Saturday night jail cell

The officer finally removed my cuffs. Dark red rings encircled my wrists. I remember thinking he had placed them too tight on me but I would have done the same had I been the officer. I’m a big guy after all.

I rubbed my chafed wrists and took in my surroundings. I sat on a bench in the middle of the station. Cops wandered around, all business. When I’d show them a smile, they’d either roll their eyes or turn away. The stench of bar smoke radiating from my shirt drowned the rest of the odors. The few jail cells I saw held multiple prisoners (I think they’re called prisoners in a county jail). They weren’t anything like you see in the movies. There were no bars, nothing but a small, thick window placed in the cell door, criss-crossed with wire.

They escorted me to the nearest cell. The cells were larger than I originally thought, but there were also more prisoners squeezed in than I assumed thought possible.

The cell’s dimensions were about six foot by twelve foot, with extra space at the end for the toilet. A short cement wall stood between the throne and the rest of the small room. A pleasant surprise after all the movies I’d watched showing the prisoners use the restroom in the center of the cell. At least a dozen men crowded the cell, tight enough that I didn’t dare raise my elbows. The door closed behind me. I stood at the front of the small group, noting that almost every set of eyes focused on me. Some of the prisoners were short, some tall, some huge. 

“So… What are you all in for?” My stomach flipped end over end as soon as the words left my mouth. The stereotypical saying didn’t sound as cool as it does when said in movies.

After a long pause, they all cracked up. Music to my ears considering where I was.

The rest of the night went smooth for the most part. Over a period of hours, they removed every prisoner except two others and me. I sat on the stone bench with my arms crossed, leaning back against the cold wall. I pondered the evening’s events and my actions.

That’s when it began. A low moan echoed through the cell. My eyes slowly opened. I searched for the strange sound, barely audible over my cellmate's snores. I heard it again right before the splash of water.

Toilet paper flashed through my mind, along with the current location of my other cellmate. An hour and a half this went on. I wish I were kidding. Snores, moans, a putrid odor… And don’t forget about the occasional splatter of water.

I really didn’t sleep after that. If I did, it wasn’t more than seconds at a time. Eventually, the snoring stopped and the black man sat up with a wide grin, renewing my fears. He's not too big, about six feet. Hope he's not in here for any violent crimes, rape or something. Maybe he's a murderer... Nah, they wouldn't put me in with a hard‑core criminal. I'm just a drunk driver... never committed a crime, never had an accident, never been in jail. Look, Officer, I didn’t want to kill any babies; I just wanted to get home from the party. You expect me to walk home from Tampa ‘cause I drank some beer? Says 'Safe Driver' right on my license. They wouldn't...  None of us spoke until breakfast. I’m not sure what time, but it was early, a cop entered with three small brown paper bags. He handed one to each of us and left.

Thanks

The person in our english class whom I am most thankful for is Matthew Patrick. This year, after Jonny got kicked of the team, and Ryan sustained an injury, we needed someone else to run Varsity.  Matt really stepped it up, improving more in one year than most athletes do in four. His improvement allowed us to only be a slightly pathetic team, as opposed to a shamefully atrocious one. For this, I thank you Matt Pat. Hopefully, you will join us next year on a team that is significantly more respectable.

Then He is Dead?

Were Macbeth King for 17 years, as he was in reality, then almost all of his acts would have been worth it. The deceit, the treachery, even the regicide; everything, save the murder of Banquo. Banquo is Macbeth's colleague and seemingly his best friend. When Macbeth is killing Duncan, it is not that much of a difference from when he is killing Macdonwald or his men, as he doesn't personally know Duncan. While he feels guilt and remorse for having killed his liege, his mental anguish is nothing compared to when he has to kill Banquo. There is no title worth having that one must kill their best friend to claim. The experience of ordering the killing of Banquo quite literally drives Macbeth to insanity. His lust for power and insatiable ambition lead him to make a decision that destroys him. Macduff's killing of Macbeth comes as a mercy, for it spares him from having to live with his actions.

From the Crown to the Toe

        When it was prophesied that Macbeth would be hailed as Thane of Cawdor and later become king, we see a change gradually come over him, in part due to the prodding of Lady Macbeth. As we see her ambition exposed, it causes the reader to wonder whether she is eager simply for her husband to gain recognition, prestige, and power, or if she is merely interested in the benefits she would receive as queen of Scotland.

     It does truly seem like an honest desire for her husband to achieve what he is worthy of. However her harsh verbal assaults upon him leave open the possibility that her own selfish desires are her motivation. It seems unlikely that, thinking only of his best interests, she would manipulate him into a position where he felt that he had to commit regicide. It is possible that while she had his best interests at heart, she caused him to act in a manner that was foolish to act in. regardless of whether she had her interests at heart, or her husband's, things did not turn out exactly as she had planned.

Modern Day Lessons

The most important lesson learned from the pardoners tale is that you must surround yourself with people you trust. The three rioters strove to eliminate each other, not only out of greed, but also because they knew that the others would not hesitate to eliminate them, if given the chance. This culture of fear acted as a catalyst in their decisions to eliminate their fellow rioters. If they had been able to trust their compatriots not to stab them in the backs when given the chance, then they might have been able to overcome their greed and simply split the money and move on.

Greed may have been at the root of this betrayal, but the events could also not have transpired were it not for the personalities of the rioters. While others placed in their situation would likely have desired all of the gold, only these deeply flawed people would go to the lengths of killing their accomplices for it. These louts are acting as the pardoner would like people to think people act, simply because he is the one telling the tale, and it benefits him to inspire a fear of greed in any people listening to his tale, because that will result in more money foe himself.

Modern Day Beowulf

         It is difficult to find a "modern day Beowulf" because there are not many people with the same values as Beowulf, and those that do share common values with him are not going around killing monsters. It is my belief that there is no sole person who is a good representation of a modern day beowulf, rather, I feel that the closest thing there is to a modern day beowulf is the United States, and more specifically the United States military.
         One example of this is the "war on terror" in which the government of the United States has identified several terrorist organizations, most notably Al Qaeda and set out to destroy them, in much the way Beowulf set out to destroy Grendel. In both situations the villain is looked at as having no rationale other than being purely evil, regardless of any evidence to the contrary. The United States Military is considered by Americans, and many other western nations as heroic, whereas there are many onlookers who condemn them for being too heavy handed. This is similar to Beowulf in the sense that when he kills Grendel and Grendel's mother, his men as well as the Danes see him as a great hero, however it is easy to see how someone looking at the situation from another perspective might think that he went too far.
       In some regards, it seems as though the responses to both situations, 9/11 and Grendel slaughtering the Danes, were only marginally more moral than the situations themselves. In both cases the response was to seek out, and kill, the perpetrators. Well it is subject to debate as to whether or not those were the right responses, they do seem very similar in nature, hence my likening Beowulf to the United States military.