Indiana Jones

1. well I figured the most probable reason as to why they named it the last crusade is because:

A. Indiana Indeed finds the 'physical grail' rather then the metaphorical one we deal with in literature.

B. It's lost at the end of the film, falling into the deep chasm because of the Grail crossing the seal.

As a whole though, it implies that we, as human's, are finally able to take one last crusade to find what we want and what we are. The last one, no more afterwords.

2. As a note, wasn't it George Lucas and another man wrote the story for this one, not Spielberg? But the question is still valid. I think starting with young Indie gives us a parallel between Perss and himself. Although Indie is obviously much smarter and less Naive then Perss, he still is not able to think things through completely to the end. And on his crusade, he learns how to counter this.

Part Four

Angelica Pabst. While she was more outside of the main character pool yet a HUGE part of Perss's development, I have a few things to say about her.

In all honesty, she wasn't after anything, she already had it. She played a cruel joke on a Naive Perss (Yes I realize it was his own fault for running around trying to find her anyways.) He gets into debt, finds 'Angelica' and proceeds to ravish her... only to find out it's Lilly.

This man's virginity is everything to him, poor fella... but if this didn't happen, how would he ever learn what love was.

Lilly seems to be as equally educated as Angelica herself, smart, not to mention her twin. And the fact that Perss can't tell the difference between the two means he's not in love with Angelica. Let's face it, who knew he was going to go after Summerbee after we read her intro sub chapter? I certainly did, her morals and thinking seem to match his own. And I suppose that's another thing his Quest taught him. Look for similarities, something obtainable, not something elusive.

Though, I will say this, Angelica and Lilly both must share some sort of sadistic personality disorder to let Perss continue his travels or even play such a mean joke on him in the first place... And where the F*$% was Angelica s engagement ring during the Rummidge Convention? Was Perss to stunned by her beauty to see it or did she meet her Fiancee after the fact? I must have missed that or something, I can't remember. Anyways, playing with his heart like that was not very nice but none the less necessary. He handled the situation much better then I would have.

Oh, And David Lodge for the win on having Angelica engaged to the Guy who was supposed to get PErss's job. I actually laughed out loud at the Irony.

Oh and, the ending makes you want to find out if Perss continues on yet another world traveling Quest to find Glynda. I sure hope he doesn't have to go through the trouble... poor fella.

Small World Part Two

How hs the story thus far reflected some of the literature we've read?

Well the new rendition of the Fisher King is introduced as Arther Kingfisher, perhaps a nod to both the king Fisher himself and King Arther. However the way David describes the new character is quite similar yet different to the new one. He makes it more modern, and certainly more sexually blunt then the first rendition. Metaphors aren't used, yet ,instead, there is a beautiful Asian women tending to him while he's stark naked. And remarkably he can't get it up.

What do you think of Angelica? Is she like Conchita, or one of the other ladies from the works we've read?

Defiantly Conchita. The way she tricked Dempsey and Persse both towards the tail end of part one and then just vanished like she's so good at doing. Though, the fact that she didn't go through with either of them presumably (though with Dempsey I'm not sure, she could have just been setting him up as well or really flogging him), makes her way more modest then the Spanish vixen from the movie we watched. However, what really settles it in my mind is that she's disappeared, gone, with even more mystery upon her, and now Persse has to run after her to find her. Perhaps she is the grail in this quest, or hold the answers to the grail. Her name, angelica, might reference to this.

A Small World Part One

Persse is in a new world he dose not completely understand. He's naive in the perfect way, much like Percival in Chretien's Grail Quest. I think the author is setting us up for a journey of learning and gathering of experience and wisdom of the main character, both in love and how to operate in such a world.

Persse meats Angelica, yeah no word puns there (sarcasm), described from his point of view with "She was the most beautiful girl he had seen in his life. She was tall and graceful, with a full, womanly figure, and a dark, creamy complexion. Black hair fell in shinning waves to her shoulders, and black was the color of her simple woolen dress, scouped out low across her bosom." Page 8, Lodge

What we have hear is all her physical characteristics. The shallow way to fall in love with someones outer shell, which taking Persse's idiocy into account, doesn't sound so far fetched. This seems to be a common theme in stories we read. We are probably going to watch as the Persse tries to understand Angelica as a person and not an object.

Percival Day Two

The blood on the snow reminds Percival of Blancheflor because it's a symbol of his red armor and the white snow, the two colors of these characters. And While I'm more used to white and black being compatible such as in bleach, this might not be the case in western mythology. Whit is pure, red is blood. Perhaps this is to remind Percival of her, her weeping over him as he sleeps because he can't understand the world she's coming from. Red can certainly let us think that Percival is at first just out for the glory of it all, ridding around with no idea what he's doing at all. And this true when he stabs the Red Knight through the left eye after he had been knocked from his horse. But as we move along he becomes... better at deciding what to do, and how a night should act. Perhaps the blood in the snow is just another reminder.

Percival Day One

The problem with Percival as of right now is that he believes being a Knight is something superficial. He looks up to it as someone who goes around, fights wars, slays dragons, so on and so forth. His image of a Knight is more then likely distorted by his youth and the stories told to him and the way he sees the world in his youth. Chretien gives us a character to develop and find out what /real/ Knighthood is, a common theme throughout his works.

When Percival goes to become a Knight, he is given tasks. He must get the armor of the Red Knight. It's kind of redundant, but it teaches him that using force all the time and battling her, there, and everywhere may not be the right way to becoming a knight.

Movie

2. Terrorism is present because it gives us a dramatic background. Adds depth to the story, however it seems useless up to the point where the two main characters are victims of one. In a way it's foreshadowing, this back-grounded thing of impending doom, much like the chain Calisto gave Celestina.

3. The character Conchita is clearly mentally ill, even if it's not specifically mentioned. From what I can see, she has almost two very distinct personalities, one being more logical and wise, the other lustful and almost evil in a sense. Dualism has been used in movies before like Metropolis. I think it was as interesting twist on the story, something new. Quite an original work.

Celestina Last Day

1. I think it's simple, meeting in the dark can be romantic but in a cliche sort of way. It lets us know how hard they are trying to fulfill they're desires that they hide behind romantic language and settings. It's also, and probably more probable, that they meet there to keep from getting caught. Sex outside of marriage is not acceptable and lust is a major sin.

2. On the part of Melebia, she had a bit of both going for her. She never really repented in inner dialog about what her activities with Calisto caused. She didn't care because she wanted it. However, she commits suicide because she can no longer play the game with Calisto and have him fulfill her desires.

3. The death's represent a decent into hell. Calisto falls of a ladder, Sempronio and Parmeno fall from a window. It's all very symbolic. Perhaps this means that love or desire will drive you to hell.

Celestina Day Four

"Why should she, my lady? I should be happy to have such witness to my glory!" Celestina 150

This is the line right after Maliba tells Lucretia to beat it so they can have sex. Calisto is so over joyed that he wasn't someone to witness it so he himself can believe that he's not dreaming. He's overwhelmed with Desire at this point in time, consumed with it that he doesn't care how he get's his proverbial 'release.' But there is still some doubt if he needs a witness to his glory to prove such an encounter.

Day Two Celestina

2. We see that Meliba is able to recognize, not at first, Celestina after talking with her some. Her words and the scare across her face give her away. Perhaps the fact that this women is trying to hook her up with someone attributed to it.

3. Meliba seems confused as what to do. She tells Celestina that she's an old hag who was once beautiful but now is hold and each day goes by is another that doesn't stop without making it hard on her life. We can either see pity in this or contempt. Again, Celestina is able to convince Meliba that she has good intentions by playing on her desires and so Maliba warms up to her despite knowing who she is in the end.

Celestina Day One

The first scene in the garden is perhaps to symbolize the Garden of Eden and the story regarding it, much like what Sempronio likened it to when ranting about women in general. He quoted the bible by saying "This is women, the ancient curse that drove Adam out of the delights of Eden, she it was who sent the human race to hell; she it was whom the prophet Elijah rebuked." (8, Simpson)

In any fashion, despite Sempronio's general regard for women, we can certainly see that this is a forshadowing and also a tool to help us read into the first scene. Miliba kicks him out after his confession, refusing him the delights of her Eden. A possible undertone reference to sex.

But, moving on now to the scene which I quoted from, We see that Calisto is clearly a love sick puppy which plays into the Garden of Eden thing. He's now willing and ready to sacrifice everything so he can 'get back' to the symbolic Garden of Eden. This state of mind allows him to worship Miliba over any God he might hold dear and makes him weak enough to allow himself to believe Sempronio's cunning plan.

The Decameron Day Five

Are men really so... stupid?

