Independent Reading

I'm reading The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by John Steinbeck.  Basically, its the classic story of King Arthur written into modern english. 

Something that annoys me alot about it is how all the lords don't believe that the sword chose Arthur simply because he's young and to their knowledge not of noble birth, though in fact he is.  This shows just how hypocritical they are because they swore that they would abide by the swords judgement, which would be God's judgement.  Also, they keep postponing the decision to name Arthur king.  They repeatedly have as many people as possible attempt to draw the sword out of the stone.  No matter how many times Arthur draws the sword from the stone, they don't seem to want to believe he's the true king.

This leads up to what i consider to be a theme in this story, which is religion.  Their belief in God plays a major role in their lives.  Also, i believe that hypocrisy (particularly towards religion) is also a theme in this book.  They are hypocritical in their faith because if they truly believed they wouldn't question the sword's choice for king.  Granted, blind faith isn't necessarily a good thing, but they did swear to abide by the sword's choice. 

Merlin is an interesting character.  He delights in mystery and misdirection, which is probably one of the reasons he is what we think of when we think of wizards.  Now, i personally think its a stereotype to view him and all wizards in stories as having to be old, bearded, and gray.  I wonder how that stereotype even developed?  It's also interesting to see these people's views of wizards as compared to, say, the Puritans.  Whereas Merlin is respected, the so-called witches were killed.  Now, there is a difference between the two, but most wouldn't see the difference (witches & warlocks are connected to the devil, wizards aren't).

I also believe that another theme in this book is honor, or lack thereof.  Loyal knights gain alot of honor (both for their loyalty and courage in battle).  Now, some caharacters in this book are seemingly honorable but i don't believe they are.  Uther may have been a good king, but he lacked honor in my opinion.  Uther had Merlin disguise him so he appeared like the baron (then he could sleep with Igraine).  Granted, he later marries her, but the fact that he was willing to do this shows his lack of honor.

This leads to Merlin's lack of honor.  He was the one who used his magic to disguise Uther and he certainly wasn't forced to do so.  He had a purpose, true, but its still dishonorable.  He also disguised two of Uther's loyal knights, which also shows a certain lack of honor on their front.  They were willing to aid their lord in such a thing, though the fact that they do so shows loyalty (another theme).

Now, so you know honor is both something you can gain by performing acts of courage, being a good warrior, being a good king, loyalty, etc.  It also refers to behaving with honor (not being cowardly, following a code of conduct, etc.). Honor in battle is still around even to this day, which is something that is definitely taken from earlier civilizations.  Also, honor can also be adapted to suit modern day ideals.