Good vs Evil in Beowulf Essay -- Epic Poems, Grendel, Anglo-Saxon

In Beowulf, the clash between good and evil is the poem's main and most significant focal point. Although the epic poem Beowulf utilizes many characteristics of Christian themes, the violence in the poem relates to paganism. By exploring the characteristics of â€Å"good vs. evil† such as Cain, Grendel and Beowulf, this paper will explore the elements of Beowulf in such a light. The Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf, was originally told orally then later was written down anonymously in the Old English language. It is not known who or whom wrote this poem down. What we do know is that Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic poem of the English language; the original has suffered irreparable damage in a fire. â€Å"The poem dates back to 1000 AD† (historyforkids.org). â€Å"The materials for the poem are derived mainly from Scandinavian history, folk tale, and mythology. Its narrative consists of two parts: The first relates Beowulf's successful fights with the water monster Grendel and with Grendel's mother; the second narrates the hero's victory in his old age over a dragon and his subsequent death and funeral at the end of a long life of honor† (encyclopedia.com). Both Christianity and Paganism elements were closely intertwined within the poem because there was a religion change in the early medieval Britain. Christian elements were added later in to the poem to connect further to the newly Christian audience. For example, the story of Cain and Abel is mentioned several times throughout the poem; this story is form the Christian Bible. In addition to the story of Cain and Able, God is also reference to several times as well by Beowulf himself. The main purpose of the poem Beowulf is to explain how good always conquers evil. In addition, the poem wa... ...in such as jealousy, which then lead both to act of murder. Of course, like almost every other story good vs. evil is main theme, even in The Bible. Good always defeats evil in the end as portrayed in the poem Beowulf. Works Cited Carr, Dr. Karen. http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/literature/beowulf.htm, 15 Jan. 2009, web 8 Nov. 2009 Wright, Latonya. http://www.gradesaver.com/beowulf/study-guide/short-summary/, 14 April 2000, web 8 Nov.2009 Genesis 4, http://www.childrenstory.info/biblestoryforchild/chdbblcainandabel.html?cPath=50 web 12 Nov. 2009 "Beowulf", The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Beowulf.html Lazzari, Marie. Epics for Students: presenting analysis, context, and criticism on commonly studied epics Raffel, Burton. From Beowulf

Redefine by Incubus Essay -- Music Bands Incubus Musicians Essays

Redefine by Incubus "Redefine" is the perfect song to represent us in the time capsule. The song supports using your knowledge to empower yourself, and be an individual. It also emphasizes using your knowledge and intelligence to make the world a better place. The song also reminds us to be wary of abusing our power. We can use our power to make the world a better place, but we can also use our power to the wrong ends and destroy our planet and our lives. Redefine is a rock song, and therefor part of the pop culture. For this reason it is not tied down to any cultural roots, making it accessible to people of all creeds and colors. Brandon Boyd, vocalist for Incubus, starts the song with an interesting analogy. He tells us to "imagine [our] brain as a canister filled with ink...now think of your body as the pen where the ink resides." In effect he is telling us that we each are a well of knowledge and we should use it. College is widely regarded as not only institution to give us knowledge, but also a place to give us the skills to use it. We should not just lear...

