Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

Before I start typing my blog, I would just like to take a minute and remorse the fact that this will be the last blog post I write for this class. I have thoroughly enjoyed the past semester, and I will miss having this class in the future.

In response to questions 2 & 3, I think that a prominent theme in the film was Indiana's return to his "roots", for lack of a better term, and his discovery of himself. This is seen by the emphasis on his childhood. In the beginning, Spielberg establishes a connection back to Jone's childhood. We see the type of childhood that Jones had, including his values, morals, abilities, and home life. The fact that Jones has been searching for the cross all his life symbolizes his search for himself. It cannot be disputed that the cross scene was an integral moment in shaping Jones' life. Proof of this lies in him keeping the hat that the man gave him. When he finally attains the cross he is on his first steps toward finding closure for his past.

Jone's search for himself is also shown by his search for his father, both literally and emotionally. In the childhood scene, Jones Sr's harshness and emotional distance from Indy is blatantly obvious. Jones the elder also tries to obscure Indy's individuality and personality by calling him "Junior", a name that refers to himself more than it refers to Indiana, instead of the name that Indiana chose. This presents Indiana's struggle to connect with his father as one of the "goals" of his quest.

Before I conclude, I would like to make a speculation on all the grail quests, including this one. I believe that every grail quest is not a means to an end, but rather an end in itself. While each person to seek their own grail never attained what they thought they were looking for, they gained much more. Perceval, Persse, and Indiana all learned an incredible amount while in search of their grails, and this is the true reward, not the grail in itself. This is why the grail can never truly be had. Knowledge is infinite, and therefore no search for it can be conclusive.

Small World- Part Four/Five

First I would like to say that I hope I am correct in assuming that part four refers to parts four and five, seeing as this is the last scheduled day to discuss the work.

Seeing as the characters resolutions are all fairly transparent, I would like to just write about my observations in these last parts. I will begin by saying that I think this book was a great choice to wrap up the course. It presents themes that we have been discussing all semester, such as the nature of desire, the glorification of a love interest, and the theme of quest. I really like the way that Lodge used the concept of twins to illustrate Persse's lack of true love for Angelica. By having two women who are physically identical, it illustrates the concept of an image of love very nicely. I see this as being similar to the concept of sign-signified. If a person is presented with two identical signs that have different significances, such as the word screen, it is easy to determine which significance is in reference by analyzing the context in which the word is used. In the novel, the twins served as identical signs with radically different significances, but Persse did not have the context of actually knowing Angelica that would have allowed him to determine which was which.

Small World- Part Three

How is the theme of disillusionment shown in this part? What does this have to say about the characters affected?

One of the prominent themes in this part of the text is the idea of disillusionment. This concept is raised at many points. First, there is a general disillusionment of the study of English. This can be seen through Parkinson's research student, Frobisher's contempt for the number of literary awards, and von Turpitz's plagiarism of Persse's paper, to name a few.

The most blatant display of disillusionment is Persse's disillusionment over Angelica. When Persse finds out that Angelica is a stripper, and later, a prostitute, he feels like he should no longer love her. I find this to show a lot about Persse's view of Angelica and his love for her. The first thing that I think of in this scenario is the parallel to Calisto in Celestina. Once Calisto slept with Melibea, he ceased to desire her. When Persse, an academic, discovered Angelica's true self, he ceased to want her any more. I think that it is possible to say that knowledge is Persse's version of sex, and that this knowledge satiated his desire.

I also speculate that there is more to Angelica than Persse thinks. First off, her name suggests that she is not the Jezebel that Persse believes her to be. Besides the obvious connotations to innocence that her first name invokes, the reader learns that her middle name is Lily, another symbol of innocence and purity.

Small World- Part Two

In the words of Cogsworth, from the classic Disney piece Beauty and The Beast, "If it's not Baroque, don't fix it!" Therefore, I will write this blog in the style of my other recent blogs, that being a summary of some things that I noticed in the text.

The first thing that strikes me when reading the second part is the state of disrepair that the English Literature world is in. I noticed this more in this part than in the first part, even though there are many references to it in part one. In the second part this disrepair is characterized primarily through physical appearance. Lodge does not cast any of his characters that are established English professors as being attractive in any way. At the beginning of this part the reader is introduced to Rodney Wainwright, a balding, overweight, and disproportionate English professor. Furthermore, Lodge blames Wainwright's appearance on his occupation. He writes:

"The effects of twenty years' dedication to the life of the mind are all too evident when he puts on a pair of swimming trunks..."

This insinuates that Wainwright's life of academia has lead to degradation, and that the true degradation is present in the study of English itself.

Another reference to this idea comes from Lodge's description of Zapp's tongue:

"It resembles, this tongue, the dried out bed of a badly polluted river. Too much alcohol and too many cigars last night. And every night."

In this passage is where Lodge's true message really shines through. Earlier in the year we spoke about the tongues significance, and how it is a conveyor and symbol of knowledge. Seeing as Zapp is really the "head professor" in the story, the fact that his tongue is malformed is quite important. Lodge isn't mincing words when he says that Zapp's tongue represents a polluted river bed. In his view, the study of English has been polluted and destroyed, and all that remains is Zapp's decaying views.

Small World- Part One

While the prologue in the beginning of Small World serves to demonstrate everything that a good conference should embody, it also serves to inform the reader of all the things that Persse's conference will not have. When the list is examined, it really becomes clear that this is a utopian view of the modern English conference. It is really quite absurd to expect that every conference is filled with captivating speakers, exquisite meals and cocktail hours, and perfect weather. I find this to be both a reference to and a commentary on medieval chivalry. The prologue references chivalry in the form that Chretien viewed it. While it seems as if it is a great and profound institution, in reality it is completely defunct. Just as Persse's real life conference lacked all the luster of the "ideal conference", chivalry lacked the charitable and good nature that it was alleged to have.

I also see the prologue as a commentary on the absurdity of the idealized chivalry. It is quite foolish to believe that men who traverse the length and breadth of England seeking fights are charitable, respectful, and good. Lodge parallels this by suggesting that conferences can be all the things that he outlines, and then at the end of the prologue he foreshadows the truth.

Perceval- Part 3

When Perceval goes to repent to the hermit, I think it is safe to say that his self image is in a state of utter disarray. The story says that Perceval spent five years wandering around performing all sorts of adventurous feats, but in doing so, forgot who God was. I do not think that this statement is without flaws, however. In fact, I would question whether or not Perceval ever truly knew God. I think he did not. Furthermore, I do not think that Perceval ever knew himself. Throughout the story Perceval has been trying to develop a personality and an identity of his own, but he has yet to achieve this. The Bible says that God created man in his image. Therefore, if Perceval does not know who he is, he can never know God.

This fatal flaw is one that is seen in a much earlier story about a similar young man. In Ovid's Narcissus, Narcissus disdains all those who love him. This action has been seen all throughout the story of Perceval, but most clearly in the case of Perceval's mother. It is interesting to note that his mother represents true charity at the highest level. When Perceval goes to the hermit he learns that his mother really sacrificed herself for him, and that the only thing that has allowed him to live for so long was her prayer. I also find it interesting that Perceval's resurrection is initiated by a holy man, and that this was the only masculine advice that was given by someone who was not a knight.

Perceval- Part 2

While reading this portion of the story, I first became aware of the things that Perceval gave up in order to become a knight. Prime among these, in my opinion, is his ability to learn. This sacrifice is seen best when Perceval is staying at the castle of the Fish King. Here he sees many interesting and mysterious things, yet he does not ask what the meaning of these are.

The reason for Perceval's silence derives from the advice given to him by Gordemant of Gohort. Gordemant told him not to speak in excess or to gossip, and Perceval took this advice to heart. He did so to his detriment, however. In the beginning of the story, Perceval's curiosity brought him only good things. Even though he was seen as a fool for the entire first part (and even now) he never hesitated in trying to learn what he did not know. This lead him to become a knight, and was one of the traits praised by Gordemant. It is only after Perceval stops questioning the unknown that bad things happen to him. When this occurs, a deluge of misfortune falls upon him. He learns his mother is dead, he is cursed by the Fish King's niece, and he learns that he failed to save the Fish King from his injury.

I think that this is Chretien's way of denouncing several of the evils of knighthood. By arranging the story in this way, he shows the difference between what knighthood should be, and what knighthood actually was. Gordemant is representative of a true knight. He is kind, just, and charitable. He tries to give Perceval good advice by warning him not to engage in gossip or talk about such things too much, but Perceval misunderstands him. Instead, Perceval adopts the ways of the common knight by willfully stopping the learning process and being content with ignorance.