Essay Sample on Beowulf, Shylock and Sir Gawai

Essay Sample on Beowulf, Shylock and Sir Gawai What makes a story, poem or play interesting and appealing to the reader are the characters involved. Characters form the basis of a successful writing in the sense that they help in discovery of major themes and motifs. It is worth noting that what make heroic or villain characters are traits they depict. In this regard, this brief overview will highlight three main characters from The Merchant of Venice, Beowulf and Sir Gawain and Green Knight and their relationship to the theme of self-interest verses love. The heroic character of Beowulf and that of Sir Gawain will be assessed as well as the villain character of Shylock who although is not the protagonist of the play, is more active than Antonio. Their own interests, personal goals and love for objects and people prompt the heroic actions of the three characters. Moreover, their beliefs and humanistic values compel their actions. Beowulf, an epic poem by Chaucer depicts Beowulf as the central character against three contenders, Grendel mother, Grendel and the dragon (Mitchell, Robison, 14). His brave personality and merciless character helps him in killing all his enemies. However, Beowulf heroic actions are driven by his personal goals and his love for his people. He is determined to prove his ability and courage to his people through eliminating their enemies. Grendel, his mother and the dragon have constantly attacked the Hrooger Kingdom terrorizing people. This prompts Beowulf to act in defense of his Kingdom. The three opponents met their death in brutal way because of their constant assail to the Hrooger kingdom. Beowulf is a physically powerful and an audacious individual who has a compelling character that is determined to achieving personal goals and showing love to those who entrust him. On the other hand, in Sir Gawain and Green Knight, Lady Bertilak habitually makes advances to Gawain. Sir Gawain does not give in to her advances so easily thereby depicting his strong personality and respectable character. He is loyal to his host. He is courteous and careful not to break his loyalty to his host. Bertilak hosts Gawain and it is logical that he want to maintain a good relationship, which will support his stay. On the other hand, Shylock is the most prominent character in the story â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† by Shakespeare. Just like Beowulf and Sir Gawain, Shylock a tragic character whose decency and intelligence is fractured through the persecution that he experiences, is the bad character in the play. He menacingly jeopardizes the pleasure of the Venice businesspeople. He does this out of self-interest. Shylock values business relationships than human relationships. This is because he is only concerned about monetary gains from his business. In fact, other merchants with an example of Antonio lend money free of charge. Moreover, Antonio put his life in jeopardy for his loved ones while Shylock shows so much pain after losing his money. He does not care about others but his only interest is in money. In fact, he does not care about his own daughter. Notably, Shylock is more hurt after realizing that his daughter had sold his dead wife’s ring. Actually, Shylock is concerned about the monetary value of the ring and not his love towards his wife. This gives the notion that his greed exceeds his love. Just like Beowulf, Shylock is unforgiving and he plans to revenge by killing his persecutor (Shakespeare, Hutchinson, 80). He feels threatened by Antonio and other merchants and he out of anger schemed to harm Antonio. He does not value human life but money. He is a cruel character who does not depict any Christian values like forgiveness, either. He is resentful and greedy although his anger is much powerful than his greed. This aspect is highlighted through his insistence of pound of flesh. However, Shylock’s heroic personality helps the reader in ascertaining the rationale behind the story. The story highlights the rules and laws of Venice. His character shows how these rules are manipulated for selfish and personal g oals (Shakespeare, Hutchinson, 60). Beowulf who is ruthless and unforgiving shares these traits though out of love, he revenges attack of his Kingdom by Grendel and the Dragon through killing them ruthlessly (Mitchell, Robison, 46). Just like Shylock, he lacks Christian principles of forgiveness and judgment and maintains acts in order to realize his personal goals. However, while Shylock wants to revenge out of self-interests, Beowulf carries out his revenge out of love of his people and the kingdom. Beowulf depicts qualities of military dexterity, honor, courage and loyalty and through these traits, he proves his love for his kingdom Sir Gawain also exhibit loyalty. He loves and respects his host and he does not want to put his relationship with those he loves at risk. He embraces Christian and humanistic values. He respects and maintains good human relationships. He is not self-centered since he did not revenge the deceit and betray of his host. Gawain has a sense of self-control, a strength that he uses to maintain and respect his relationship with his host (Weston, 22). In this regard, the traits of Beowulf, Shylock and Gawain highlight virtues of prowess, courage and honor, which are achieved through feelings of love and self-interest. While Beowulf is fighting out of love of his people and kingdom, he does not consider reconciliation and forgiveness. This is because his goal is demonstrate his prowess and ability to his people. While the three characters are heroes, their lives ends tragically because of personal goals. For instance, Beowulf demonstrates a pagan spirit in a Christian establishment because of love