Fate vs. Free Will (Oedipus Rex)

Sophocles creates a world that makes the reader think about the complex and mysterious battle between fate and free will in his play Oedipus The King. To the characters, fate is real and that’s what they believe in. The audience sees that Oedipus is the one making the divisions and altimetry it is himself that leads to his downfall. Apollo, the Greek god of prophecy, intellectual pursuits and pelage, told Oedipus about his tragic future. When we first encounter Oedipus we don’t see any way that he could escape such a tragic down fall. Oedipus is in search of the truth, he does everything in his power, even when every one warns him to stop searching. When he refuses to listen he shows that he does have some sense of free will. There is no oracle that says that Oedipus had to find out about the truth of what has happened. Sadly his stubborn temper lead him to make the bad decisions. When Oedipus goes to Thebes, he is presented with a choice, to become the king or to continue to move on. Oedipus' choice to stay puts him one step closer to fulfilling the prophecy. Oedipus is not forced into marrying Jocasta, this is simply his decision. By the end of the play Oedipus admits to himself and the people of Thebes that it was his choices that lead to his fate. â€Å"Now loathed by the gods, son of the mother I defiled coupling in my fathers bed, spawning lives in the loins that spawned my wretched life. What grief can crown this grief? It's mine alone, my destiny-I am Oedipus! † (Sophocles) Oedipus clearly says that he married his mother, that he was the one who had children with her, and the grief is all his. Even though he may believe that this was his destiny, he takes responsibility for fulfilling it. Oedipus has no trouble seeing the error of his ways. Although Oedipus takes responsibility, he is not the only person to blame. Over all, the blame could altimetry fall on Jocasta and Laius. They were warned that their child was going to have such a future when Oedipus was very little, but instead of having Oedipus killed and actually seeing the proof, they carelessly had the baby pinned on a mountain. Jocasta and Laius never actually made sure that Oedipus was killed. Oedipus references this at the end of the play: â€Å"If I'd died then, I'd never have dragged myself, my loved ones through such hell† (Sophocles) If this play is only about fate that takes control of Oedipus' life, then Sophocles theme was that no man really has free choice, no one can make, then learn from their mistakes. That life is governed by something other than himself. Instead, Sophocles leaves the argument of fate versus free will open for more interpretations. The truth is that Oedipus' choices are what led him to fulfill the prophecy. While Sophocles never directly says, what happens to Oedipus is a result of his own choices, it’s the end of the play is makes you resize that he was responsible for his own actions. Oedipus is responsible for his own down fall. Fate and free will are two completely different ideas that Sophocles is some how able to put into one in this play. As a writer he leaves it up to the reader to interpret the difference between free will and fate. Oedipus is given many chances to make choices, but do to his stubbornness, he is the one who leads to his own down fall.

It301 Unit 5

Jason Combs Unit 5: Comparison of Quality Philosophies IT301: Project Management I Professor Cyntia Glenn Cotton October 23, 2012 Unit 5: Comparison of Quality Philosophies Philosophy Matrix Dimension| Deming| Juran| Crosby| PMI|Quality Definition| Needs of customers| Fitness for use| Comply to the requirements| Conformance to requirements| Quality System| 14-pt Philosphy-A recipe for total quality| Trilogy-Optimize the process| Plan the quality| Prevention| Performance Standard| PDCA/PDSA Deming Wheel| SuccessFormula| Quality assurance| Zero Defects| Quality Measurement| Kaizen| Excellence to Process Perato Principles| Cost of quality| Cost of non-conformance| Role of Top Management| Consistently improve quality| Speaks in the language of dollars| Leadership| Leadership and participation| Role of the Worker| Self improvement| Speak in the language of things| Participation| High level involvement| In the world of quality, there are three great contributors that helped revolutionize a nd evolve the quality movement. These three gentlemen were W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, and Philip Bayard Crosby. All three of them concentrated on quality in the manufacturing and industrial businesses, yet each of their philosophies are dissimilar.Their contributions to the quality movement can also be applied to other business sectors, such as the information technology field. In order to discuss quality, we will need to explore each of their philosophies and how they relate to one another and additionally, how they contrast with one another. While there are indeed three great contributors, this paper will focus primarily on Philip B. Crosby's philosophies, and thus, be biased towards him. Quality Defined One of the contributors, Joseph Juran, wrote a publication called Quality Control Handbook. Juran's definition of quality is â€Å"fitness for purpose† (Juran, 2010). Fit for purpose means every service and/or product from a company must satisfy the customer’s need with little to no failure.Juran’s vision on quality was based on the concept of implementing quality initiatives and quality management being defined by the consumer. This philosophy is similar to W. Edwards Deming's point of view as organizational â€Å"transformation† for quality. This process led to Juran dividing this concept into two categories: Product features that meet customer needs and freedom