A Medieval Contest
In comparing and contrasting the Arthurian Legends and J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Fellowship of the Ring, it is almost like a medieval contest between the two with many of the similarities coming from the customs of the Middle Ages. A look at the make up of the groups involved, the moral code, the protagonist, the antagonist, the use of supernatural elements and the knightly quest involved in each book shows how alike they are but yet different.
The Arthurian Legends revolve around the life of the knights during the Middle Ages. A knight would pledge his loyalty to God, his King, fellow knights and to women in distress. Tolkien’s Fellowship which consists of Gandalf, Legolas of the Elves, Gimli of the Dwarves, Aragorn and Boromin of the humans and four hobbits, Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. This Fellowship is like the Round Table of King Arthur.
Sir Thomas Malory in his Le Morte d’Arthur shows this Round Table as a military group loyal not only to their King but to one another. King Arthur is given the Round Table as a wedding gift by Gwynevere’s father. It consists of one hundred knights. Often the knights join together to defend the honor of another knight by killing the one causing the dishonor. The Fellowship bands together with the common purpose of destroying the Ring. The Ring can only be destroyed by throwing it back into the Cracks of Doom in Orodruin, the Fire Mountain, in Mordor, home of the Emperor of Darkness known as Sauron. The Ring should Sauron get it would give him the power to control the world.
The obvious difference in the make up of the Round Table and the Fellowship is that the Round Table is made up of humans whereas the Fellowship has humans along with fantasy creatures such as Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves and Gandalf and Aragorn who are human, wizard type beings. “Hobbits range between two and four feet in height. They dress in bright colours, being notably fond of yellow and green; but they seldom wore shoes, since their feet had tough leathery soles and clad in thick curling hair. They laugh, delight in parties and love to eat.'; (Tolkien, p.20) Hobbits prefer to live in holes in the ground. Dwarves are larger than Hobbits but smaller than humans. ...
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... p.463.) As much as he wants to return to his home land, he knows he must first lead the Fellowship to destroy the Ring before Sauron rules over all of them.
Frodo Baggins begins to know the evil of the Ring. He feels it pulling on him and sees the destruction while he is seated in the Seat of Seeing. Frodo’s quest as the Ring Bearer is to take the Ring to the one place where it can be destroyed, the Cracks of Doom, before Sauron gets it and takes over the world. Inscribed inside of the Ring seen only after it has been place in fire is as follows:
“One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.'; (Tolkien, p.75)
With one story having a ring that offers eternal youth and another with a sword that keeps its owner from ever bleeding, it is hard to imagine what the two could have in common. After looking at the make up of the groups, the heroes, the villains, moral codes, supernatural elements and knightly quests, it is easy to see that they do share many similarities. Tolkien’s work deals more with fantasy characters and places but all in all they are very similar.
Wheelwright, M. (1942). Navajo Creation Myth. Navajo Religion Series, Vol. 1. Santa Fe: Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art.
One of the most enduring myths in the Western world is that of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Regardless of the origins of the tales, the fact is that by the time they had been filtered through a French sensibility and re-exported to England, they were representations of not one but several ideals. Courtly love and chivalry and the various components thereof, such as martial prowess, chastity, bravery, courtesy, and so on, were presented as the chief virtues to aspire to, and the knights as role models. Arthur's eventual fall is precisely because of having failed at some level to fulfill these ideals in his life.
In Medieval Times knights are the protectors. The knights fight for, and obey the king. And for that reason Knight’s are in high rankings in the class system, compared to the peasants and merchants. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, people are going on the pilgrimage to Canterbury for Salvation. The knight is Chaucer’s ideal of a night should be. The knight is a highly principled killer who travels the world and fights for what he believes in with unequivocal bravery and valor.
The Pueblo Indians religious history is different than the average Christian religion history. Their religious beliefs are based on the creation of life. The persons seen as the creators of life are the centrality and the basis of their religion. In the early 1900’s these Indians were looked upon in different lights. White man compared the Pueblo rituals and religious routines with his own. Pueblo religious beliefs, practices and social forms were criticized, scrutinized and misunderstood by white Christian American settlers. The major religious practice and worship of the Pueblo Indians involved ritual dances. White men attempted to stop these Puebloan ritualistic dances because they did not meet his own religious standards and this happened before the Indians had a chance to explain or define what their dances really stood for. Women played a significant role in Puebloan ritual dances and religious
First of all, the Navajo lifestyle is very similar to the concepts of Bless Me, Ultima. In the Navajos' daily life ceremonies and rituals are practiced. These ceremonies are performed to treat and heal physical and/or mental illnesses. There are more than 50 different kinds of ceremonies that the Navajo may use. Like how Ultima sings a song while she cures Uncle Lucas, the Navajo chant during their performances. Navajo performers also dance and sand-paint for the rituals. As Ultima and Tony heal Uncle Lucas, the two take many days to cure him. The Navajo also hold their ceremonies that may last from one to nine days, depending on how long it takes for the sick person to be revived. Color is also very symbolic, as there was different, separate meanings fo...
