Essay on Magical Stranger in Literature

Introduction

Literature is built on the platform of creativity as well as facts. Personal accounts also constitute literature. In this case, magical stranger helps in building up an argument as posted in the 'Handsomest drowned man in the world' (Daly, 2003). On this date, I made a very important discovery that shaped my perspective with regard to communication. In particular, I noted that learning is defined by instincts modified by social environment as opposed to general physical intent to learning. In particular, I had visited my friend's house that parent had a new born baby about a year ago. At this time, the young child was making some movements while at the same time producing some sound that could suggest communication cue.

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For instance, when we were playing handball with my friend, I noted that the young kid was glaring at us curiously though, with minimal movements. This aspect is a magical stranger in the phase of my literary account. After a moment of our game in their home compound, the young kid stood up mesmerized while pointing at my friend who had been holding the bold below the armpit. It took me a moment before I noted the baby was curiously focused to nothing but the ball. Ultimately, as demonstrated in the 'Handsomest drowned man in the world'; magical stranger appears in my experience of real life, a clear aspect of literature. Soon, my friend placed the ball against the wall of the fence. No sooner had my friend left to a resting area that the small kid advanced towards the ball, held it in his hand and began to aimlessly toss it against the ground. I noted that his movement was more informed by our motion a few minutes ago.

Within a short moment, the kid threw the ball swaying to my friend's head though with due effort since he was weak and tender-aged. Intentionally, I asked my friend to hold the ball in the hands and or hide it under a piece of cloth. However, as soon as the ball was hidden, the child began to cry pointing at the ball. In an experimental fashion, I asked my friend to throw it back to the kid and watch his movement. The kid responded in broad smile perhaps showing great satisfaction. The immense happiness however sent mixed signals to me. Ultimately, I consider magical stranger as an important attribute of my experience. I first wondered if the kid laughed as a result of the 'throw' from my friend or else, the seemingly 'started game'. In a moment, the kid threw back the ball back to my friend who holds it again and hides it briefly. The same response rent the air. The kid burst into cry until the ball was unveiled. He cried as he pointed at the ball. When it was thrown back to him, he held it meticulously, tossed it once and threw it to me. This was confusing as I did not know why he changed from his brother to me.

This time round, I held the ball, tossed it a little and threw it back to him. The baby boy was so happy and dived with the ball as if was in a swimming pool. In a moment, he threw it back to me. In every subsequent 'throw', the young boy made it better perhaps reminding me of how we had been doing it with his sibling. The kid was physically small and hardly able to communicate fluently but learnt so fast. I remembered when I was young, I reminded my parents to buy me a ball but they constantly told me that I had to wait until I grew up to be able to play ball game. I grew up knowing that skills development is directly associated with physical growth. This was however not true. I learnt that observation, interest and practices comprise some of the factors that contribute to development of skills. I also discovered that skills are not directly related to physical characteristic of individuals. Learning is a function of many aspects including interest and practice as opposed to mere physical ability. This was a major discovery that would impact greatly to my skills development in future.

Another critical aspect of magical stranger is manifested in the Beowulf Poem. The poem begins through a genealogy of a Danish royal family; the founder of the dynasty is Scyld Shefing who also becomes the King of Danes (Thurschwell, 2001). However, his rise to be the king is not facilitated by wealth since he comes from a poor family but he is able to sack his enemies. Magical stranger is an important aspect that helps derive the atypical meaning from a set of literature. Scyld has a son called Beow, also called Beowulf. He is also known as the great king since he gave out his treasures to the men to ensure that his companion would stand with him in future. When Scyld dies, people bury him as well as his treasures in the sea through a ceremonial engagement of Germanic ceremony (Picard, 2010). Beowulf therefore rises to the throne and has a son called Healfdene who later fathers Hrothgar, the Dane king at the start of the story. Both Beowulf and Scyld are the protagonists.

In this case, the prologue narrates an age of Dane's glory yet it presents a bitter one. With reference to the 'Grand old days' of the heroes is replaced with a period of cowardice. From the description, Scyld is presented as a mighty king that can overcome anything. He compares his great-great grandson, Hrothgar that is keenly fighting a single enemy but allows the enemy to resume the kingdom fully devoid of any attempt to eliminate the monster personally. The narrator foreshadows another critical weakness in Germanics. Besides, the Beowulf of Danes also reserves his me faithfully through paying treasures to each as shown later in the poem while treasure does not leave Beowulf to fight alone (Palmer, 2005).

Conclusion

In this poem, the arrival of the Grendel is likened to the issue of creation and floods where a paradise is built while people enjoy its gains until they are doomed with a disaster. Despite their understanding of the God and the Christian rituals, the people turn to pagan rituals, while the Danes expect Pagan Gods to assist them from the dire challenge. This is a clear magical stranger manifested through the Grendel. The Grendel cannot be acquired with a traditional Danegeld that is paid to an opponent to prevent his attack.

References

Daly, N. (2003). Literature, Technology and Magical Thinking, 1880-1920.

Palmer, J. V. (2005). A stranger in a strange land: Magical thinking in the fiction of AlistairMacLeod.

Picard, A. M. (2010). THE READING BODY: Psychopathology, Magical Thinking &Literature. RELIEF-Revue electronique de litterature francaise, 4(1), 102-122.

Thurschwell, P. (2001). Literature, technology and magical thinking, 1880-1920 (Vol. 32).Cambridge University Press.