of his people. On the other hand, the understanding, honest and forgiving character of Sir Gawain depicts a Christian character, though not reuniting but rather understanding and unforgiving (Weston, 41). Sir Gawain is more concerned about maintaining good human relationships. Both Beowulf and Shylock fails the logic of absolute supremacy of subjective providence. Their self-interest, love for people, fame and money makes them heroes in their different capacities. However, it is imperative to note that Beowulf’s cruel and merciless character leads to the salvation of his people and Kingdom, while Shylock is selfish has no sense of love to people, even his blood relations. This makes him a villain whose intention is not to benefit those around him but himself. This is contrary to Beowulf traits, which makes him a hero because of his courage, strength and ability to fight for his people out of love (Mitchell, Robison, 41). Stylistically, thematically and metrically Beowulf, Shylock heroic actions are intriguing. Their ethical values show loyalty and love to people and vengeance to their enemies. Beowulf sacrifices his life in order to save his people. His though tragic depicts the end of a brilliant hero. This aspect is also demonstrated by Sir Gawain after leaving his host place and confesses his misdeed. He truly shows the culmination of a good hero. His personality and that of Sir Gawain highlights the theme of love and loyalty. Parti cularly, after killing the enemies of Hrooger kingdom, Beowulf’s people are happy and recognize him as their hero. They do not question lack of humility and inhumane character but rather appreciates his courage and military prowess in fighting the enemies. In fact, Beowulf is given an honorable burial due to his courage and ability to win over the enemies because of love and loyalty to his kingdom (Mitchell, Robison, 42). He remains a celebrated epic hero unlike Shylock whose selfishness and greed offers him no honor. Sir Gawain unlike Beowulf has a humble character. He lacks physical vigor but has a sense of love and understanding. He fights from within his heart and not through physical power. He is hero, a champion just like Beowulf but a conqueror who depicts positive humanistic and Christian values without prejudice. The three characters are determined in their own ways. Beowulf is determined to save his kingdom from its enemies and show his ability to his people. Sir Gawain is determined not to break his loyalty to his host and to maintain a good relationship with other people. Shylock ambition is to destroy his enemies. He wants to compensate his daughter’s death through a pound of flesh from Antonio (Shakespeare, Hutchinson, 83). It is worth noting that the pound of flesh is used symbolically to represent the rigidity of the world of Shylock. Conclusion Beowulf tragically dies from injuries after winning over the dragon. This makes him a tragic hero. On the other hand, Sir Gawain heroic deeds are traced through his brevity and honesty to accept and confess his misdeeds. Shylock loses all his wealth and a daughter, Jessica. Though a villain, he is a hero who has fought over his enemies. Beowulf uses his courage, prowess and brevity to defend others. He is also interested in his loyalty to his kingdom. However, his brevity, confidence and courage lead to his death. Sir Gawain is brave, honest, humble and his courage has makes him confess his misdeed upon his return home. From this perspective, it is therefore evident the interests, personal goals and love for objects and people prompt the heroic actions of the three characters. Moreover, their beliefs and humanistic values compel their actions. Our custom essay writing service will write a custom essay paper on any topic for you. 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Advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Advertising - Essay Example Moreover, she is worried about persuading people to try her new venture which actually indicates that she needs proper advertising campaign. Darla would be offering her services to the working individuals, elderly neighbors and people who are advised to take healthy meals instead of regular restaurant food. In favor of startup advertising expenses Darla has already acquired a loan of  £10,000. This amount would be enough for her to hire an advertising agency though later on she will have to invest more since advertising agencies with better services are usually expensive. She will gain a significant return of investment because the advertising agency will help Darla in recognizing distinctive needs of her target customers. She will be facilitated by marketing experts who actually know how to create awareness about a new business (Koekemoer, 2004). However, if Darla fails to hire an advertising agency then she will have to conduct the entire advertising campaign herself which includes creative designing, media concepts, group selection etc. (Koekemoer, 2004). This will require more monetary support whereas Darla would not be able to reach mass population. Hence her future profits, company sales and market share will be greatly influenced. Moreover, in-house marketing campaign will not facilitate Darla in facing the intense market competition. As discussed above that Darla’s primary concern is to create awareness about ‘I’ll cook for you’ products and services. She can achieve this objective through the diverse advertising functions of different agencies (Gunelius, 2014): Researchers have also argued that brand awareness is the most essential element for any business because it communicates the existence of a business (Macdonald, 2003). Customers cannot purchase goods especially food until they are aware about the brand. However, selecting the option of advertising agencies will also create certain issues for

