Gray Gissinger
Mrs. Burman
Brit Lit
12/12/13


                                                                            Hal vs. Hotspur


                 
     In Henry IV, by William Shakespeare, there are two characters that were destined to fight since the beginning of the play, Prince Harry and Harry Percy.  These two characters are both in the same position but have extremely different roles to play in the story.  One path is of innocence, fairness, and goodness, and the other is of hatred, vengeance, and evil.  
 
    Harry, or Hal, is the Prince of Whales, he is the son of the king, King Henry, and is expected to act like a proper young prince. Instead he spends his time drinking, partying, sleeping around, and giving his father and his country little hope for their next leader to be a quality one.  On the other side of the spectrum, Harry Percy, or Hotspur, is a well renowned nobleman soldier who fights in the name of his country, and is a perfect heir to the throne, but would not be heir since Hal and his brothers are alive and he is not blood to the crown.  Hal is being constantly compared to Hotspur by his father, King Henry wishes his son was Hotspur since Hotspur is a natural leader, he is responsible, he is brave, and because he is willing to die for his country.  Hal has never seen the lights of battle and will not until the end of the play.  Hal, to his father, is a child in a young man’s body who enjoys drinking and partying with the local peasants and refuses to listen to authority and has had everything handed to him his entire life. Hotspur has had to work his way through the ranks to earn his
position and King Henry respects that, but he loves his son to much to give up his right to rule, which Hotspur hates.  Hal tends to hang out with the wrong crowd; he is either with Falstaff drinking or is with Falstaff Stealing.  His father does not respect Hal’s actions especially with Falstaff, a washed up knight who lost his honor and gave up on himself.  No matter what Henry says to his son he will always love him, even when he has to scold his son he is always trying to do what is best for him. Henry has a love for Hotspur, he is like a son he never had, but he cuts him no slack since he expects the best from him and no less.  
 
    Hal earns for his father’s love, but never does anything about his father’s warning about his future.  On the other hand, Hotspur, realizing he will never have the throne, refuses to comply with what king henry is asking due to the fact that he is fed up with being the king’s favorite, who will never be a true son.  Once Hotspur realizes this he decides to take is own path and start a rebellion against the king, just as Henry did to the king before him.  The tipping point for Hotspur was when the king tried to force Hotspur to turn over prisoners of war, when Hotspur wanted them to himself.  After seeing Hotspur walk away from him, Henry lashes out on his son for being rebellious.  He called him in and demanded change or would kick him out of the family. 
Hal not only agrees to what his father asks, but he promises more and even to kill the rebel, Harry Percy.  

    There were two men, equal in ability and in stature, but one took a path of righteousness and redemption, while the other to a path of revenge and anger.  Both men are fighting each other in a battle for power, and in a battle of pride.  But Hotspur fights out of anger and hatred for Hal and King Henry, while Hal fights out of love for his father and his family. I believe that both men started off in the same place, and that they both had the same goal, but they took opposing paths to achieve it.  Hotspurs path was to kill Henry and Hal and assume the throne.  And Hal’s path was to win over his father’s love by defeating Hotspur and showing his father he was ready for the throne.  After both characters meet
again in the final battle scene they have an epic dual and Hotspur is killed by
Hal, this to me is a right of passage for Hal because he not only shows his
father he is ready to lead, but he proves to himself that he is mature enough to
take the thrown, and he shows the readers that good will triumph over
evil.


 

Gray Gissinger
Brit Lit/G
Ms. Burman

Beowulf Blog

In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, people see the character Beowulf to be the perfect man, but what qualities make him so idealistic. Beowulf has many memorable qualities, such as his leadership skills, his
religious faith, or his boastful pride, but these qualities are what make him a
great leader/influence to both the Geats and the Danes.  Beowulf is a great leader, and by using his skills he was able to make his way to the top. His pride helped him stay confident, his faith helped him stay humble, his leadership made him admirable and noble, and his actions throughout the poem make him a true hero.  

The first thing that makes Beowulf so easy to idealize is his leadership, without this trait nobody would stand behind him. The man whose name was known for courage, the Geat leader, resolute in his helmet, answered in return: "We are retainers from Hygelac's band. Beowulf is my name." (340-343) this quote shows leadership because he is called the courageous Geat leader, showing he is already well known as a hero/leader. And 
it also shows how he is the first to present himself or speak of or for his king, establishing to the reader and to the Danes that he is the leader of his band of thanes.  The next quality that makes Beowulf so amazing is his faith in God. The monster wrenched and wrestled with him but Beowulf was mindful of his mighty strength, the wondrous gifts God had showered on him: He relied for help on the Lord of All, on His care and favour. So he overcame the foe, brought down the hell-brute. (1269-1274). this quote explains how Beowulf would not have won the fight against Grendel if God did not want him to win, showing his faith in God, and God’s faith in him. 
Beowulf constantly prays to God or mentions God, especially during battle, this shows his humble side because he sees that without God he would not be where he is today, and he uses this humble side to recognize God’s actions and to thank him for how kind he has been to Beowulf.  But with Beowulf’s humbleness, he also has excessive pride that sometimes overpowers his reasoning abilities.  "When it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel. So it won't be a cutting edge I'll wield to mow him down, easily as I might. He has no idea of the arts of war, of shield or sword-play, although he does possess a wild strength.  No weapons, therefore, for either this night: unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares. And may the Divine Lord in His wisdom grant the glory of victory to whichever side He sees fit." (677-687)  This quote shows how Beowulf is being cocky to show that he is better than Grendel, and takes off all of his armor to set
himself level to the beast,
Beowulf’s pride is what keeps him confident and
successful in battle but
Hrothgar warns him not to let his pride get ahead
of him, because it will be the
death of him.