Last Hurrah

Seeing as how we only have one more class, I feel like I can write a blog about how the class has changed my view on Arthur.

I had not read a single book about Arthur (maybe in elementary or middle school but I don't remember) before now seeing as I don't read much of anything, so I learned a lot in this course. I had seen some movies about Arthur or inspired by Arthurian legend, but having read the text (or part of it) where some of them came from it added a lot to my understanding. I enjoyed this course, even though some of the work was certainly challenging, it was also a lot of fun.

I guess I just wanted to thank you guys and Dr. MB for the fun I've had in this course!

Post 4 out of 5

High school and the strange people you meet

The struggle is real.

I finally made it through reading all of Avalon High and all I have to say is that the second half was much less annoying to read than the first. Something about having less to do with a teenage girl being all mushy towards a teenage guy and more of an actual plot seemed to make it much easier to read.

Also, at this point I'd hope everyone has gotten done with the book, if not, this post may contain spoilers and should be read at your own risk.

After listening to Dr. MB about the bits of the poem at the beginning of each chapter I decided to pay closer attention to them and tried to actually tie them to what was going on in the chapter. Really the only one that I ended up caring about was for chapter 26. My mind has a habit of thinking about possibly outcomes before they happen and after reading that I was like "Great! I just read this entire book about this love struck girl for her to die and all that." I was not at all thinking that it was just going to break her out of the role she was thrust into, even though she denied it for pretty much the entire book, and be the Lady of the Lake instead. I wasn't expecting that at all, though it did make for a much more happy ending than I had predicted. Maybe I'm just a pessimist or something?

As for the whole Mr. Morton being Merlin thing, as soon as he said he was going to Tahiti I just thought about The Sword in the Stone and Merlin going to Bermuda.

That's really all I've got on that subject.

All the other characters being who they were seems pretty obvious and not need to be talked about (other than Elaine, but if you read the book you know who she is, too).

Having not gone to a traditional high school at all, and getting to skip over most of the drama that comes with it. Much of this book that I feel like I should have related to just wasn't there for me. Maybe that contributed to my struggle to get through it?

Well, the reading is done, discussion will help, and then on to more Arthur!

Post 3 of 5

Knight Life

Knight Life

So this book, It took me awhile to figure out what exactly was going on, maybe something was said in class on Wednesday or maybe not. Anyway, I really liked this reading after I got over my initial dilemma.

My dilemma was trying to just get a grip on how all these people were in New York anyway, centuries after Arthur. Admittedly, I did skip over the cover which helped a bit with it but my thought process still developed after that.  At first I thought, "well, there is magic so who knows, maybe Merlin was just doing an experiment and took them all to that time period?" When I re-read the cover and canned that idea, next thought was that Arthur returned from Avalon and this is where he ended up, then I realized how would Gwen and Percival be there. So I ended up just giving up on trying to make a tie back to the other stories we read and move on, which I should have done in the first place.

I personally loved this reading! The portrayal of Merlin is what took me the most. Maybe I just needed a good laugh this weekend or something but his mix of useful help to his crazy philosophical talk (anyone else laugh when he talked about the bagel?).

I think maybe this was just a change of pace or something, but this reading was really refreshing. Really looking forward to talking about it in class and hearing everyone else's opinions!

Post 2 of 5

One Sword to Rule Them All

Reading over the stuff for Monday's class, I kept being brought back to the sections of the poem dealing with throwing Excalibur into the lake.

First off, I just want to say that if i had something as beautiful as Excalibur as it was described in the lines around 51 I wouldn't want to get rid of it either. throw in the fact that this swords is magical and involved in amazing fights and not just something that is pretty to look at, why would anyone want to just throw it away?! When i was reading this, first thing that popped into my head was that wonderful movie The Lord of the Rings:

Anyway, that's enough with that first encounter.

Encounter 2!
Again I find myself sympathizing with Sir Bedivere in his actions. Again with this beauty thing and all that jazz but then going on to it as a symbol. Of course he thinks it'd be great to have a symbol or token or whatever you want to call it for people to be able to look at and remember the legendary King Arthur! I know I personally find it easier to remember someone if there is that object of correlation, he's just looking out for the kingdom. Disobeying a sickly king who he thinks is more or less crazy at this point, who would argue with him?

Aren't knights supposed to do what they are told no matter what? Isn't this kind of going against the whole knightly code, disobeying the king? couldn't that get you killed?

Isn't death a great motivator?

Anyway, That's about all I have right now. Shiny things are fun, aren't they?

Post 1 out of 5

my brain hurts about this mantle stuff

As i was studying for the midterm I was re-reading some of The Saga of the Mantle and it got me thinking. Why aren't the guys ever put in these situations? Yes I know I'm a guy and I should be happy this isn't the case, but it bugs me.

Not at all am I bashing the story but I'm just sitting here as I'm reading, I want to know the guy's side as well. Is there not a piece of armor or anything that the guys could wear and do the same test? Am i the only one wondering if the guys were actually unfaithful? What if only one of the guys was going around sleeping with all the other knights beloveds? I am truly distraught. For all we know, Karadin could have slept with every single one of the other maidens, but his beloved was faithful to him so the mantle fit her.

Please, someone out there tell me that they thought about this and I'm not losing my mind here.

Also, Are we to believe that after this, the knights and maidens just go back to like this never happened? Were the knights that drunk that they had no recollection of any of this even happening? Okay, that very well may be, but i still can't wrap my head around the fact that we know nothing about anything after this. I can't be the only person out there who would just forget about finding out that my beloved was unfaithful.

Okay, my rant is over. I leave you with this wonderful meme of how i feel right now.

One week in and already learning

As I read for Monday's class, I realized how little I knew about King Arthur. In the reading I seemed to pick out all the battles that were talked about, normal guy thing to do, right? But what really caught my attention wasn't the fact that he fought and won so many battles, but what he would do before, during, and after these. It seems to me that he is more focused on taking care of his people than personal glory, though there may be a bit of that there too. I think what I'm trying to say here is that I never really noticed Arthur's moral code and selflessness til now. Yeah, I knew he was a noble knight and king and chivalrous and all that, but the amount it looked like he talked to his advisers before making decisions, or made decisions to help the "damsel in distress" (whatever form that may be in), or simply took time to honor those who had fallen in battle.  not to be like "what's in it for me?" or "this will look great with the guys back home!"
Simply put, from this reading I've gained a new perspective on Arthur.

Strong knight that runs into battle and kills 470 men by himself? check.
Sensitive man willing to help others in need without real personal gain? check.
what will be next? I honestly can't wait.