Tofano is quite quick to think that his wife is cheating on him, though that's simply because he's a jealous fellow. However, what concerns me the most would be the fact that he cared enough for his wife after finding out about her midnight escapades to run after the stone she droped into the well. If she threatened me with that bull, not only would I have obliged her and thrown her down in there, she wouldn't of had a chance to say it. I'd be on my way to rip the other dudes head off.

Women... crazy tricksters and the embodiment of language?

At least in this story. yes. She knows her husband enough to use her words to get him going and use his actions against him. It's quite brilliant even, calling on the naberes, something Tofano should have done, and accusing him of drunken violence. Blackmail is sweet even if she is in the wrong.

Is this story realistic?

NOPE... but it's funny as HELL.

Day 4 (The Decameron)

5.8

This story struck me as almost something that could come out of tales of the Twilight Zone, or The Outer Limits. You don't always have your happy ending in those stories but sometimes you do. It's odd how most of these stories in this book can be so dark in undertones and be so happy.

Anyways, I felt bad for Nastagio in the begining and happy for him in the end when he gets the girl. Though I wonder if she will every really love him? And is hate really so easy to turn into love at the display of such brutality as the Black Knight chasing his cruel women through the woods and ripping her hear out from her back? Perhaps that even symbolises something, like how he had to physically take her creul heart from her body and make it his own but its not what he did when he was alive so her has to continually repeat the exercise to remind him of his mistake? It's the same for the lady he's chasing, she is most likely running to 'keep' her heart from him much like she did in life. So she experiance the pain over and over again for her mistake. Perhaps she was afraid of the pain it might cause to even allow someone to have your heart?

All in all, this story was gruesome and I do think this book would make a good HBO special/mini-series. One story can be one Episode. I think that might do.

The Decameron (Part Two)

Some of the later conversations struck me as similar to ones me might have in modern times towards the End of the first story. Take "I don't know what's keeping me from coming down there and beating the shit out of you, you dumb ass, you drunken sot-you're not going to let any body get any sleep tonight, are you?" on page 108

Reminds me of New York city displayed throughout comedies, where the main character will scream and some guy will stick his head out the window and say, "Shut up!" Guess medieval people hated that kind of thing as much as we do now.

I guess this plays into the comedy of it all, which was extremely prevalent throughout the first story. Kind of like a Jackie Chan movie, poor Andreuccio running around, saying "Very Bad Day!." in broken English. Oh these stories keep getting better.

Decameron

This Quote is from Day One Story Three

"They quickly got the young girl out of the monastery, and as one might well imagine, they often had her brought back again"

Oh, poor girl. Dealing with that creepy old Abbot. The fryer and her don't bother me so much, but the fact that these to men are implied to use her as some sort of shared sex toy is just... yeah no.

Tristan and Isolde

Seeing as Questions one and two go hand in hand, I'll answer them with the same response.

Magic, scifi and all that mystical stuff just isn't realistic. I'm guessing the main reason that the movie starts with a battle scene in an almost historical relevant situation or that the movie is completely devoid of magic is due to the screed writers and studio heads wanting a modern day audience connecting with the characters.

Elixirs, dragons, and dwarfs might alienate people and draw in a more 'nerdy' crowd. We need to dig into the world of studio politics and marketing. This movie, in it's basic form, is a basic studio produced romantic drama.

This gives us almost a whole new story, yet the characters are still loyal to their personalities. Isolde is the one who suggests meeting up and that Tristan not give up on love. Tristan is conflicted with his loyalty to Mark and his love for Isolde and wishes to stop the affair more then once.

All in all, the changes were made for marketing and really, if you think about it, time.

Yvain (Last reading)

Yvain takes a new name simply because he needs to renew his reputation. Yvain is no longer a suitable name and beyond redeemable. Too much dishonor and shame has fallen that name. When the maiden spreads the healing... goo all over Yvain and restores him it's like being reborn. He's a new man, one who is self less and subservient to good and just people... what a real knight should be.

When it comes to the three sisters, problems arise when Gawain(sp) and Yvain must fight each other for the sake of the disputing sisters. They are each others equals and one cannot defeat the other thus presenting the king the decision. Which makes me wonder, if the king knew the eldest sister was in the wrong from the beginning... then why have these two fight?

The Knight with The Lion (Part Two)

We know that this culture, from the readings at least, is obsessed with self image and honor. Both their families and their own. For Yvain's wife's servant to come and tell him that she no longer loves him and call him evil and despicable is a great blow to his pride and Honor. This is why he goes Crazy.

