Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Reading Diary Week 11: King Arthur Unit

King Arthur Unit

The Drawing of the Sword-  I was excited to read this section because the old Disney animated movie The Sword in the Stone was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid.  I was surprised that the Disney version followed this section fairly closely.
The Questing Beast-  This was an odd section because the questing beast didn't have a lot to do with the section other to leave Arthur horseless and to set up the prophecy that Merlin would give.
The Sword Excalibur- I am a little disappointed as to how Arthur isn't much of a hero and is instead helped out and saved on multiple occasions.  I can understand having a hero with faults but having Merlin helping him out is kind of cheap.
The Round Table-  So far the stories in here are a lot less epic than I remember; it was kind of sad that Arthur was making people knights willy-nilly and he didn't even have enough.
The Passing of Merlin- So since Merlin knew what was happening but still didn't avoid his death?  This was an odd section.
King Arthur and Morgan le Fay- The motives for the characters in this story are strange.
The Quest of the Holy Graal-  This section read more like the pre-reading information instead of a myth/folk story.
The King's Pilgrimage-  Why wasn't the Holy Graal continued in this section?  The pacing of this section is odd.  I did find this story amusing though.
The Coming of the Holy Graal*- I can see why Monty Python made their movie so absurd with randomness, the source material is random and doesn't flow very well.
Sir Galahad and the White Knight- I've never heard of hanging a shield around your neck, why would they do that?  Also the way the story is written reminds me of a kid writing; first Galahad is here then there with no transitions whatsoever and odd little additions.
Sir Lancelot's Vision-I thought this was a well-written section for a change, it shows Lancelot to be remorseful of his sinful life and the words of the bearer of the Holy Graal were deep.  It also didn't have odd battles or something that didn't advance what was going on.
The Adventure of Sir Percivale-  I feel like there is symbolism going on that I don't understand.  The lion and serpent fighting looks like it could mean something.
Sir Lancelot and the Five Hundred Knights- The vision and the explanation of the vision were pretty neat, I am surprised that the Knights of the Round Table are more developed characters than King Arthur.
Sir Gawaine and the Hermit-  This section didn't make any sense.  First there is an otherworldly hand that appears out of nowhere and then a hermit who isn't even introduced until after he finishes speaking tells Sir Gawaine and Sir Ector, two characters we really don't know, that they have sinned.
I feel like this section in unnecessary since it adds two characters that we don't really know and it is also just 400 words.  The information about Lancelot is the only worthwhile info.
The Adventure of Sir Bors- After reading several sections, I finally realized that the quest for the holy grail isn't a physical quest but instead a journey of self-purification. 
Sir Galahad and the Mysterious Ship- This section reminded me of the typical journey to the underworld that many heroes have to undertake.
Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad-  So Lancelot was stuck on a boat with a dead body for a month?  I guess I am a little confused on what purpose the boat served since it has supernatural properties.
Sir Galahad and the Graal- I wish that Lancelot would have turned from his old ways but I guess he couldn't escape his nature.  I am a little confused on the last sentence, does King Arthur become evil?
The End of Arthur- So Lancelot ended up redeeming himself again.  I was a little sad that this unit wasn't really about King Arthur other than him getting all the knights of the round table together.

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