Indiana Jones Versus Arthurian Legendry Essay, Research Paper
Indiana Jones Epic versus King Arthur Legends
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a thrilling,
modern-day adventure of a search for the Holy Grail. As a remake
of many Medieval stories, several of the characters reflect upon
the characters in King Arthur stories. With the ongoing chivalry
theme of “Might for Right,” Indiana struggles to unveil the
secrets of the Holy Grail, and to protect it from theft by evil
forces.
The characters in this movie were based on those in the
legends of King Arthur in many ways. The gallant, strong, and
loyal knight Sir Lancelot of the Lake appeared in this movie as
the dashing, handsome, and heroic archeologist Indiana Jones,
honest and intelligent seeking only, at first, for his lost
father. Professor Henry Jones, Indy’s father, was an idealist who
quickly realized that all cannot be perfect. He devoted his life
to studying the Grail, much as King Arthur had devoted his life
to perfecting Camelot. Both these men were intelligent, yet they
were naive in their ways. Sultry, beautiful, and deceptive was
Dr. Elsa Sneider, luring Indiana into her sinister trap. Much
like Morgana Le Fay, she was very smart, and their corrupt wicked
minds worked the same. She tricked Indiana, who easily fell in
love with her, much as Elaine of Castle Carbonek had done with
Lancelot. Elsa had only wanted the Holy Grail out of selfishness
relating to money v
the truly wonderful values of the Grail. The old knight of the
Grail Room represented a character from the actual Medieval
period in history, and, if any characteristics of the people from
King Arthur’s court, he was most like Galahad, for only he had
possession of the Grail.
Chivalry is alluded to many times in this movie, by way of
fighting and mercy. Many fights were fought fairly enough, and
Indiana continually showed mercy upon the Elsa, regardless of her
trickery, be it fooling him into throwing away his gun, or
saving her from the earthquake. Many miracles took place, also.
In one instace, Indiana wasn’t killed on the boat by the ship’s
propeller, and another time, when the Nazi planes were trying to
bomb them, they managed to maneuver themselves around every
obstacle. The most astounding marvel was the healing of Professor
Jones’ wound by the enchanting waters of the Holy Grail.
Indiana’s final survival off the cliff was a very close call and
similar to some of the legends in the King Arthur book.
Civilization for years to come will continue to be
enraptured by the marvelous tales of King Arthur and his
knights of the Round Table. The conflict of good and bad is
exciting and grabs attention. The final theme of the story is
that if we don’t fight against evil, then it will overcome all
civilized manner. To keep our lives civilized, we must first
overcome the forces of evil.