In the excerpts of White’s novel, Arthur is a naïve character
and Merlin is slightly frustrated with his lack of a personal thought process. Arthur’s
character here reminded me of his portrayal in the Camelot episodes earlier in
class. He has that “let’s go for it” attitude and wants to jump right in before
giving anything a second thought. This is Merlin’s point. Arthur just goes with
the flow of how things have always been done without stopping to evaluate if
this is a reasonable decision. “It’s not so much what you are doing,” Merlin
says, “It is how you are thinking… Are you never going to think for yourself?”
(222). Merlin wants to get Arthur out of the mindset that he needs someone to
think for him. Rather, Arthur is perfectly capable of having his own thoughts
and making his own decisions; he just needs to try! Then, when he does
try, Arthur comes up with the idea of the Round Table and that his knights will
fight for a good cause. He explains: “Why can’t you harness Might so that it
works for Right? … It will be using the Might instead of fighting against it,
and turning a bad thing into a good” (248). By thinking for himself and not
being swayed by the traditions of his culture, Arthur has come up with a new
idea to fight for the sake of good instead of fighting for the sake of fighting.
Do you think that he thinks this way because he was not raised to think like a king? When he was growing up he was able to have this carefree mindset because he was only responsible for himself. Now, he has to think like he is a king and as leader which is a completely different way of thinking. He now has to look at it about how it will effect others not just himself. I think that Merlyn was a little too harsh on him for not acting like a king and instead should have helped him evaluate different situations. I think this would have helped Arthur get in the mindset quicker.
ReplyDeleteThat is part of the reason I actually really enjoyed this reading; we got to see real character development from Arthur. I also think Merlins message about thinking for oneself is very important. Don't just mindlessly go against the grain or just ask for advice all the time.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this chapter really made me really think of who Arthur is as a person and a King. Merlin's Comment about think for yourself also made me question what would Arthur be without Merlin?
ReplyDeleteit's nice to see, as Grace points out, the moments when Arthur is just a regular young guy who's only been responsible for himself. In many ways, I'd prefer to have someone like that as a king - someone who recognizes that he doesn't know everything for himself and is willing to listen to and trust the expert advice of people around him with more knowledge or experience. Anyone can learn to think - and along with that, they can learn to listen and trust others rather than assume they have all of the answers.
ReplyDeleteThis was my thought too, and adding Grace's point that this version of Arthur wasn't raised as a king makes him more sympathetic. He didn't grow up in the lap of luxury, so he understands simpler lifestyles. He never had to think like a king before, so this passage shows he's willing and able to learn.
DeleteI like this reading as well and it was interesting to see how Merlyn reacts to Arthur's actions and see how irritated he would get. And I do see the point that Grace has made and I agree. Arthur didn't expect his life to turn out this way even though he is lucky for it. Merlyn probably feels like he is taking his position as king for granted. It looks like a misunderstanding for both characters.
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