Trust Issues

Although I'm having a hard time believing this week's reading, I find the Malory readings so settling; the stories are straightforward, and so establishing about the facts about King Arthur and Merlin...regardless if they're real or not.

I think that's why there was so much debate in previous readings; the holes in the stories left so much room for possibilities that my mind would expand with ideas and then explode and the left over unicorn dust would raise all kinds of questions.

Okay that's definitely an exaggeration...but you have to question...why was this week's reading so straight forward?  Why should I believe what a man in prison wrote these stories saying they're real?  Why is it that of all people, this guy knows exactly what happened when King Arthur pulled excalibur from the stone, yet no one was around to physically witness?

Maybe it's the journalism world in me that's coming out right now, but I'm struggling to rely on this source for the truth.  These stories seem so accurate and definite of the series of events that took place with specific details.

merp.

Not sure about the brains on this Gawain dude

Not going to lie, I found the end of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight a little bit unimpressive. Like 'hey! Congrats on still having a head but you still screwed up!' And then his only form of punishment or penance was turned into a fashion statement? Like I know they said it was a "solidarity" thing but it still seems like he got off pretty easy. He broke a deal, he broke his word, and all he had to do as penance was wear a sash? And yes, sashes are ridiculous, especially on grown men but it's still a pretty meager thing.
What really got to me was how much the Green Knight didn't seem to care. It was more like a slap on the wrist than a "you broke an oath" anger. That seemed kind of suspect for a guy who transforms himself into a magical, gigantic, GREEN KNIGHT. You kind of expect him to be a drama queen. But nope.

And Gawain just rolls with the fact that this Green Knight starts talking about how Gawain was hanging out in bed with his wife. He doesn't question the fact that the Green Knight was his host for the three days. He just accepts it! Without second thought! Who does that? (People who agree to favours for total strangers is who.)

Half Way Point

Well, we are half way through the semester. There have been projects, papers, readings, and discussions. My favorite reading from this semester is The Knight of the Cart. To me, this story held many of the elements that I thought of when I thought of King Arthur stories. It had fighting, magic, love, and obstacles. My favorite part was the part with Lancelot fighting in the tournament. I liked this part the best because of his determination to do whatever his beloved Guinevere asked or wanted. When she told him to "do his worst" he did, and when she told him to "do his best" he did as well. I also really enjoyed the part when Lancelot crossed the sword bridge. He was cut and bleeding but he never thought about it because he was thinking of Guinevere.
The projects were both fun and challenging. Arthur goes to Hollywood was fun because I really enjoy watching movies and television. It was also fun because I love things dealing with magic and otherworldly phenomenons and happenings which my assignment, Merlin 1998, had throughout. There were only a few reasons this project was hard. Those reasons are it was hard to find, it was on VHS so we had to fit in a small space in the library for three and a half hours, and it was hard trying to find a time that would work for all the group members to do the PowerPoint presentation. Other than that, this project was fun.
The paper was a fun assignment to think about. It made me think harder about the issue of courtly love. I had a little trouble getting started because I wasn't sure how I felt about courtly love. But, after reading more about courtly love and thinking a little more about it, I was able to find my standing point on the issue and was able to write the paper. The other negative thing about this paper was the timing. I had four projects other than the paper due that same day and two other projects due that week.
The discussions in this class are never flat. The discussions are always fun and informing (unlike some classes where it is only lecture after lecture). Discussions are always about the readings which are most of the time interesting. Unlike some classes in college, it is not only the professor talking, it is also the students. This gives us more chances of learning the information and also keeps our interest and attention. Most of the time I have questions about the readings from the night before, but hearing the professor AND classmates,  I have almost all of my questions answered.
I am not going to lie, I thought this class was going to be difficult and a time consumer. But this first half of the semester has proved me wrong. I am really enjoying this class and it is not taking up too much of my time. It is also not that difficult as long as you keep up with the readings and assignments. I am glad that I signed up for this class and am looking forward to the second half of the semester.

Half-way Through

Half-way through this semester, my views of Arthur have changed slightly. I thought that most stories of Arthur, would actually feature him as a main character as opposed to using him and his court as a stage for other great feats for knights and the court. I also had no idea that there were so many different personalities of Arthur that are very different. I think part of my expectations come from movies in my childhood like Sword and the Stone and  Quest for Camelot where Arthur has Merlin and his magic to guide him; this is not true in most of what we have addressed in this class. I like the new views I have on Arthur and his legends, but after watching Camelot I do prefer Arthur as a great warrior and king as opposed to dependent on Merlin. I also view Guinevere differently after this class; the romantic vibe I felt from her and Lancelot has diminished and now I feel much less friendly to her, seeing as she basically helped destroy the greatness of Camelot and the eventual death or "healing on Avalon" of Arthur.