Los Angeles's Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Los Angeles's Globalization - Essay Example Such an activity draws together people from different regions and countries, bringing them into one common place; where the diversity of each participant and audience is experienced. The coming together of communities into a common operation of events that are of global characteristic is the essence of globalization. Contemporary and conventional infrastructure is a component of globalization. Similar architectural designs can be found in more than city, state or country (Johnson, 299). What this means is that a number of countries in that context have shared information, knowledge and skills to the way of getting things done. For instance, China-Los Angeles characteristic relationship between modern structures can represent an aspect of globalization. There are those unique designs and complex architectural developments that can be found in both China and Los Angeles. This aspect depicts an aspect of collaboration in creativity and share of technology in the infrastructure sector. T he only relationship that can lead to such observations is a high level of globalization in the context of the two analyzed scenarios. Concepts of globalization are not limited to any specific notion, motive or mode. Mass movements of people from one city to another, one state to another and from one country to another has been characteristic of the globalization process. Different communities are no longer limited to their native lands; they are getting access to the entire world as globalization heightens. It is in this regard that Jewish communities can be found all around the world, and most importantly in Los Angeles. In order to pump more sense into this, a festival like the Song Kran held in Los Angeles is a clear indication of just how much communities and more specifically individuals have evolved and revolutionized to fit into the dynamism of the world society (Moore 177). Assimilation of foreign traditions, customs and cultures are part of the ever changing world of today . Famous traditions and means of recognizing cultures throughout the world have taken another dimension altogether. Cultural practices that were once only specific to some groups in a given state are now found miles away, assimilated by another society. This just shows how the global trend is moving towards uniting the entire world population. Such is the case in Saigon town of Los Angeles. Chinese traditional designs of major entry points characterize this part of Los Angeles. This aspect presents a noticeable element of a globalized Los Angeles, in comparison to the rest of the world. Religious practices have not been left behind in the quest for globalization. These practices are establishing all over the world as people continue to interact and merge with others from different locations of the world. Los Angeles serves as a common basis for this interest through the availability of mosques. Los Angeles is not an Islam dominated city, but has taken into consideration the interest s of other communities in its development processes. Presence of mosques merges Islamic contexts into the city, allowing for unionism of diverse inhabitants of the city, both local and international (Samudio 108). Another similar aspect of this is the city-within-a-city notion of Los Angeles. Pure Korean activities are undertake right in the heart of Los Angeles, despite the physical, geographical and social differences evident

Stages of Building Construction

Stages of Building Construction Building a project involves various stages including initial preparation of the clients brief, scheduling and research, specifications and construction development. Plans, designs and changes occur throughout a project, inevitably, therefore there must be a unified desire for communication, understanding and agreement. Design/Planning In order for a project to develop into an eventual success communication, understanding and agreement are essential. Comprehensive consultations concerning desires in terms of design, constructability and practicality are imperative. An insight into the clients personal requirements and expectations will also prove fundamental to sustain achievement. However clients are not always exact about all the characteristics of their requirements; professional teams therefore act as advisors. As opinions change plans will have to be altered consequently to accommodate the new needs (Ashworth 2005). Sufficient planning and designing must be undertaken before any sort of construction commences on any development. Planning consists of the early congregation of information and ideas before a detailed design and construction process is exemplified. During this period parties involved in the development should identify any particular requirements, discuss important issues, resolve any disparities if any and assign tasks amongst other requests. Before advanced designing and development can begin, planning authorities must consent to the proposed project after comprehensive assessment. In some cases warrants must be granted for building work to begin on a site, most contractors require this to demolish or build on a site (Civitelo 2007). As the size and/or scale of a project increases costs will ultimately also go up (Ashworth 2005), therefore the planning team will have to combine the design of the project with cost saving solutions. This may mean making sacrifices in terms of some materials used in the project; this will for example reduce costs and allow the funds to be transferred to building a project of larger magnitude as costs rise. For this reason the planning stage is extremely important as conclusions will have