from deficiencies, which defines quality as reducing costs and improving standards. Therefore, Juran defines quality by implementing continuous improvement workers need to have training in proper methods of a regular basis, being understood from the perspective of the customer.Similar to Juran, Deming emphasized on prevention rather than fixing as the key to quality. Quality System Similar the philosophies of Juran and Deming, Philip B. Crosby utilized a principle he called DIRTFT (Doing It Right The First Time). Just like Juran and Deming's prevention philosophies , DIRTFT prevented problems by simply doing it right to begin with. Crosby defined quality as conformance to requirements (which are both the product requirements and the customer's requirements). This was a part of the quality system that Crosby developed, which had four parts. The first part is described above, which is how he defined quality. The second part is that the system of quality is prevention.The third part is that the performance standard is zero defects, as is related to the requirements. The fourth and last part is the measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance. Crosby's belief was that a business that had a quality system in place would see savings returns that paid off the cost of the system itself, or more simply, â€Å"quality is free. † The system that Juran came up with consisted of the Quality Trilogy, which involved three main parts. These parts are quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. In these three areas, the system i nvolved identifying, developing and optimizing, and demonstrating continuous improvements.Deming, on the other hand, had a system he established using a fourteen point formula which recognized the purpose toward improvement, leadership, and training, as well as taking actions to ensure a successful process improvement. Standards of Performance Crosby's performance standard consisted of having a zero defect approach, which meant everyone involved (supplier and customer included) must understand. Crosby defined zero defect as not being a literal zero defect (as that is not always possible), but rather producing goods or services within agreed upon tolerances and requirements for quality and costs. Juran had a four step formula when it came to performance standards: establish goals to be reached, establish plans for these goals, meet the goals, and rewards based on results achieved.Deming had a process called the Deming Wheel, which was an adaptation of the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, and A ct) Problem Solving Cycle. To break it down, Plan involved designing components to improve results, Do employed the plan, Check evaluated the measurements, and Act made decisions based on the changes needed to improve the process. Quality Measurements Juran's perspective on quality was based on five general measures, the measures being the cost of poor quality, defects, product/process features, customer needs, and customer behavior. Deming's measurements were based on the Kaizen approach, which involved the evaluation of each operation including performance, the raw materials used, processes (manual and machine) and the output(s).Kaizen is an objective to attain improvement continuously. Cosby's philosophy of do it right the first time enforces consumers to spend more money on preventing failure and less on fixing failures. His quality measurements are based on the Cost of Quality, which has just two components: the cost of good quality versus the cost of poor quality. While it cos ts money to achieve quality, it costs even more money when that quality is not achieved. Management's Role Juran viewed the role of management to encompass all processes, especially in services versus products. His focus on quality improvement was in three parts, the first being a program to address random problems.The second part was a program to address chronic or reoccurring issues, and the third part was an emphasis on annual quality programs. Deming's philosophy was that all employees within a business are responsible for quality management and improvements. The management must adapt to quality, and lead the company towards improvement as well as be involved in all aspects of the quality improvement processes. Crosby, meanwhile, viewed the role of management at the top, and had a strong emphasis on increasing profits through quality improvement. His concept reflected in his fourteen step quality improvement program, which begins with Step One: Management Commitment. Therefore, management must be commited towards quality from the top down. Workers' RoleJuran believes that the role of the workforce is to be involved in quality improvement teams. Deming believes that all workers need to be educated on quality techniques, and they need to have responsibility to prevent defects. Crosby's concept in the workers' role deals with just a small amount of responsibility. However, workers should take pride in having quality workmanship and still assume responsibility for their quality. Conclusion Juran's quality philosophy falls in line with the Project Management Institute, which involves similar actions in regards to planning, assurance, and control (PMBOK, 2008). Deming emphasizes quality through statistical process control.Crosby's model of quality was always directed at creating a zero defect mentality which establishes an atmosphere of pride in workmanship while assuming responsibility for quality. References Institute, P. M. (2008). A Guide to the Project Mana gement Body of Knowledge. (4th edition). Newtown Square: Project Management Institute Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge(PMBOK-Guide)– Fourth Edition (2008). Juran, Defeo â€Å"Quality Control Handbook. † (2010). Retrieved 10/23/2012 from http://books. google. com/books? id=JPCz0LoMnLsC&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=joseph+M+Juran+-+%22fit+for+use%22&source=bl&ots=968XivvXtO&sig=eNbFuq-Ztkn8ULZwK7bfJw5y7aM&hl=en&ei=ubul

