline resulting from Kadvallader.
On East the «winged snake» possesses space, supernatural force; dragons guard treasures, they serve as characters of fertility and force. In China it is a creature, having most spiritual force, character of life and light; the emblem of the Chinese emperor’s family is a gold dragon. On east horoscopes a dragon is the happiest sign. In 1988, year of Dragon, the Chinese parents ignored a law, prescriptive to give twins the different names, and named them the sons of dragon.
Biggs pictured the part of Beowulf in the next way that acknowledges above stated information with academic source: “The story is that the dragon finds a hidden barrow, filled with treasure, which it takes as its own. A slave who has run away from his master find the hoard, and steals a cup. When the dragon awakes, he realizes the cup is missing. He searches around until he sees the footprints of the culprit. Realising that humans took the cup, he ravages the local area with fire in revenge. This is set many years after the fight with Grendel, when Beowulf is King of the Geats. Accompanied by various nobles, he sets out to fight to dragon.” (Biggs, 2001)



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