Beowulf

 There is proof within the writings of Beowulf that point to the writer being of the Christian faith as it was understood at the time or at least having knowledge of the Christian faith to support his writings.   "And sometimes they [the frightened warriors] sacrificed to the old stone gods. Made heathen vows, hoping for Hell's support, the Devil's guidance in driving their affliction off. That was their way, and the heathen's only hope, Hell always in their hearts, knowing neither God nor His passing as He walks through our world, the Lord of Heaven and earth; their ears could not hear His praise nor know His glory."  Today, many movie goers see the same thought process brought to life as the very understanding you get from the previous quote above.  Beowulf, the God-empowered hero as he is written about, shows how good will win over evil in the end every time.  In a movie released in 2011, The Adjustment Bureau, there are many references to “God-empowered hero” throughout the entire plot.  “God-empowered” is not  considered a new or old idea but a constant idea that can be used over and over to get a message across whether in written form or on the big screen. Furthermore, Beowulf is seemingly afraid of nothing.   He might be written in such a way that we would compare him to a superhero in the comic books today such as Spiderman or Superman.  Beowulf has a great sense of pride and his fearlessness made him a great hero proving that volunteering his life did not go unnoticed.  “Pressed? Yet I survived the sea, smashed.  The monsters’ hot jaws, swam home from my journey”. “…, nine was the number of sea-huge monsters I killed”. The detail in which Raffle writes about the Grendel coming hoping to kill is extraordinary.  Today an Author writing with such details might be someone like William Young who authored the book The Shack. He brings details in written form to life in your mind and you can almost feel every moment and see every detail of a being or place. You get that same kind of writing in Beowulf.  “Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred, Grendel came, hoping to kill anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.  He moved quickly through the cloudy night, up from his swampland, sliding silently toward that gold-shining hall”.  You envision every step based on the way the words are written.

Who is Tyler MacNiven?

The most important thing I can take away from Tyler's Travel approach is that he didn't really have a plan but to just walk. Along the way he met new people and was asked to stay in their houses. Tyler just went with the flow of the country. He learned some of their language, tried new things and ate things he wouldn't eat in America like beef stomach. You don't know what tomorrow will bring so just live in the moment with no regrets.

Tyler's approach to travel relates to his normal life because he probably walks more and travels more. He won't be afraid to try new things and he offered for people in Japan to come stay with him so, he might have a lot more company!

"Didn't just want to just experience Japan he wanted to be part of Japan." I think I will walk more because when we are in a car the whole time you do pass up the opportunity to see more and be able to experience it. When we go on family vacations we usually drive everywhere and I try to look out the window but, it’s hard to see things when you’re going 60. When we go to the beach sometimes I will just walk up the beach for miles to see something that catches my eye. When we travel to Ireland and Great Britain I want to be able to experience everything as a whole. When we go to London I hope we are walking a lot, even though I hate walking I want to see new things in a different eye. Not threw a glass window. The Ring of Kerry is one of the most beautiful spots and when I see pictures I just say “that place is stunning”. I hope we are able to get out and walk around their and not be in a bus or a tourist bus the whole time. I want to maybe be able to stick my hand in the water and really experience this new journey in my life.

I think Tyler’s advice for our trip will be number one to have fun and learn something new. One of the quotes he said through the movie was “if you give yourself to the journey, the journey gives itself to you” so basically to take everything one step at a time and be able to experience it and not just be their but really learn and be part of the place.

I am most excited to ask Tyler if, there was one family that stood out to you particularly well staying in their home.  What did he miss the most well walking through Japan? Would he ever walk another country and if so which one and why?