Narrative Essay

When joining the armed forces, you never quite know what will happen or what to expect next. It can be an amazing or a gruesome journey, but it depends on how you want it to be. At the beginning the journey might seems scary and intimidating, but as time goes on, you soon get use to the lifestyle and learn a great deal from the experience. Before I joined in November 2008, I was going through a marital problem, I was weak, intimidating, and I have no one or where to turn to. I applied for job in so many places with no luck, due to me moving to the States three years before applying for the jobs, giving birth, and also I was a staying home mom going to school. But as time went by I couldn’t take it any longer, so I decided looking in to joining the military. When I joined, I wanted to be independent, strong, care for my daughter, and to learn something new without being intimidated by anyone in anyway. I actually entered the Basic Combat training on the 15th of November 2008, when the plane dropped us at the South Carolina air port and, the bus took us from there to Fort Jackson. The bus finally pulled up outside the in-processing building in Fort Jackson South Carolina by 12:30am. All I could think about was my little girl, how she was sleeping, what was she thinking about when I left, did she cried herself to sleep, can I stay without my daughter for a day, and what in God’s name I just got myself into. We were all tired and sleepy, some of us looked like we have been deprived of sleep for a week, but we all came there for a reason. As the bus driver open the door a male drill sergeant stepped into the buss, and started screaming and yelling at us to get off the bus. I never saw people who have been sleeping and look so tired to move that fast, but everyone was scrambling all over each other looking for an exit, because no one want to be the first to get chewed up. As we stepped out of the bus, we formed two lines, one with the girls and one with the boys. As we stood there, I was scared, nervous; my heart was pounding so fast, because I have never been in that position before in my life. I felt like my neck tense up, which made my head feels like it was about to fall of my body, but I was telling myself that I can do this, and reminding myself of the reason why I was here. We were out there for thirty minutes before they put us in a room, and sat us down according to our numbers, and were we came from. We were given a book called the smart book, which mean it has to be with us all day, and learn what the book says. It was intense: we had to learn so many things throughout our stay in Basic Training. We got our pt uniform (Physical Training gear) that early morning, and we went to sleep by 2:15am. It was a scary and crazy experience. I slept but we had to wake up about 6am, because we have to go through so many in-processing. I was so tired, my eyes were puffy, and hurt, my ankles hurt, but I have to toughen it up. We had to get tested for diseases, eye testing, and a number of other things. All those time, I thought about my little girl a lot, I cried every day, because I have never been separated from child since I gave birth to her, and that was the first time I have ever been away from her. I wondered what she was doing, how she feared, if she was eating the way she was supposed to, how much she missed me, even though I was only gone for 6 days, I felt so alone without my daughter. We had to wake up very early in the morning by 0040, stood in parade rest, in the cold for 4 hours with just pt pant, long shirt, and jacket. That did not help with the cold, because it was so cold, that my fingers were frozen, I could not felt it moving. We have no phone privilege during the reception, because we were being baby sit by the drill sergeant most of the time, and when I said being baby sit, I mean being smoked, pushed up, sit up, floor rocate, you name it, but you can’t let them see crying, because when they, you will be sorry for shedding a tears. All this time we were at a place called reception which was for 4 days, but we spent 6days, where all the loose ends with our paper work were done. The actual physical training was done at a different place in Fort Jackson. The sergeants were still very tough on us. About a month into the training I found myself used to the routine, even though the journey was tough, I endured everything. I hated pt, because we ran a lot, and my ankle hurt, but I kept pushing myself. My pt sucks at the beginning, but my sergeant won’t let me fail, because she was always on me, making sure that, I do not fail. I failed my first pt, second pt, third pt, but I passed at the end, with a good percentage. Before we knew we were making friends, looking out for each other, laughing together, and getting ready to graduate to go to AIT. Which is Advance Individual Training? But there were some ladies who cannot stand each other; there were time of argument, gossiping, jealousness, but we all live under the same roof and trained together. I endure the most horrifying road match, training, being smoked by my drill sergeant, and the long pt. Most times, I broke down and cried, because I thought that was a punishment, but looking back today, it was a training that was mean to save my life and others too. I become a very strong and independent woman, whom no one can intimidate no matter. I can stand up for myself in any situation, and I don’t let anyone take advantage of me.

