Dragons Essay example -- Expository Animals History Essays

Dragons Whats the first thing people think when they hear the formulate dragon? Most Americans and Europeans probably envision a huge leprose green beast, one that sits on a hoard of golden treasures and breathes fire. Asians be more likely to think of a benevolent snake-like creature, one that controls rains and rivers. And both(prenominal) people will think of the dragons in movies, or in books, which get in in innumerable shapes, sizes, and dispositions. Practically every culture on cosmos has dragons of some kind. The broadest way of categorizing dragons is into occidental and east dragons, though some of the dragons in the media have distinct characteristics as well. And then, of course, is the ultimate question did they exist?Western dragons atomic number 18 the storybook monsters that most Americans recognize. The most common variety have cardinal legs, two bat-like wings, a long tail, and a lot of teeth. They breathe fire, are cover in scales, hoard treasure, an d have dangerous claws. They vary in color, and can be any shade of the rainbow, white, black, or any of respective(a) metallic shades. They are usually fierce, and feast on young virgins or sheep sacrificed by nearby villagers in an attempt to pacify the beast (Blumberg 6-7, Lurie n.p, Walker, Tempest).The Eastern dragons, by contrast, are benevolent water spirits. They are long and sinuous, covered in scales, and wingless, though they have four legs. They have whiskers, horns and often a mane, and always have a pearl either under the chin, in the mouth, or in the claws. Eastern dragons govern rain and rivers, and breathe clouds earlier than fire. They are fond of swallows meat, and afraid of centipedes. The Chinese and Nipponese emperors were believed to be descended from dragons (Ayles... ...gons have over the human imagination is as known as the great beasts themselves. Works CitedAylesworth, Thomas. The Story of Dragons and Other Monsters. New York McGraw-Hill, 1980.Blumbe rg, Rhoda. The honor About Dragons. New York Four Winds Press, 1980.Dickinson, Peter. The Flight of Dragons. New York Harper and Row, 1979.Dragonheart. Dir. gazump Cohen. , 1996.Lurie, Alison. Fabulous Beasts. New York Rae Publishing Company, 1981.McCaffrey, Anne. Moreta Dragonlady of Pern. New York Ballantine Books, 1983.Mulan. Dir. Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft. Disney, 1998.Petes Dragon. Dir. father Chaffey. Disney, 1977.Tempest. Advanced Dragon Description. D.R.A.G.O.N.S. n.d. 14 May 2002. .Walker, Jennifer. Physiology of a Dragon. Here Be Dragons. n.d. 14 May 2002.