Robin Hood Assignment 1- Unit 2 Kimberly Brown-Schneider Kaplan University The story of Robin Hood was one of my most favorites to hear my grandparents tell to me over and over again as a child. My grandmother would always embellish the story by enhancing just how important it was for me to always look out for those who are less fortunate and assist them without a doubt. (Phone conversation): According to my grandmother, she does indeed remember telling and reading that story to me every night for weeks. She also stated that it was one of the first books I could read on my own.
That I had memorized the words, and then I would read it to anyone that would listen to me. Then I would say verbatim, the moral and the lessons of the book, according to whatever item she chose to teach to me. (Personal phone conversation, October 25, 2012). Robin Hood was the legendary bandit of England who stole from the rich to help the poor. The stories about Robin appealed to most because he was able to stand up against the imposture King of England, and outwitted the people of power (Myth Encyclopedia, 2010).
He lived his life in the forest with a tribe of other supporters, essentially outcasts. With help from the other outlaws, they would come to the assistance of those in need. It is told to be a great and noble thing to do as well as an adventure full of forbidden love The moral lesson of Robin Hood is that regardless of what time you live in, excessive amounts of money will always give you power. It’s hard to believe that Robin Hood was once a classic hero that everyone admired.
Well of course, back in the 40’and 50’s when my grandparents were hearing this story, were a lot more people were struggling with poverty, war, and other governmental challenges. Nowadays however, more people have wealth to spread around and keep, and somehow the idea of a man robbing from the rich and giving to the poor just doesn’t seem that inspiring. It is certainly the virtue of most cultures along the human temporal spectrum of the telling and retelling of myths, folktales and fairytales. There was speech before there was writing.
The use of current contemporary narratives, immortalized in all their media and versions, must have as their prototypes of the myth, fairytales and folktales ‘of old’ as that is, historically, where our concepts of storytelling were derived from. Moreover, as Barthes describes (1975), narrative is extremely diverse and many contemporary narratives are deliberately constructed to deviate from exactly the conventions that theorists have sought to map. As for the laws, when Robin Hood mocks and defies the Sheriff of Nottingham, he is not breaking any law or codes, for he does not recognize the Sheriff as his lord.
Instead, he acknowledges only his rightful king, Richard, before whom he and his men kneel at the end of the story. And whether Robin is a lord or only a commoner with the manners of a nobleman, he also recognizes and defends the knightly code of honor, known as the Code of Chivalry (Myth Encyclopedia, 2010). Chivalry is a word derived from the French word, chevalier, and a horseman (OED, 2012). Robin Hood and his band have very strict rules concerning moral behavior, rules very similar to the knightly code.
Knights of his time swore to defend the weak and helpless, to protect women and children, to fight only in just causes, to grant mercy to their enemies, to deal honorably with opponents in battle, and to defend Christianity and Christians (Myth Encyclopedia, 2010). Robin Hood’s outlaw band swears essentially the same oaths. They steal, but only from the rich and not out of greed; their wealth is freely given to the poor. They willingly help anyone who needs their aid, whether or not that person can pay for the aid.
No woman or poor man is ever assaulted in Sherwood Forest; only rich lords or bishops need fear the bandits. Even in battle Robin Hood is strictly fair, refusing to take advantage of an opponent’s weakness and always honoring his word to any man, even an enemy. (Myth Encyclopedia, 2010). In conclusion, most families would be offended to hear their stories described as lies or tall tales. Even today, some cultural groups see myths as lies which probably fit them better than myth because a family is generally considered smaller than a cultural group (The Art of Being Human, 2012. p. 37-40). The Oxford English Dictionary states that a myth can also be used as a synonym for a despised religious dogma or, a religion in which no one any longer believes (OED, 2012). The word myth is used in many contexts, but it doesn’t seem to have a single meaning. When discussing myth with others, you should determine what they mean in order to have a common frame of reference and avoid hurting someone’s feelings. [Source: James Kern Feibleman, philosopher and psychiatrist (1904-1987)]. References:
Altshuler, Thelma,& Janaro, Richard (2012) Art of Being Human, The: The Humanities as a Technique For Living, Tenth Edition. New York: Longman. (pp. 37-42). Barthes, R. & Duisit, L. (1975) An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative, New Literary History, vol. 6, No. 2, On Narrative and Narratives, pp. 237-272, The John Hopkins University Press, Available from: http://www. jstor. org/stable/468419. Accessed 27nd October 2012. Booker, C. (2004) The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories, London, Continuum International Publishing Group.
Available from: http://books. google. co. uk/books? id=tujDvUEpY10C&dq=christopher+booker+seven+7+basic+plot&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s. Accessed 27th October 2012. Robin Hood – Myth Encyclopedia – story, legend, tree, creation, life, king, people, strength http://www. mythencyclopedia. com/Pr-Sa/Robin-Hood. html#ixzz2AbjfVOgR. Accessed 27th October 2012. Source: James Kern Feibleman, philosopher and psychiatrist (1904-1987) Oxford English Dictionary online at: http://dictionary. oed. com/entrance. dtl