Accounting and Auditing: Crazy computers

FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board) plays the role of determining Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to ensure proper accounting standards are followed. According to FASB, revenue is recognized once it is earned.Commission in Crazy Computer's case is recognized immediately since Crazy Computers collects the cash on behalf of Third Party insurance and then pays it. Commission however should not be added to sales because when balancing the equation, Sales is equal to opening stock plus purchases less closing stock.This means that by adding commission to sales the equation may not balance and it will be exaggerated. The commission revenue consists of income and it is therefore used in the final statements of accounts to calculate the profit of the business.Commission received from TPI can therefore be used when coming up with profits for the year. In case Third Party Insurance agrees to re insure, revenue to be obtained from Third Party Insurance (TPI) will only be recogni zed after Third Party Insurance pays up the amount to Captive Insurance Company (CIC).Commission revenue can only be recognized immediately if Crazy Computers will automatically be deducted from the $110 that the company gives to Third Party Insurance so that it does not have to wait for TPI to pay. This would mean that Crazy Computers would have $165 at the end of the sale then give $25 to TPI.However, it may not show whether the computers on their own were able to sustain themselves without the boost from the commissions earned. When Crazy Computers introduce CIC, they will still get the commission but it will be offset when the amount received from TPI is added.Even as Crazy Computers recognizes revenue from sale of third party insurance on behalf of TPI, it should be careful when it comes to receiving the money back for re-insurance through CIC. The best method to account for the funds to be collected from the Captive Insurance is to do them separately from Crazy Computers.This is because Crazy Computers and CIC are two different kinds of businesses. FASB advices that in order to check the progress of a business it is good to gauge its profitability which is done by subtracting the expenses from sales made by the business.This will ensure that when it comes to paying claims, revenue received from Crazy Computers should not be used for CIC obligations. It will also ensure that the money collected from CIC is not to be used in the computer business unless Crazy Computers borrows from CIC.If Crazy Computers was to account for CIC revenue together with the computer revenue, calculating profits would get complicated since the revenue received is not made from sales only. In other words, treating the two businesses as separate entities will ensure the profitability of the two can be determined.Crazy Computer's idea to create a wholly owned subsidiary would be a good idea if the Third Party Insurer agrees to re-insure with them. Based on the transaction illustrat ed in the case study, currently Crazy computers pay $110 for insurance such that TPI takes responsibility for any obligations from customers.Because CC gets commission for every sale made then from the $200 received it is left with $80 after paying the sales persons $10. With the introduction of CIC and if TPI agrees to re insure with CIC, CC will get $ 85 back out of the $110 paid to TPI.This means that cash received goes up from $80 to $165. CIC would therefore be profitable. However, in case of any third party obligations CIC will be solely responsible. This is why it is extremely important for Crazy Computers to ensure that CIC's income does not mix with computer income so as to ensure each department can sustain its own expenses.Word count (635).ReferenceFASB. (2008). Financial Accounting Standards and Revenue Recognition.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from http/www.fasb.org.

Aztec Success Essay Research Paper Aztec SuccessThe

Aztec Success Essay, Research Paper Aztec Success The Triple Alliance was a bond formed in 1482 between the metropoliss of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tacuba. We know the imperium they created as the Aztec Empire. Their reign included the conquest of many adjacent communities. The huge sum of land and people they reigned over caused many jobs because of the tremendous distances and fundamental agencies of communicating. This led to a particular sort of regulation where the distant metropoliss received discriminatory intervention to vouch their trueness. The testimonial system the Ternary Alliance set up was the anchor of their Empire, and it financed the of import spiritual festivals and the luxuries of the opinion category. The testimonial was collected from conquered lands and consisted of everything Mexico could bring forth and devour. The system was rather flexible and adaptable to the jobs of conveyance and the deficiency of an alphabetical authorship system which made