Arthurian Legend

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

his subjects obey him out of fear for their lives. Wart experiences this firsthand when the gator tells him to leave. He has grown bored of Wart, and if Wart does not leave he will eat him. The king uses his size as his claim to power, therefore his subjects follow him out of fear.
In Wart�s next transformation into a hawk, he soars into the castle�s mews. All the birds into the mews have a military rank. Their leader is an old falcon, who Sir Ector keeps just for show. The birds who rank below the falcon, hold her in the highest regard because of her old age. She applies her power over the other birds with no concern for their lives. In one instance, Wart is ordered to stand next to the cage of a crazy hawk who almost kills him. On the other hand, her seasoned age brings respect, since she had not been released once she outlived her usefulness as a hunter. This allows her to maintain a powerful grip over all the birds she rules through fear and respect.
In Wart�s next ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

and with this comes respect.
Through each of his transformations, Wart sees different uses of power. Wart must choose how he will eventually govern his kingdom. The leaders he visits, govern in their own way, each retaining their power through different methods. When these are combined, the following picture of how a leader should or should not rule emerges. A leader should not attempt to rule his or her people through might and fear, as does the gator. Unlike the falcon, a ruler should not retain power only because of age, and should rule with the subjects well-being in mind. One should not exert total control over one�s subjects, because they lose creativity and ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: