Review Assignment: The Real Power

Merlin tried to teach Arthur that knowledge and wisdom are stronger than power, but it's not obvious that he met with much success.  Arthur did use his wits to escape from the animals that attacked him, but he preferred to be Kay's page than to study with Merlin, much to Merlin's annoyance.  As an adult, he used his power rather than his wisdom to defeat the invading Saxons.  He did learn from Merlin how to get the magical sword from the Lady of the Lake, and he used the sword to defeat many enemies; so one could say that the knowledge of how to get the sword increased his power.  But in the end, he committed an act of gross stupidity.  When his son Mordred revealed that Arthur's wife Guinevere was having an affair with his most trusted knight Lancelot du Lac, he was expelled by the Knights of the Round Table for disseminating knowledge!  To gain revenge, he built up an army and challenged Arthur; both of them were mortally wounded along with most of the other knights, and although Arthur himself was saved by Morgana, his kingdom was destroyed.  If Arthur had remembered Merlin's lesson, he would have thanked Mordred for sharing with him the knowledge of his wife's infidelity, persuaded the knights not to expel Mordred and avoided the battle that destroyed his kingdom.

How does this lesson relate to Harry Potter?  Well, once Dumbledore had been killed, Voldemort was the most powerful wizard left – certainly more powerful than Harry Potter.  But Harry understood love and Voldemort didn't, which, according to Dumbledore, gave Harry the advantage.  More to the point, Harry knew more about the history of the Elder Wand than Voldemort did.  According to Voldemort, Snape won the Elder Wand from Dumbledore by killing him and then Voldemort defeated Snape by ordering Nagini to bite him; so the Elder Wand, which Voldemort had stolen from Dumbledore's coffin, would make him invincible.  But Harry knew the true story: Snape didn't defeat Dumbledore because he killed Dumbledore on Dumbledore's request whereas Draco Malfoy did defeat Dumbledore by disarming him and then Harry defeated Draco by disarming him in Lucius' mansion; so Harry was the true master of the Elder Wand.  This is why Voldemort's killing spell only knocked Harry out after Harry had surrendered to him, and why Harry was able to deflect it back onto Voldemort with the Disarming Spell.  Harry's superior knowledge triumphed over Voldemort's power.

Review Assignment: Brave and Bold

It's hard to compare Arthur to Aladdin or to Adam because Arthur is only seen as a young boy whereas Adam is only seen as an adult beast and then as a man and Aladdin is mainly seen as a full-grown man.  Nevertheless I think that Arthur comes off as the best of the three.

Adam was turned into a beast because of his selfishness, and when we first see him, he hasn't yet learned his lesson.  He kidnaps Belle's father for stealing a rose and only releases him when Belle offers to take his place.  He treats Belle badly at first, yelling angrily at her when she refuses to join him for supper.  But since he knows that he has to earn Belle's love to be released from the curse, he makes a valiant effort to reform himself.  Under the tutelage of Belle and his servants, he learns to control his temper and to improve his table manners, and he does finally earn Belle's love.

Aladdin as a child was lazy.  He refused to learn a trade and he'd sneak away to play with other boys all day.  But once he takes possession of the lamp and the ring, he manages to make a lot of money by selling the silver dishes that the genie gives him; so he never does have to learn to work.  He's cunning and resourceful: he turns his good fortune to his advantage, giving gifts to the Sultan to earn his permission to marry Jasmine.  He'salso charming: he manages to win Jasmine's love by oozing confidence and taking her on a magic carpet ride, showing her a world outside the castle which she's been longing to see.  And he's not above killing those who stand in the way of his quest to marry Jasmine, at least in the original story.

Arthur as a boy is totally innocent.  He's not lazy and he never gets angry except when he defends Merlin against Ector's accusations.  He's adventurous – he wants to fly, for example – and although he does get scared when faced with danger, he overcomes his fears and uses his wits to escape (with some help).  He is initially ignorant but he's willing to learn.  He's modest: he doesn't believe he's fit to be King until Merlin convinces him otherwise.  He's empathetic: he feels sorry for the female squirrel who cries when he reveals himself to be human (this is my favourite Arthur moment, because he could instead have been annoyed by her persistence).  And he's unselfish: he takes the sword for Kay's sake, even though Kay often insults him.  From what I remember about him as an adult from HiH lessons, he retains these qualities throughout his adult life, and his innocence turns out to be his downfall.