I found it
very interesting how this version of an Arthurian tale is unlike any other that
we have read in the way that it is not directly retelling a story of King
Arthur. Meg Cabot focuses on the future life of King Arthur through the
demonstration of reincarnation. While we have learned about the possible beliefs of King Arthur coming back to life, it wasn’t presented through 21st
century high schoolers.
The rise of
King Arthur is hard to believe it’s actually real, yet Cabot was able to make a
unique connection of Arthurian tales to today’s world, addressing the
reincarnation of Arthur and other characters. She even stretched some thoughts,
such as how the Lady of the Lake was never said to have made an appearance like
she did in this reading. In this reading, the Lady of the Lake became a strong
and meaningful position that saved “the darkness” from taking over. “But there’s
no getting around the fact that you are, indeed, the reincarnation of the Lady
of the Lake. It was she who gave Arthur the weapon that he used to defend
himself and the realm. And only she could have kept his friendship with
Lancelot and Guinevere from splintering leaving him vulnerable to attack from his
mortal enemy” (Cabot, 277).
Side note: this reading made me think of Percy Jackson and how there are so many people within a school with secrets filled with such power and importance.
I agree that it's cool to have a story that uses the prediction of Arthur's return rather than a direct parallel of the original story. Though most of the characters are intended to be parallels of the originals, there's Ellie's ambiguous character and Morton as a member of the Order of the Bear rather than a descendant of Merlin or even Merlin himself. Having Ellie doubt the fact that Will was Arthur reincarnated also let the reader have that opinion as well. At the beginning of the semester, we looked at ways Arthur might have been a real person, but we're still left with a ton of stories that are obviously fiction. By including that element of doubt, Cabot hints at the thought that hey, this might be a possible iteration of Arthur should he appear in a 21st century high school.
ReplyDeleteIt captures that idea of Arthur as the once and FUTURE king, doesn't it, having the reincarnation storyline? I think that is well done.
ReplyDeleteI also like the way that this novel gives more visibility to The Lady of the Lake and her importance in the story. I'm actually re-reading The Mists of Avalon (more than just the short excerpt I gave y'all) and because it focuses on those female characters, I feel like I appreciate Ellie's character in this novel more as a result.
I totally agree with you here. In fact, I think that its the biggest strength the book has. The high school setting is what really kept it fresh and interesting. Otherwise, I don't feel as though anyone would look twice at it.
ReplyDeleteI thought the high school setting was relatable. Especially since many of the readers would mostly be in high school as well.
DeleteHaving the school setting allows the newer readers to be able to connect with the book to there life because the school drama is a popular theme in today's books and movies. Another reason that I agree with this is that it allows people to understand it because they have gone through high school and most likely seen this first hand.
ReplyDeleteWe have read so many texts that seem heavily invested in the original story plots and developments that it was very refreshing to read one that was not akin to these: Something new and definitely more relatable and modern than the original texts!
ReplyDeleteYeah this was a fresh twist on the old King Arthur story! Because the characters were placed in a setting so relatable as high school I truly did enjoy the book. However, the same old high school stereotypes were present and they kind of lowered my opinion of the book.
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DeleteI agree with you on the stereotypes and some of it felt like a repeat from previous high school setting books. I think its cause we have all become use to it and outgrown typical stories like these.
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