to be drawn as to how much space is actually required for the development, too little and the project could be considered a disaster, too much and it could prove wasteful. There are many standards and legislation in the construction industry; these are set up for the benefit of the client making use of the development. Other legislation on the other hand is aimed at protecting the environment and wildlife. The purpose of legislation is to provide a regulatory body to ensure the efficient build of safe places for work and handling. A forthright view held by many is that legislation and standards add to costs and are not munch benefit at all however these claims need to be carefully dissected. Legislative requirements are aimed at increasing safety and are approved by a professional body having conducted tests and analysis. Projects, however small, are affected by an immense set legislation; primarily because efficient development is profoundly reliant on safe places of work and the safe handling of construction material and plants. As a result of this projects will always consist of a large team including clients, engineers, architects, contractors, government and regulating bodies and labourers (Ashworth 2005). An addition to this team is lawyers. When plans are drawn up for a project the parties involved must agree to contracts containing clauses with regards the development in question. Content of the contract may include articles with contemplation to budget, time and materials amongst other clauses. These need to be carefully examined as they can prove to become the reason for the downfall of a failed project. During the design process planners and designers must outline the function and suitability of materials whilst taking into consideration economic and ecological consequences (Hinze 2010). Architects for example would be most involved in the design considerations of a project, however as some parts of a plan cannot be considered without first finding out about planning consent, because of this a reasonable amount of significant decisions cannot be considered. When designing a project plans submitted must take into account expenses as prices are relentlessly rising. Today, most projects involve an organization which is able to economically forecast costs of not only principal costs but also costs of control services. The establishment also find the most economical ways of ensuring that a development does not run over budget. Before plans are put forward a review must be taken on designs to ensure that the ideas can be implemented in terms of both construction techniques and materials. The aim of these reviews called Constructability Reviews is to minimize the number of changes at a later stage, reduce delays and rising costs (Palmer 2002). Construction Once construction is ready to begin, preliminary work needs to commence to allow initial works to be carried out, these include the clearing of the work site, a ground survey to asses the ground conditions, setting up of sanitary facilities, water/power supplies and offices and storage areas. Sufficient welfare amenities will need to be established on a construction site for use by workers throughout a development, this will need to be arranged by the project manager in advance. Provisions will include rest rooms, toilets, storage rooms, changing rooms and washrooms as well. (Hinze 2010) These facilities will be essential for the length of a project to evade disturbance to a project. In some circumstances however, the project manager may not require some facilities and will instead be able to make use of permanent services available on site. For example, the client may allow the construction team to use toilets already installed on site. This will therefore reduce costs which may have been incurred if the welfare facilities were required. When welfare amenities are required the project manager should aim to locate these in various locations and not a single area, this reason for this is that having them in one area may prove to be an inconvenience. For example if the site is very large, then the project manager may find that time is wasted going to and from the welfare facilities rather than using the time constructively. When the preliminary works have been completed demolition on the site can begin, since the site is located on a 10 ha site of old forest 5 miles out of the town centre; suitable access and transportation will need to be arranged for plant/machinery. The demolition stage will result in the recycling of materials, the forest trees for example can be recycled for timber use during the construction process; this increases the developments sustainable considerations. After the site has been fully cleared, excavation will be completed to create the required ground conditions, be it flat or, according to the design specifications. In many cases the land in which a project is developed can provide difficulties in terms of workability. Loose soil, often at a shallow depth, is an inevitable problem that can be solved using deep foundations; in this case however, shallow foundations will be used as outlined in the brief (Palmer 2002). The excavation stage will also prepare the site for eventual service installation and the construction of the substructure. Excavation will be carried out using various machines, plant is required during the construction process in order to increase production, minimize labour requirements, conduct high standards of constructions and also possibly reduce overall costs (Cooke 1997). During the planning process decisions must be made with regards the availability and use of plants. The substructure will consist of reinforced concrete foundations to allow sufficient support of the buildings by transporting the load to the