He can not live properly without that perfect portrait of himself, nor can he live without his wife thinking highly of him.

When Lunette is captured, Yvain dose a very redeamable thing. Not only dose he in some ways multitask but he is able to stand up for something right and just.

He slays a giant and saves a noble family and the imediatly there after without thought for his own life he goes and slays the three knights who accuse Lunete of her treason.

His wife is there and cannot recognize him, even though he is the same person physicaly, he has changed. He wishes for them not to see him as Yvain but as The Knight with the Lion. This supports the fact that this word depends on names and reputations, not faces, so greatly that Yvain's own wife dose not recognize me.

Maybe by taking on another name, Yvain is trying to shatter this type of thinking, and even perhaps pass it on to people like Gaiwan because he tells him he dose not know him by his name but that they have met before and know each other well.

It's safe to say, only Lunette knows who he really is.

The Knight with the Lion (Reading One)

THe reason, I think there was no prologue, is that maybe De Troyes wants us to jump right into the story, keep us wondering and not speak of an eventual impending doom or some other kind of foreshadowing. Perhaps there isn't one, for this story thus far seems to be fileld with more action and less of a love story. It's one big montage about Yvain. I think perhaps George Luca named the Planet Yavin in his Star Wars after this knight, but that's completely off topic.

Plot and story are two different things. We are dropped right into the plot with Yvain where he proceeds to tell the begining of the story, or how he came to be shamed. THe story catches up with the plot once he rides off to avenge his defeat against the Knight who so easily beat him the first time.

All in all, this seems like one of those Film Nair movies, like from the 40's? But with a medieval twist accompanied by duals and knights in shining armor. We have the Feme Fatal(sp) who is the maiden whom he meets after following the retreating knight, who helps him in anyway possible perhaps out of desire for more personal gains. Though this is mostly speculation at this point in time.

Eric and Enide (Part Two)

Enide is only given a name when she's about to be married to Eric. It's said that a women can only be married if she has a given name. And so, in order for the union to take place, her name needs to be reviled to all as if to legitimize a sale. A sale from Enide's father to Eric.

The initial conflict between the couple starts with when Enide expresses discontentment with making Eric so much in love with her he's no longer attending to his nightly duties. After prodding, Eric is able to extract this information from her and so he goes off and dose the opposite. She then shows discontentment over this and shuns herself for even thinking of her lord in such a way.

In my opinion she's too focused on pleasing him, and worrying about what he thinks of her also combined with her effect on his life. When he's fighting the knight in the woods, she worries for him and doubts his skills. This is a major problem with any relationship, doubt.

Enide expresses discontent vocally, so Eric becomes agree reminding her the place of a women in the society they live in.

Eric and Enide (First Movement)

Of course society in this time is mainly masculine. If I had a dime for how often a women talked so far in this text I'd have , well, maybe about twenty cents. It's very prevalent in the first scene at King Arthur's court, when he decides he will get to kiss the fairest of the maidens. They really have no say in anything, again treated like nothing but mere property. However, I'm surprised by how gentlemen like Eric is, I could have a beer with him. However, because of the society he's raised in he still seems to make his maiden's decisions for her. An example would be when he makes her ware her rags when her cousin could have simply provided other more courtly garments. I agree there was some symbolism to this, but still it gives us an example of the way society worked back then.

Enied on the other hand comes off as shy and quiet girl, and I've noticed something... Why are all these beautiful women blonde? I certainly hope that not all the maidens at court are such and our race has always been obsessed with such hair color. As for who she is, it's possible that her name will not be reviled until later on depicting a change in personality through some spell or another. This story seems to lack and magic thus far. Or it could possible relate again to how women were viewed. She is only known by her beauty and fertility/well breeding stature and has no need of a name.

The Romance of Tristan (Parts 14-19)

I play on a game quite frequently called a MUSH based on Joss Whedon's Firefly/Serenity franchise. It's a game much like world of Warcraft but text based and more creative. You basically writing a novel for your character in poses. Anyways I had just got done reading the last few chapters and got into a discussion about it with another player. I had started posting the entire conversation but my computer got restarted because of updates and was only able to recover this in response to:

She did what she had to do to survive... ( In regard to me thinking Isolde stopped really loving Tristan and was nothing but a power grabbing slut, thinking of her self and playing everyone for dumb so she could get her jolly's. I figured she now only viewed Tristan as eye candy and a booty call. Excuse my language, it may not be up to proper literary standereds due to the relaxation and familiarity with this person. I'm certainly not a literary Major.)

