ArthurS Journey To Self Discovery Essay Research

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Arthur?S Journey To Self Discovery Essay, Research Paper Arthur?s Journey to Self Discovery The future is inevitable. It is only with experience that one can come to an understanding of any sort. It is only with time that experience can become achievable. Understanding one?s true self can only be made possible with a multitude of experiences, leading to realizations. The entire package of experiences for one individual person can take no less that a lifetime. This reality, in itself, is a tragedy. A tragedy that Arthur, King of Camelot, was destined to realize. Born into a life of deception, even the truth about his maternal origin is kept from him. Innocent and na?ve, Arthur as a young man succeeds in doing what no other could do before. He pulls from a stone the sword named

Excalibur. Long before his birth, his father declared that whoever could remove the sword was to be king. Unsure and not at all confident in his abilities, Arthur?s strength and will as king is tested almost immediately. With the help of his sword, Excalibur, he wins a fight against Uriens? men and saves the castle of another king. Arthur earns his first taste of victory. Accompanying this victory, is the respect of the people within his kingdom. While attempting to cross a bridge, Arthur meets a man who refuses to respect his authority and clear the way across the bridge. Arthur?s ?rage unbalances him?. He agrees to fight to the death over the crossing of a bridge that can easily be traveled around. Arthur?s opponent outmatches him. Arthur is forced to call upon the power of his

sword, Excalibur. Arthur is victorious, but in the process, Excalibur is broken. ?[His] pride broke that which could not be broken.? Arthur is remorseful and refers to himself as ?nothing?. It is with this first display of condescension that Arthur realizes that especially because of his stature, his personal mistakes and poor decisions could affect many lives other than his own. Adding an element of contrast to Arthur?s life is Arthur?s friend and mentor, Merlin. As a seer of the future and a man of great intelligence and wisdom, Merlin is everything Arthur is no. Arthur looks to Merlin for guidance. Through Merlin, the king?s many great possessions are put into perspective. In comparison to the king, Merlin appears to have very little. Insight and wisdom are all that Merlin

has, but it is these two things that Arthur continually looks to Merlin for. Merlin lives a more fortunate life than Arthur does in that he possesses riches of a greater kind. Arthur grows to be a good king. He leads men who fight valiantly for his kingdom of Camelot and bring peace and prosperity to the land. Although matured in his experiences, Arthur?s naivete blinds him of the inevitable evils that reside within the walls of his kingdom. He boasts to Merlin about the indefectibility of his kingdom. Merlin explains to Arthur the truths about good and evil. ?There never resides one without the other. You?ll will find evil where you never expect it.? Arthur hears and respects the words of Merlin, but these words do not become true to him until he first learns of the potential

evil in his own castle. Gawain, one of Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, accuses Arthur?s wife, Guinevere, of loving Arthur?s best friend Lancelot. Gawain demands a battle with Lancelot and Arthur agrees, concluding ?no knight who is false can win in combat with one who is true.? Guinevere, knowing she is guilty of loving Lancelot, begs Arthur not to allow the fight. Arthur is forced to choose between his love for his wife and her wishes, and his responsibilities as king to be fair and just. Arthur decides that ?[his] laws must bind everyone high and low.? In making such a decision against his wife?s requests, Arthur realizes the extent to which he values his kingdom. He sees that he has put everything second to upholding the laws of his kingdom ? including the development