Short Story - Saturday Night in Jail

     My wrists ache in pain from the cuffs. The way I'm forced to sit on this metal bench inside this jail cell isn't helping me either. I reckon another hour or so and I'll lose my arms completely. I lean back on the cold cement wall and close my eyes.
     I wake up to an officer shaking me by my shoulders. She was the same officer who has arrested me tonight a couple hours ago. Her badge read the name Debbie. She grabbed my arm and tried to help me stand up, but I quickly stood up and shook her off. She gave me a cold look. I don't blame her.
     I was led out of the cell and down the hall. Debbie pushed me into a dimly lit interrogation room and then walked out, locking the door behind her. There was a phone on the table in the middle of the room. She didn't untie my wrists from behind my back, probably payback for everything earlier. It took me about ten minutes but I finally called my friend to bail me out.
     "Hey man, I need you to spot me. They got me and they want a grand."
     "That's nuts dude! What the **** did you do this time?"
     "It's not important right now. I need you to come down here and get me out."
     "You already owe me man. What do I get?"
     "Get down here before I lose my temper."
     "Fine, I'll be there in half an hour. But you gotta tell me what you did now"
     I sighed, "I was on the train, a few stops from home. And I saw this teenage girl just walk into the train and like she had piercings all over her head and cut up jeans. All the ****ed up **** kids wear these days."
     "Man her parents must've been real bad at raising her. My kid would never get a piercing man."
     "Anyway, out of all the empty seats in the train, she chooses to sit next to me. And I was clearly enjoying the wide seat to myself. She just barges into my space and now I gotta scoot over."
     "No respect these days, so sad."
     "So I'm like annoyed, so I say, 'What's with all the piercings and stuff girl? Don't you have any decency?' And she gives me the most cold look you ever seen and mutters, 'Leave me alone.'
     "Dammn man. I told ya these kids are up to no good. How'd this end up with you in jail though?"
     "I'm getting there aight? So I start arguing with her, telling her to get her act together. Then this lady starts walking over here from the other side of the train and asks her if she has a problem with me. I'm like, 'Lady! Don't you see the problem with teenagers dressing like her dressing like ****s and hoes?' And get this, she tells me to stop bothering the girl."
     "Dude that's messed up."
     "I know right man. So then she asks the girl if she'd like me to stop because she can make me stop bothering her. And I say, 'What are you gonna do huh? I can knock you out in a single punch.' Then she lifts me up and pushes me against the wall and says, 'Verbally assaulting a minor is one thing. You just threatened a cop. You're looking at a thousand tonight.'"
     "What the **** man! Aight I'm five minutes from you. You don't owe me for this one. Don't worry about it."
     "Thanks man."
     I hung up.

Thankful

This Thursday, I reminisce about the blessings that were bestowed upon me in since last Thanksgiving. Regarding my classmates, I'm most thankful for meeting Elena. Her constant friendship during junior year has been the best gift I've received. That's all I want to say. There's no way of continuing this entry without setting an uncomfortable, awkward mood.

Then he is dead?

Macbeth's short time in the throne was not at all worth the trouble he caused. Not only did he overthrow the king of Scotland and murder his good friend Banquo, Macbeth also killed his peace of mind and his good conscience. He threw aside his morals in order to gain power. By the end of the play Macbeth was the complete opposite of himself at the beginning, noble and timid. He had become insane from hiding his evil deeds by killing more and more innocent people. Paranoia and suspicion cloud his mind and cause him to have nightmares.

Macbeth's motives for his series of crimes does not justify them; his main motivation came from his overwhelming ambition, spurred by Lady Macbeth's encouragement and the witches' prophecy. The notion of becoming king is not worth murdering the crown and other innocent people. Considering Macbeth dies after ruling tyrannically for a short period of time, he would have been much better off being a Thane and not pursuing Duncan's throne. "Macbethish" acts are never worth it.

"From the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty"

Lady Macbeth's famous line, "From the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty", illustrates her strong ambition to hoist her husband into the throne of Scotland and to give herself the title of queen. She is willing to slay Duncan in order to achieve her goal. She must be top-full of cruelty so that she can murder without remorse. Mercy causes weakness; if she had any mercy, the king might live and her plot will be ruined.
The concept still holds true today. Most situations in the real world that involve somebody moving into a higher position of power usually requires that person to cause the downfall of their superior. An example is when a politician makes slander about a governor in order to gain more votes for himself in the reelection. They must be cruel to gain the crown.

No New Tale to Tell

I believe every tale is unique. Of course they can can be categorized into genres, but the essence of the story is unique. The theme, mood, and tone may be the same, but the way the story convenes it is distinct. There will always be a new tale to tell.
The Pardoner's tale is about three men who are overcome by greed; it reinforces the message that greed is the root of all evil. This moral has definitely been used in many other tales. However, that does not mean that the Pardoner's tale is not unique; he tells the moral through his own unique tale. The Pardoner incorporates his own characters and rhymes into his tale so that he sets it apart from other stories.
The tale of the Fisherman and the Fish also conveys the moral that greed is bad. The fisherman catches a golden fish who promises to grant wishes for its freedom. The fisherman's wife asks for increasingly luxurious wishes until the fish finally puts the fisherman and his wife back in their old home. By having too much greed, they end up back where they started. The theme of both tales are the same, but told vastly differently. Every tale is unique.

Truth

Truth is merely an illusion and the Shaper is proof of that. Through his graceful poetry he is even able to convince Grendel of lies and exaggerated tales of heroism. Grendel  cannot handle the paradox of the Shaper's songs and it enrages him. He is drawn towards the Shaper's interpretation of Danish history even though he knows firsthand that they are far exaggerated. Grendel seeks truth from the dragon.

The dragon claims that he knows all that happens and all that will happen. Even though the dragon tells Grendel that the Shaper is all smoke and mirrors Grendel continues to have faith in the Shaper's side of truth. In the end, I think Grendel realizes how the Shaper was manipulating the truth. That is why Grendel regrets not slaying the Shaper years ago.

Modern Day Beowulf

A modern day Beowulf is the United States. Like Beowulf, our nation likes to boast about its achievements such as being the first to reach the moon. The biggest topic to brag about is our so called "freedom", which we take great pride in. When Beowulf killed Grendel, he kept the monster's arm as a victory trophy. Similarly, the United States holds onto foreign lands as spoils of war.