King Arthur's death???

So we're soon to be reading the death of King Arthur. I haven't read much of King Arthur, but I was wondering how he dies. There are different versions, as there are different versions of how King Arthur is portrayed. I looked it up several places and came across this picture. I thought it was really artistic and detailed.


The first myth that I found about King Arthur's death is that King Arthur found out about Lancelot and Guinevere. King Arthur went to war with Lancelot and left Mordred in charge of his castle. Mordred wanted the castle for himself. Mordred and King Arthur became involved in a sword fight, where they both killed each other.

The second myth is that King Arthur never died at all. What happens is is that King Arthur is taken to a magical island called Avalon. While on Avalon, he heals from his wounds from his sword fight with Mordred. He is now waiting (at Avalon) to return to England when the people need him the most. I also read that the disappearance of King Arthur is the most interesting.

I am definitely intrigued in hearing what happens in our texts. I cannot wait to see how King Arthur disappears or dies.

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT

Well first off we are starting to use a different book, Le Morte Darthur (ed. Helen Cooper), some people didn't think that it was available in the college book store anymore and that we could get it from amazon. WELL, the bookstore DOES have the book, although only a few copies left.

With that being said, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, SGGK, had an interesting end to it, did it not? Some interesting topics: what was the purpose of the whole test? and did Gawain actually fail? I believe the purpose of the whole test because this story took place when King Arthur was really young and their chivalry was to be tested. Could these young knights prove Morgan Le Fay wrong??? To some degree, yes, they did. Sir Gawain confesses his sins and is only nicked for having a lack of faith. Would I have done the same thing as him? Uh, I wouldn't have gotten myself in this predicament, but if I was so foolish to do so, then yes. I would have a lack of faith and I might not have confessed my sins. Therefore, the Green Knight probably would have cut off my head. And I would be in a coffin in the green chapel probably similar to the one below:

Did Sir Gawain actually fail the test? Yes. That was the purpose of his being nicked on the neck and him wearing the green belt. It is a reminder of what he has done and for him to become a better knight. Then at the end, the belt becomes a sign of honor. Only the Knights of the Round Table can wear them.

Honestly, I don't think anyone else other than Gawain could have done a better job. I know some may say Lancelot, but he probably would have had sex with Bertilak's wife. EVERYONE, even King Arthur, thought Gawain was going to die on this journey. He proved them all wrong and only came back with a nick on the neck??? I'd say that's pretty bad ass. If I was Gawain, I probably never even wanted to make the journey to meet the Green Knight. And if I did, I would've died killing all those trolls and woodland creatures he met along the way. If I didn't die, I would've stopped after the first one. I just would not be able to do the same thing Gawain did. So kudos to him.

How Did He Do It?

               The one question that remained unanswered throughout the entire story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight for me was HOW THE GREEN KNIGHT SURVIVED HAVING HIS HEAD CUT OFF?? Was that belt truly magical? If the belt was magical, he could actually (try to) chop Gawain’s head off and he would have lived. Then we would have known that that’s why the green knight lived as well. However, the green knight only nicks Gawain’s neck, and then explains the entire test to him. Because he doesn’t actually cut his head off, I couldn’t be 100% certain that the belt was magical at all! Maybe she just said that the belt would make him invincible as a test and he failed. It seems just as likely as a belt actually giving him invincibility.

                Aside from this issue, I did really enjoy the story. The test that the Green Knight came up with was pretty ingenious. Not only was it entertaining for the court, but it gave a very true test of Gawain’s honor. As a knight he is supposed to honor all agreements, and in this test he actually makes two. Now why someone would agree to be decapitated in a year, I have no idea. But Gawain does fulfill all parts of both agreements, except for the final day with the King. By keeping the belt he hopes to survive his execution. Unfortunately, this fails his test of honor.

                The craziest part of the whole story though is the ending. Sir Gawain returns to the court wearing his belt to remind himself of his failure. Next thing you know, everyone is doing it! Green belts are IN, they represent HONOR. If there was any lesson to be taken away from the story, this ending kills it. It’s a Disney ending to me, everything has to end perfect and happy ever after. This story had me right up until that ending, but the ending was just terrible. Yes I understand that the court was doing it to make him feel better, but did he really need to feel better? It’s just a reminder that he’s human and needs to focus on doing better in the future. That’s a lesson everyone should carry with them in life. That’s how I would have ended this story.