rapid communicating troublesome. The ever-expanding conquerings created # 8220 ; a bureaucratic and economic machine of tremendous complexness that fed on a diet of testimonial, trade, and a changeless supply of sacrificial victims from near and distant lands # 8221 ; ( Fagan, 95 ) . The success of the Triple Alliance, in such a short period, came from the alone authorities it created, which incorporated a testimonial system capable of uniting the spiritual, political, and societal values of the clip. The development of the Aztec Empire occurred in an surprisingly short period. The Mexica were the last group to migrate to the vale of Mexico toward the beginning of the 13th century ( van Zantwijk, 40 ) . Their late migration left them moo on the societal graduated table coercing the Mexica to roll for many old ages seeking to happen a lasting colony ( Duran, 13 ) . They lived off the western shore of Lake Texcoco, at Chapultepec for a short clip, but this land belonged to the Tepanec people. In 1299 the Tepanec forced the Mexica to take safety to the South of the lake, on the outskirts of Culhuacan ( Leon-Portilla, 88 ) . The Tepanec sent them there trusting the toxicant serpents of the country would kill them. Alternatively, the Mexica ate the serpents. The Tepanec once more chased the Mexica out in 1323 and so the Mexica founded the site of Tenochtitlan, which was to go a great capital. Meanwhile, the Tepanec were constructing a great imperium in nearby Azcapotzalco. The Mexica s trived to go privileged members of the Tepanec imperium. Although Tepanec confined them to secondary functions, they managed to take advantage of this clip to develop themselves ( Gruzinski, 26 ) . In 1426, Tezozmoc the leader of the Tepanec imperium was succeeded by his boy Maxtla, who hated the Mexica. Soon war broke out between the two groups ( Duran, 61 ) . Texcoco, a adjacent metropolis, besides was at odds with the Tepanec, and so the Mexica, the Tecocan and Tlacopan formed the Ternary Alliance against the Tepanec. The Ternary Alliance formed what is today known as the Aztec imperium. The power of these three metropoliss defeated the Tepanec and took control of their land after a besieging enduring 114 yearss. Tenochtitlan, the Mexica capital, controlled the armed forces and tribute payments while Texcoco held authorization over juridical and cultural personal businesss. Tlacopan became a subordinate to Tenochtitlan and cover largely with external dealingss, like showing offic ial declarations of war for the imperium ( Van Zantwijk, 111 ) . After merely a little more than one hundred old ages in the Valley of Mexico, the Mexica became great leaders. In 1440 the emperor Moctezuma I came in to power. He was to be known as the male parent of the Aztec Empire ( Gruzinski, 31 ) . Moctezuma knew the importance of suppressing neighbouring lands to spread out the power of the Aztecs. The ageless conflicts that Moctezuma I began puting the basis for the success of the imperium. The conquest of neighbours # 8217 ; land was really of import to the endurance of both the Aztec Empire and the universe ( Davies, 42 ) . The testimonial payments gained by suppressing supported the authorities economically and provided the victims for the forfeits which the Aztecs # 8217 ; believed fueled the universe. The conquering of new lands was of import to Aztec faith and society because of the turning demand for worlds to give. The Aztecs believed that someday this universe or Sun would hold to stop. The lone manner to avoid the decease of the Sun was by giving it critical energy enclosed in the chalchiuhatl or # 8220 ; the cherished liquid # 8221 ; which keeps humanity alive, blood. This called for a uninterrupted supply of sacrificial victims, whose Black Marias and blood would be offered up to the Sun, giving the Sun the nutriment necessary to protract its life indefinitely ( Leon-Portilla, 101 ) . To do this possible, the Aztecs started a pattern known as the # 8220 ; flower wars, # 8221 ; periodic conflicts whose intent was to capture possible sacrificial victims. The Aztecs fought these pseudo wars with the people of Texcoco, Tlacopan, Tlaxcala, and Huexotzinco. Soldiers did their best non to kill oppositions but instead to take them alive for forfeit ( Duran, 348 ) . The Aztecs believed the continued being of the existence depended on them, if they did non feed the Sun the dark forces of the dark would destruct it. This gave the Aztecs a justification for all their conquerings. By repressing other people and cut downing them to feeders, they were recognizing a supreme mission ( Leon-Portilla, 102 ) . The Aztec province was therefore devoted to the impression of ageless war ( Davies, 51 ) . Due to the importance of war the Aztec Empire finally expanded to great lengths, stretching from the seashore of the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and from Northern Mexico to Guat emala ( Fagan, 95 ) . The spiritual, political and societal demands of the community led to this enlargement. The