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Beowulf and Death Row Records

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We often think of the "Old English" time as an era filled with mighty pagan warriors gathered in a dark wooden room, drinking ale to celebrate their victory in a brutish bloody battle. Or maybe we picture brawny Vikings with dirty faces wearing animal skins while sailing in large wooden ships. You may even imagine the crude but lovable Hagar the Horrible from the popular comic strip. Regardless to which of these views you take, we always think of the "Old English" as a time far in the past. Even though we may not notice, the strong brutal men of this past era infiltrate our everyday lives.

These barbaric warriors are found in our society as street gangs. Although they have different appearances, weapons, and transportation, these two …show more content…

In Beowulf's time, most warriors were quite violent. They often engaged inbattles with enemies until death, or with opponents until the end of the match. The paganwarriors are remembered as brutal, killing those necessary to protect their village or stealanother's. They were also known to use violence to obtain riches or ships from otherwarriors. Similar to pirates, they used brute force to take what they wanted. Street gangsalso use such violence. Whether it be to protect their property or members, or to stealfrom others, gangsters use various weapons to obtain what they want. Just as paganwarriors fought battles with rival villages, street gangs also engage in battles with rivalgangs or sometimes with police. Gang violence can vary from street fights to drive-byshootings, often involving innocent victims. This horrible violence is evident in themedia. It varies from gansta rap such as 2Pac or Dr. Dre, to movies such as New JackCity or Juice, and can even be seen in such TV shows as "New York Undercover" and"NYPD Blue". A less obvious example of gangs is in the new version of Romeo andJuliet. In this rendition of the old Shakespeare classic, the Capulets and Montagues areno longer just rival families, but now rival gangs who engage in tremendous violenceagainst each other to keep the two lovers apart. But gang violence is also felt quite closeto home. The guard for NC State's basketball team, Anthony Grundy,

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