Family Generations

When I began to read the Njal's Saga, I noticed something which caught my eye. What got my attention was the way most (almost all) of the characters were introduced. They were introduced by who their ancesotors were. For example: "There was man named Njal; he was the son of Thorgeir Gollnir, the son of Thorolf. Njal's mother was Asgred, the daughter of the Norwegian hersir Askel the Silent; she had come out to Iceland and settled to the east of the Markarfljot river, between Oldustein and Seljalandsmuli." (pg. 35). In the Njal everyone is introduced by saying this person was the son of, who was the son of, who did this...etc. It is like if everyone is who they are because of who their family was.

I began to think about this. You are who you are because of who your family is. This in many cases is true. Many times, this is a good thing because maybe your dad or grandfather was a very good person who did many great things, so been their relative can make the person feel proud. But sometimes, your ancestor can be someone bad, someone who caused great sufferment to the world. For example once I met this girl who was a relative of Hitler. She was a very far relative but she has Hitler as her last name. So when she meets someone and tells them her last name, people look at her badly and go away. They judge her without knowing her just because of her last name. Just because her great grandparents had something to do with Hitler. Being who you are because of who your family was can be very bad.

People should not be judged or be who they are because of their ancestors. People should be who they are because of what they have done. No one should be judge for the mistakes of their family but for their own. This is why it is important to keep in mind, that not everyone will make the same mistakes their family made.