ground, this will be especially vital for the community hall which will consist of a steel frame and metal cladding roof. Service works will also need to be carried out during the substructure stage to allow for pipes/cable routes to be considered also, drainage and refuse systems will need to be allowed to pass through and leave the various sites, be it below ground or through walls. Services however must not pass below foundations (Hinze 2010). The superstructure on the other hand will require extensive work, relating to the floors, walls and roofs; these will all be subject to the design specifications. Scaffolding will be required when working on raised platforms i.e. first floor levels, roofs etc, these will consist of steel or aluminium alloy tubes. As the development will consist of a 200 home housing estate, the homes will be of identical layout and size, for this reason pre-fabricated timber roof trusses will be delivered and hoisted into position before being placed on the supporting walls. The floors and ceilings in the homes will be timber constructed where as the community centre will consist of a concrete floor and metal cladding roof. The walls in the homes will be brick and block masonry fully insulated cavity walls, these will be plastered inside. Completion of the substructures and superstructures will then allow the services to be introduced to the buildings; these include drainage, pluming, gas and sanitary works. Some services will require installation below ground, specifically in trenches. Service works generally cause widespread disruption to the public, especially to traffic through road works; there should be a significantly lower impact however, since the housing project is being developed on an old forest site. Local authority permission must be granted before work commences, this will involve in the inspection of works carried out already and final tests being conducted. The plumbing works, which are installed above ground, will benefit from construction after the basic structural works have been completed. The finishes relating to the build require extensive organisation to ensure that they are completed accordingly as certain processes cannot begin until others have been completed. For this reason, a larger number of workers should be employed to carry out the finishing works simultaneously when possible, to ensure timely completion. The landscaping with regards this project should not be very costly as the location chosen for the project is an old forest, in comparison to some builds which are built in an area which requires more greenery and trees to be planted. Methods of circulation and travel will need to be established however including roads and footpaths. With regards the community centre security will need to be addressed as a priority as it will be serving the local community, including children for example. The project will not be completed until the site has been fully cleared and inspected. All surplus material and debris will not to be transported and disposed of accordingly or recycled if possible. Plants, offices and huts will need to be dismantled and cleared as well. The site must be left in a very good condition to allow inspection by various teams and bodies to ensure the development is both up to standard, matches the design specification and is also safe for occupation (Cooke 1997).

The Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

The Scarlet Letter The major characters go through many changes due to all of the events that have taken place, but the torture they have to live and die with is all within themselves. Hester Prynn has always been strong, but being isolated from society and raising a child who constantly punishes her for her love affair makes her grow stronger and tougher. Chillingworth, who once was a caring man who loved Hester, shows his darkest side when he sets out to destroy the soul of an already weak man. Dimmesdale becomes weaker when he finds he can't purify his soul from the sin he has committed. The major character changes come from within and are controlled by the characters. Once her jail time had been served, the worst of Hester's punishment had only begun. She had confessed and had no guilt to live with, but society had completely shut her out. Also, aside from the embroidered scarlet letter she had to wear, she also had to live with her child who was a daily reminder of her sin. In order to survive her daily pain, Hester grows stronger and blocks out a lot of her emotions. It is noticed that the tougher she got inside, the tougher her appearance becomes and the more plain she dressed. Once she meet with Dimmesdale in the forest, she told him of Chillingworth, which shows she had grown strong enough to not let him hold her down. When she gained that strength, her beauty was expressed by: Her sex, her youth, and the whole richness of her beauty, came back from what men call the irrevocable past. Chillingworth had not been able to harm Hester because of her inner strength. At the end of the book, she is the only one who has survived emotionally. Chillingworth wanted a woman who would love him, but when that failed, he found a new love. His new passion became the destruction of the man who took Hester away from him. He tells Hester of his plans when he says: I shall seek this man…There is a sympathy that will make me conscious of him. I shall see him tremble. I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unawares. Sooner or later, he must needs be mine! When Chillingworth moved in with Dimmesdale and controlled his every day life, his whole life was based around Dimmesdale's destruction. Since Dimmesdale had not yet confessed his sin to the town, Chillingworth was succeeding in his plan to destroy Dimmesdale's soul easily.