Aztecs # 8217 ; conquerings were besides honoring because the testimonial system required the payment of goods in add-on to prisoners. The Aztecs required any conquered community to pay testimonial or revenue enhancements to the chief imperium in Tenochtitlan. The metropolis of Texcoco received an equal portion of this testimonial, but the control was in the custodies of Tenochtitlan ( Davies, 45 ) . The beginnings province that they distributed the testimonial in a 2:2:1 ratio. Tenochtitlan and Texcoco got two-fifths each and Tlacopan one fifth ( Coe, 171 ) . Tribute could dwell of many things, such as cherished rocks, plumes, chocolate tree, cotton, apparels, unrecorded animate beings, shells, corn, beans, fruit and much more. Gruzinski notes that # 8220 ; Several 10s of 1000s of dozenss of nutrient, more than 100,000 cotton garments, and an impressive 30,000 packages of plumes, and an impressive measure of cherished objects and rare animate beings constituted the testimonial paid in a twelvemonth # 8221 ; ( 44 ) . States that lacked groceries and apparels used people as testimonial, and their services were used for military or public work undertakings ( Fagan, 148 ) . Imperial governments supported local dynasties if they delivered their testimonial payments on clip ( Smith, 76 ) . The local dynasties included land granted to Lords and land controlled by calpullis, a group of households that controlled a territorial unit moving as a channel of goods and services to the province ( Fagan, 146 ) . The authorities imposed and linked societal position to the testimonial gross ( Brumfiel, 679 ) . At the underside were the common mans whose tribute payments supported all the Lords and calpulli ( Smith, 76 ) . Those who worked to supply testimonial received small benefit other so obscure promises of aid in times of dearth and war. Merely a few extremely privileged swayers and Lords enjoyed the full fruits of the trade and testimonial system ( Fagan, 125 ) . The construction of the testimonial system besides allowed the imperium to enroll big nu mbers of people in a short sum of clip. These recruits came from the calpulli and the people controlled by the Lords. This was a major factor in the success of the Aztec Empire. In most of the runs capable neighbours furnished big contingents to organize forces that a individual city state could non conceivably muster ( Davies, 42 ) . The Aztecs could penalize any community that did non pay testimonial about instantly because of the empire’s ability to mobilise military personnels from other feeders in a short clip. The Aztec Empire presided over a assortment of vassal provinces and tense political confederations which kept their ground forcess in the field every twelvemonth ( Fagan, 113 ) . The societal construction of the Aztec community complemented the authorities # 8217 ; s aims. Aztec life existed non for the person but for the group ; each member conformed to societal norms and contributed to the saving of the community and province through revenue enhancement, labour and, in war times, through military service ( Fagan, 138 ) . The authorities imposed the definition of an single # 8217 ; s societal position ( Brumfiel, 679 ) . Authority and testimonial flowed up and down a societal pyramid built on a solid base of close household ties, ancient line of descent connexions and communal ownership of land among the common mans ( Davies, 120 ) . The Aztec Lords consisted of two degrees: the secular bureaucratism of Judgess, functionaries and soldiers and the organisation of priests ( Fagan, 95 ) . Another of import factor that led to the success of the Aztec imperium was their alone construction of the authorities. The communities that they conquered merely felt the repression of the authorities through testimonial payments ( Davies, 41 ) . After suppressing lands the Aztecs left no fort behind, merely a revenue enhancement aggregator. Apart from the revenue enhancement aggregator the Aztecs respected local governments, establishments and traditions ( Gruzinski, 40 ) . The autochthonal swayers and Lords were left in topographic point, but were demoted to the position of center and lower rank functionaries ( Coe, 167 ) . The thought of transition was foreign to the peoples of Mexico. Sometimes the Mexica stressed the cult of their Sun God Huitizilopochtli, but they did non necessitate the conquered people to idolize him. The Aztecs maintained a comparatively peaceable relationship with the conquered by allowing them spiritual freedom. The Aztecs did non hold a regular ground fo rces to function as an busying force ( Gruzinski, 40 ) . Their lone communicating from the conquered towns came through the testimonial payments and merchandisers. The merchandisers sometimes acted as undercover agents for the Aztec authorities, and were compensated for any information refering rebellions in the conquered lands. The Aztecs were more interested in testimonial so appropriation ( Fagan, 130-131 ) . The construction of the