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 value. A villain such as herself could not see

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.