Attitudes and Behaviors Essay

So let’s start by saying that attitudes have two main components those happen to be beliefs and values. Beliefs are statements while values are judgments. When it comes to persuasion a person might have their own attitude and have it rub off so to speak onto another person or several other people. We tend to use this on a daily basis for things that we want whether that be for ourselves or from other people. When it comes to conformity many individuals will change their behaviors to fit in with other people that they involve themselves with. This could potentially mean that you could lose your own identity and become someone completely different from whom you truly are. When it comes to bias we are all wired to have judgments and prejudice many times people will use this judgment and have a set attitude on people, places and things. Only people can change their behaviors. Psychologists define attitudes as a learned tendency to view things in certain ways. This can include people. Places, issues and events that occur in a person’s life. Attitudes form from the experiences that you go through, they could direct from personal experiences or from the observation of other individuals. Attitudes can be learned in several different ways. Classical conditioning can impact your attitude to different products. Operant conditioning can also help in how attitudes are developed. When someone you like has a different attitude your attitude more than likely will change to be the same as the other individual. Researchers have come to the belief and conclusion that people behave according to their attitudes under a lot of circumstances. Cognitive dissonance is when an individual experiences, psychological stress caused by conflicts from thoughts and beliefs in a person’s everyday life whether that be from work, relationships, money problems. In order to gain back control people often change their attitudes based on actual behaviors. Attitudes can change just like people can. You can turn your thought process around just  like you can with many other things. Classical conditioning can create positive emotional reactions. Operant conditioning can be used to strengthen attitudes and behaviors that you are lacking or that are weak. People can also see how negative people act and decide that they don’t want to be that way and that can drastically change a person’s mind on how they think. Life events such as death, sickness, relationship loses and other important things can make a person realize what they have and what they need to be grateful for but also can help them understand their thought patterns were incorrect and that they need to change that in order to have a better life for not only themselves but the people that they associate themselves with. The theory of persuasion says that people can alter their personal attitudes in two ways. They can be motivated to listen and to think about what is being said to them which can make them open up to different ideas and thoughts or they could simply be influenced by good positive people that they are around on a daily basis. In order to change a individual s behavior you must change your thought process completely. http://www.examiner.com/article/bias-attitude-and-prejudice http://www.cios.org/encyclopedia/persuasion/Aintroduction_4nature.htm http://psychology.about.com/od/socialinfluence/f/conformity.htm

The United States And The Civil War - 1374 Words

After the Mexican War ended on February 1848 when the US and Mexican government signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the US had the concept of manifest destiny, belief that the US would continue to spread west with ideas of the advancement in factories and a dispute over the issue of slavery. In that same year, David Wilmot of Pennsylvania composed the Wilmot Proviso, stating that slavery cannot exist in any territory acquired by Mexico, which upset many Southerners leading to events such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and the Compromise of 1850 on how the issue of slavery would prevent the US from westward expansion and factory production. Eventually, the issue of slavery would cause the US nation to break into two groups called the†¦show more content†¦Even though the Compromise of 1850 allowed California to enter the Union as a free state, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made slavery a huge issue between the North and the South. To the North, slavery represented a ba rrier from westward expansion and factory expansion. Since the North was focused more on factories than on human labor, slavery can play a huge issue in deciding whether to expand the market by having more people work in factories versus in plantations, allowing the firm to make a profit from the items it sells. However, to the South, slavery represented a white owners’ property on plantations. With more slaves that a white owner could have, the South could increase the supply of cotton and tobacco being grown, causing the demand for slaves to also increase. Therefore, if the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 had not been created, white owners in the South would not be able to increase the amount of cotton and tobacco being grown in plantations. Another example of an event leading to the collapse of the Union in 1861 is the Dred Scott Case of 1857. On March 1857, after Dred Scott had accompanied his owner to move from Missouri to Illinois, where slavery was barred by the Missouri Compromise, Dred Scott was taken to the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether his move from Missouri to Illinois allowed him to become free or allowed him to remain as a slave. In the end, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney concluded