authorities caused the different societal groups to experience of import so that there was small opportunity for rebellion. The dominant groups kept subservient groups under control by doing them responsible for some portion of the authorities. Each group had a defined topographic point and got satisfaction by overstating the importance of their function in the system ( van Zantwijk, 26 ) . The Aztecs divided the authorities operations among different cultural groups so that the province could work merely through their cooperation. The societal hierarchy relied on a web of societal and economic dependance that bound Lords and common mans to one another through duty of service ( Fagan, 179 ) . The supreme power ballad in Tenochtitlan and the emperor, nevertheless. The emperor # 8217 ; s place was based on familial sequence by election ( van Zantwijk, 25 ) . Rule depended non merely on force and panic but on personal qualities and model life styles. The maps of the hierarchies and their common relationships changed overtime harmonizing to the administrative, societal, economic and spiritual development of the society ( 74 ) . At first the people acquired rank through accomplishments but finally birth became the overruling factor ( Fagan, 137 ) . This progressively stratified society needed to keep the high degrees of testimonial to feed of all time more non-farmers ( 179 ) . The Aztec imperium faced two major jobs that blocked complete control: tremendous distances and fundamental signifiers of communicating. The imperium at its tallness consisted of Northern Mexico to Guatemala and from the seashore of the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico. Not merely was this a huge sum of land, but it besides contained a assortment of clime and topography. To add to this problem, the Aztecs had no animals of load, so everything had to be carried on the human back. Messages could take hebdomads to make their finishs, doing communicating really hard. Besides, the Aztecs did non hold an alphabetized authorship system but relied on glyphs, ideographic representations ( Leon Portilla, 44 ) . These failings frequently led to revolts in conquered lands. However, these rebellions were few and easy put down. Since the Aztecs could bring forth a force from any of their tributary communities in a short clip, they could maintain their imperium in line ( Fagan, 148 ) . After such rebe llions the Rebels were crushed and so forced to pay even higher testimonials, non so much of measure, but value and trouble of supply ( 114 ) . The Aztec success at authorities can be attributed to their ability to command such a big district and population through testimonial and fright. The Ternary Alliance knew how to take attention of the populations of the Valley of Mexico. In exchange for warriors the Aztecs, granted the feeders portions of the war loot. Distant metropoliss received discriminatory intervention to vouch their trueness. The Aztecs entrusted others with guarding the frontiers, which exempted them from testimonial payments. The imperium # 8220 ; resembled an huge spider web, with the Ternary Alliance at its centre and a thousand webs linked through matrimony confederations, exchange of services, mutuality and extortion # 8221 ; ( Gruzinski, 42 ) . The whole construction was flexible and adaptable to the imperium # 8217 ; s altering demands. The Aztecs could non trust on efficient agencies of conveyance or an alphabetical authorship system, but they found ways around these troubles. The Aztec Empire was nil like a extremely centralized and totalitarian power, and this is what made it so successful. We can outdo depict it as a # 8220 ; sophisticated tribute-gathering machine # 8221 ; ( Fagan, 113 ) . Every facet of the Aztec imperial authorities was focused on two ultimate terminals: the eating of t-he Sun with the blood of sacrificial victims and the care of the power and prestigiousness of the emperor and the Lords ( 113 ) . Both terminals rested on the complex testimonial system of the Aztec authorities. Lynn Opulski Bibliography Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. # 8220 ; Consumption and Politicss at Aztec Huexotla. # 8221 ; American Anthropologist Sept. 1987 v89 n3: 676-679. Coe, Michael D. Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc. , 1994. Davies, Nigel. The Aztec imperium: the Toltec revival. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987. Duran, Diego. Aztecs: the history of the Indies of New Spain. New York: Orion Press, 1964. Fagan, Brian M. The Aztecs. New York: W.H. Freeman and Co. , 1984. Gruzinski, Serge. The Aztecs ; Rise and Fall of an Empire. New York ; Discoveries harry N. Abrams, Inc, Publishers, 1992. Leon- Portilla, Miguel. The Aztec image of ego and society: an debut to Nahua civilization. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1992. Smith, Michal E. # 8220 ; Life in the States of the Aztec Empire. # 8221 ; Scientific American Sept. 1997 v277 n3: 76-78. Van Zantwijk, Rudolf. The Aztec Arrangement.