The Perfect Mile

Macbeth

Federigo's Falcon

Theme Words:

Love, Suffering, Money, Death, and Fate.

Quotations:

"My lady, he said, ever since God decreed that you should become the object of my love, I have repeatedly had cause to complain of Fortune's hostility towards me" (Boccaccio 164). Ever since Federigo first saw Monna Giovanna he spent all his wealth trying to impress her until he lost everything and had to live in poverty. Even though he spent all his money on her and still failed he never gave up loving her and trying to make her happy.

"When you did me the kindness of telling me that you wished to breakfast with me, I considered it right and proper, having regard to your excellence and merit, to do everything within my power to prepare a more sumptuous dish...my thoughts therefore turned to the falcon you have asked me for and, knowing its quality, I reputed it a worthy dish to set before you"  (Boccaccio 164). Federigo's Falcon was his last earthly possession that he loved dearly. In order to please Giovanna he ironically fed her the falcon that she was coming to him for. Federigo was finally able to win her love after sacrificing everything he owned.

Connections:

Federigo's Falcon can be connected to the popular movie "The Notebook". In the notebook the guy gets the girl  but they end up breaking up for several year. After a long chain of events he gets the girl at the very end and they spend the rest of their life together. This is very similar to Federigo's Falcon because in the long run both of the girls realized that the guy was a gentlemen to them and that they deserved to have them.

The story can easily be related to men in the real world because guys will spend a ton of money on drinks, cars, or expensive clothing just to impress girls. Federigo did this exact thing and ended up bankrupting himself with only one possession left; his falcon. This shows that men today still behave the way that they did when Federigo's Falcon was written by spending all their money in hopes to impress a girl.

Pardoner's Tale

Theme Words:

Greed, Death, Evil, Hatred, and Deceitful.

Quotations:

"Well sirs, he said, if it be your design to find Death, turn up this crooked way towards that grove...reached the tree and there they found a pile of golden florins on the ground" (Chaucer 130). This quote personifies death as a pile of gold that will eventually lead to the death of the three men. The old man knew that greed would drive the men to kill each other to take more gold for themselves so it can be said that greed is the ultimate flaw in humans.

"Exactly in the way they'd planned his death they fell on him and slew him, two to one. Then said the first of them when this was done, now for a drink. Sit down and let's be merry...Drank from it also, and they perished both" (Chaucer 132). The three men were so greedy and wanted more gold that they were willing to kill each other in order to get more gold for themselves. This shows how greedy humans can be and how dangerous objects like money can make us.

Connections: 

The pardoner's Tale can be connected to the real world of politics because on their campaign they talk about all the good things they will and can do, but when they get elected they sometimes can become corrupted and do only bad things. The three men represent the politicians, they set out with a goal to kill death but along the way they find gold. Once they find this gold they would rather kill each other than do the logical thing and just split it evenly.

The story can also relate to the British Empire's complete take over of India. India was very rich and resources and at the time the British were extremely powerful and were able to conquer India and became wealthy off of their resources. This is a direct representation of the men in the Pardoner's Tale because they were willing to kill people just to obtain riches for themselves. Both of these examples show the true nature of human greed.

Grendel

Theme Words: 

Pointless, Mechanical, and Violent.

Quotations:

"But deer, like rabbits and bears and even men, can make, concerning my race, no delicate distinctions. That is their happiness: they see all life without observing it. They're buried like crabs in mud. Except men, of course" (Gardner 8). When Grendel first sees man he realizes that they are different from the other creatures he had previously observed because they have the ability to think, plan, and observe life around them. This is what makes Grendel afraid of the humans from the start even though he is a terrifyingly huge beast.

Connections:

Grendel shows the same type of signs and emotions of people that have depression. Grendel always expresses the cynical views of life rather than the positive and lives in solitude. People with depression usually have a bad view on life or their situation in life. Grendel also feels alone because no one ever really looks at him or talks to him, even his mother barely interacts with him. Depression can also be caused by loneliness or a small amount of interaction. Grendel is a great example of someone with Depression because of his views on life and how he is treated. 

Beowulf

Theme: 

Courage, Loyalty, Mortality, and Heroism

Quotations:

"The ninth hour of the day arrived. The brave Shieldings abandoned the cliff-top and the king went home; but sick at heart, staring at the mere, the strangers held on. They wished, without hope, to behold their lord, Beowulf himself" (111). The dedication and loyalty of Beowulf's men is shown in this quote because the other men abandoned Beowulf in his darkest hour while the others stayed and waited. This shows that the Shieldings did not know Beowulf as well as his soldiers did and doubted his ability.

Connections:

People in the real world need brave men or "heroes" to protect them in their everyday lives, such as police officers, firefighters, or the military. All these brave men and women can be directly to Beowulf and his band of soldiers. Beowulf protected the Danes and their mead hall from the beast known as Grendel just like police officers keep us safe from the dangers of the world.

Once a Runner

Theme:

Sense of Self, Journey, Alienation, Accomplishment, and Power.

Quotations:

"Quenton Cassidy moved out to the second lane, the Lane of High Hopes, and ran out the rest of the life in him" (Parker 266). As an athlete, Cassidy competes as hard as he possibly can without worrying about the outcome. The phrase "the rest of the life in him" shows how hard he races and is extremely impressive. Quenton Cassidy is an elite athlete that manages to push himself to a place that no normal human being can accomplish.

"Another twenty,' Even though Denton said it seriously,... And they began it all again" (Parker 221). Cassidy had just run forty 400's and was already extremely tired after pushing himself to what he thought was his best. This quote really shows the character of Cassidy because even though he is tired he can smile about it and face the next twenty with courage and strength.

Connections:

As an athlete myself, I can personally connect to the character Quenton Cassidy. Everyday at practice it is necessary to always have a positive attitude so you will have positive results. Cassidy shows this continuously throughout the book by smiling through workouts even though he is running as hard as he possibly can. In races and practices an athlete should show strong character, I can easily relate to Cassidy on an athletic level because of the amount of work you must put in to become great.

Quenton Cassidy can represent any professional or collegiate athlete because of his desire to work hard and set goals for himself. Even though Cassidy's main goal throughout the book is to run a sub four minute mile however, the majority of the book is about how much he trains everyday to get there. This shows an inside look at athletes and show people that in order to be great you must put in a ton of work.