She did that so she could have the finer things in life, at least from my understanding. When she was with Tristan in the woods, she lived and was in love and most importantly happy but as soon as that potion waned she started blaming everybody for problems she caused for herself, missing her life of luxury. I understand that the Potion is Supposed to represent true love and she dose indeed have feelings for Tristan still but they seem only superficial and based on the fact that she thinks he's hot or something. I've sort of been in Tristan's position though, however I found out that I was being played for a fool as I'm very good at finding those things out. The thing she said in her head at court regarding Tristan, “Now he can repay me for all the hardship /he/ put me through.” really just through me off her side. She wanted a quiet, normal life, embodiment of apatite, though she wanted to be a queen for she was so used to getting the best of everything in Ireland already. Love is supposed to make you give up everything as superficial as carnal pleasures so you can peruse it. And she did for a while, under the potion. She seemed happy, but once it shut off, she started blaming everyone for her own problems. That was just the start of it though. Tristan goes mad because he can't see his love, and she's there playing him for a fool. He says at one point, “If we had not known each other and we had fallen in love, you could not resist me.” I felt like puking. It's just terrible to see Tristan in such a mess over one girl and I've been through this kind of thing before. I think everyone has or will at some point in life and this is probably what the author is trying to portray. I had a hard time believing that if Mark and the others weren't in the picture that she really would have fallen for him. Used him maybe, to get something she wanted, but not fall in love with him. In the end though she seems to redeem her self by coming to his deathbed, though the other Isolde was rather in the right to send the lovers packing. One less Adulterating couple.

The Romance of Tristan (Parts 7-13)

While Isolde, Tristan, and Governal are in the woods the narrator tells us that Isolde's mother only meant for the potion to last three years. Her mother might have been thinking of the common things back then, like providing heirs. It's probably much easier to conceive a child if the two partners are, or think for that matter, that they're in love. The women in Isolde's family are thinkers after all.

So when it wears off, all guilt associated with their relationship comes back, as if the potion had somehow blocked their guilt. And so they repent, Tristan allowing Isolde to return to Mark after writing him a letter with the help of the Hermit.

This represents the effects of true love, where there are second thoughts about what the couple is doing and why they are doing it. They question whether this is real or just a physical manifestation of lust and if it's in the right or wrong of their current society and moral standing.

But perhaps, the way their love was, said love potion was not a love potion but a lust potion. But that's countermanded by the fact that they felt no guilt. Lust is a sin, especially back then, and if they were to feel it, the thought would strike fear into the two lovers. Though whether the lack of guilt the two showed is a effect of the potion is never stated.

However, they still have a fondness of one another, and do still love each other. So maybe, the potion was a catalyst for a spark between the two. Something that was already there.

The romance of Tristan, or from what is more commonly known thanks to Hollywood: Tristan and Isolde. The movie is an experience not new to me and I must say, the differences between this version of Tristan's exploits are rather staggering.

The most important difference between the beginnings of these two stories is how the two fall in love. It would seem that as Tristan is being healed and then bringing Yseut back to Mark to marry her to his Uncle, they appear to be friends and nothing more despite the fact that Tristan killed her uncle in fierce mortal combat. But the Potion they received, thinking it was wine, changed the course of their lives, making them completely infatuated with each other.

In the movie, they had fallen in love as strangers while he was being healed, and then upon realization during the tournament to win the hand of Isolde, they both realized whom the other were and were forced to keep it a secret.

The plots are rather different, the story having much more depth and little side adventures that were never included in the movie. One could also say that the movie is definitely more modern following that new age feel of Romance. The original is much more of an adventure romance, with an ancient feel to it. The language used was a little hard to get by in that aspect.

Some Questions...

I noticed something odd with the way it's set up. It's written oddly, not in your traditional format. Is this because it's a fairy tale, or the organization of old English/Welch(Irish) Gaelic?

Why is her name Yseut and not Isolde? Did the name change in translation? Or with the times?

----

All in all, It was an interesting few chapters, it runs on a bit and it'll take some getting used to. However, I found my self-laughing at how much I despise Tristan in this. His loyalties go out the window when it comes to his love apparently.

and perhaps the author could stop making comment in parentheses, no?