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is an exquisite example of the impact of prejudice and discrimination on a small Southern town post-Depression. On Harper Lee's novel, Telgen states, "Comprising the main portion of the book's examination of racism and its effects are the underlying themes of prejudice vs. tolerance: how people feel about and respond to differences in others" (292). The motif of discrimination in this story is strongly supported by numerous examples, events, and seemingly unimportant anecdotes described throughout the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird expounds upon the ideas, thoughts, and interpretations of Jean Louise Finch (also known as Scout) and her older brother Jeremy "Jem" Finch. As the siblings live out many adventures and mature, both in years and in experience, they start to learn and recognize the prejudices occurring in their town. While they were brought up by Atticus Finch, their father- a man who strongly believes in the equality of all- others in the town of Maycomb do not have these same views. These differences lead to many problems throughout Scout's narration. This best-seller greatly expresses the repercussions of discrimination and prejudice of gender, race, and class.
The marriage practices for the Navajo Indians are very unique. The bride must be bought with horses, sheep, or other valuable items. What many Navajo Indians used to use in the 40’s were love potions. These love potions include many plants and herbs in them, and were used to make someone fall in love with someone else. In many traditions for Navajo weddings they used a lot of plants and herbs. After the wedding ceremony they would have a big feast. The main food at the feast was always corn.
...ainting motifs you need to know how to construct the loom, spin the yarn, and the skill to weave the patterns. This takes many years of training as well as dedication because of the amount of time that is needed to do so.
If one considers the points of view of others, they can understand situations and others more effectively. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, there are characters who strive to walk in other people’s shoes. Atticus demonstrates his philosophy of life by thinking about situations from other people’s perspectives, which later influences Jem and Scout to do the same.
"Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow there, firm as weeds among stones"- Charlotte Brontë. Nearly every problem and unfortunate mishap in Harper Lee's, To Kill A Mockingbird, has been somehow revolved around prejudice or discrimination. Many different forms of prejudice are found throughout the novel, with racism, sexism, and classicism the most common. The residents of Maycomb have discrimination running through their veins and were raised to be racist and sexist, without realizing. They see nothing wrong with judging other people and treating people that they find inferior harshly. Prejudice is a destructive force because it separates the people of Maycomb, both physically and mentally.
In the story, Scout describes how Aunt Alexandra exhibits dominance over Scout’s wardrobe, and even berating her for wearing clothes that Alexandra sees fit. In the novel, Lee writes: “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants. Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life.” (Lee, 81). This piece of evidence shows how Scout feels she should be able to wear whatever she sees fit, but Aunt Alexandra insists that she is not a proper lady if she doesn’t act and wear whatever defines the characteristics of a “lady” in her perception, serving as an insult to her, which implies that she doesn’t act as her gender stereotypically should. This piece of evidence is only one of the plentiful examples of prejudice and discrimination in To Kill A
The novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee has numerous accounts of racism and prejudice throughout the entire piece. The novel is set in the 1930's, a time when racism was very prevalent. Although bigotry and segregation were pointed in majority towards blacks, other accounts towards whites were also heard of, though not as commonly. There are acts that are so discreet that you almost don't catch them, but along with those, there are blatant acts of bigotry that would never occur in our time. Lee addresses many of these feelings in her novel.
Chivalry was a big part of this fourteenth century and it was embodied throughout the men of king Arthurs round table. In General, Chivalry was a set of religious values and moral goals that medieval knights
Throughout the course of time, thoughts or passionate emotions develop as a society when approached with different situational barriers. Occasionally though, certain beliefs may also be forced onto a country during times of crisis or war. As the mid-20th century approached, a new Korea emerged after the Japanese invaded the country and officially declared possession in 1910 (Kimble, 1997). For at least 35 years, Japanese inhabitants demanded the small nation to acquire the Japanese language and imposed an education process that caused the Korean culture to repudiate its own history. The South Korean nation would finally get the chance to regain a sense of independence after the Korean War which began in 1950 and lead to the current agreement between the Northern and Southern parts of Korea in 1953. After constantly being abused by the Japanese government and the communist regime of North Korea that nearly demolished the character of the now acknowledged South Korea, the United States was able to terminate the Korean War. The army of South Korea is now highly protected and amplified with American forces. This restricts the capabilities of a modern military that has counted on a foreign military to defend its borders. Although seen as a cynical effect of the Korean War, one might also say that South Korea has had sixty years to develop its own distinctive economy and infrastructure
A fantasy is an imaginary world where all things imaginable can be brought to life. J.R.R Tolkien portrayed fantasy through his use of skilled craftsmanship and a vivid imagination, which was presented in each piece of literature he wrote. In Tolkien's two stories The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings we see the theme of fantasy brought to life through three essential elements, heroism, magic and retribution. Heroism is shown through the character's courage and bravery in situations where conflict arises and this enables them to be seen in a new light. Magic is a form of extraordinary power seemingly through a supernatural force; it is used in a combination of combat and mystical items to aid the companions on their journey. Retribution is paid to the evil forces for the wrongs society had to endure while they were allowed to dominate. This system allows opportunity for physical and mental development in the characters and the aspect of fantasy to come to life.