Islamic Slavery in Robinson Crusoe

Student: Cecilia Weiman

Year: 2010

Robinson Crusoe is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1719. It tells the story of a merchant who shipwrecks on a desolate island and stays there twenty-eight years. During one of his early voyages he is captured and taken as a slave by Moors.

By the seventeenth century, slavery had increased and become an accepted and very common practice almost everywhere. This paper attempts to contrast the presence of Islamic Slavery in ¨Robinson Crusoe¨ with the historical information available. 

Slavery in Islamic Religion

Slavery can broadly be described as the ownership, buying and selling of human beings for the purpose of forced and unpaid labour. Many societies throughout history have practiced slavery. For instance, the Greeks and Romans kept slaves as soldiers, servants and labourers; the Mayans and Aztecs kept slaves in the Americas, and even religious texts in Judaism and Christianity recognize slaves. Muslim societies were no exception. 

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner´s Dictionary “The word Muslim refers to a person whose religion is Islam. This religion is based on the belief in one God and revealed through Muhammad as the prophet of Allah.”

With reference to the prophet of Allah, Ibrahim remarks, 

¨Muhammad was born in Makkah in the year 570… at the age of forty; Muhammad received his first revelation from God through the Angel Gabriel.  The revelations continued for twenty-three years, and they are collectively known as the Quran.¨ 

¨A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam¨, L. A. Ibrahim 2004 

The Quran makes numerous references to slaves and slavery. It does not explicitly condemn slavery or attempt to abolish it. Nonetheless it does provide a number of regulations. The traditional Islamic law elaborates significantly on the Quranic material concerning slavery. In this sense, Kurzman argues, ¨During the formative stages of sharia (Islamic law) there was no conception of universal human rights anywhere in the world …¨   Charles Kurzman, 1998. 

 Islamic law recognizes slavery as an institution within society and attempts to regulate and restrict it in various ways. 

Under Islamic law people can only be legally enslaved in two circumstances:

-If they are born as the child of two slave parents.

-As a result of being defeated in a lawful jihad, that is a holly war fought by Muslims against those who rejected Islam.

David Brion Davis, professor of History states, 

¨The millennium of warfare between Christians and Muslims took place in the Mediterranean and Atlantic and piracy and kidnapping went along with it…¨

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there was a large –scale enslavement of Europeans. Davis continues saying,

¨In 1617 Muslim pirates … enslaved Christians along the coast of Spain, France, Italy, and even Ireland… By 1624 the Barbary States held at least 1.500 English slaves, mostly sailors captured in the Mediterranean or Atlantic.¨ 

Robinson Crusoe and Xury under Islamic Slavery 

Certainly, it was within this context that Robinson Crusoe was chased and captured by ¨a Turkish rover of Salle¨. Crusoe explains, ¨the pirate gained upon us … we prepare to fight … we were obliged to yield, and were carried all prisoners into Salle.” (page 22-23)

According to Islamic law, it was legal for the Moors to take Robinson Crusoe as a slave because he was conquered in legitimate warfare.

While in America slave trade only involved black Africans, Muslims slavery involved many racial groups. 

Other point to consider is the regulation which forbade Muslims from enslaving other Muslims. But Islamic law established that non-Muslims converted to Islam after enslavement remained slaves. Therefore, they might be legally purchased and sold. 

It is possible to look for instances of this regulation in Defoe´s novel. While escaping from the port of Salle, Robinson Crusoe wonders whether he should take Xury, a young slave, with him or throw him into the sea. Crusoe turns to the boy and threats him saying,

¨Xury, if you will be faithful to me, I’ll make you a great man; but if you will not stroke your face to be true to me, ¨ that is, swear by Mahomet and his father’s beard, ¨I must throw you into the sea too. The boy smiled and swore to be faithful to me.¨  (Page 28)

As Robinson Crusoe makes Xury swear by Muhammad, it might be inferred that Xury was a Muslim, perhaps a converted one, since he was also called ¨the young Maresco¨ and Maresco is a surname whose origin is Spanish. It might be said that Xury was a non-Muslim converted to Islam after being enslaved.

Usual Tasks Performed by Slaves

Another matter of importance has to do with the tasks slaves used to complete. It may be claimed that European and American slavery was motivated by economic reasons. Indeed, people were enslaved to provide a cheap and disposable workforce in plantations. By comparison, “Muslims historically did not used slaves as an engine of economic production, …” although “…some Muslims played a significant role in the slave trade itself as providers of slaves for others” (BBC, 2010). In the Islamic trade, slaves had a variety of roles,

“Servile labour was common in workshops, constructions, mining, water control, transport by land and sea, and the extraction of marine resources.” 

William Gervase Clarence-Smith quoted in (BBC, 2010)

Slaves were also used in domestic work, military service and civil administration.

As for Daniel Defoe´s novel, Robinson Crusoe also describes the tasks he and other slaves had to do in Salle. The following excerpt shows it clearly. Robinson Crusoe explains, 

“He [the master] left me on shore to look after his little garden and do the common drudgery of slaves about his house; and when he came home again from his cruise, he ordered me to lie in the cabin to look after his ship.” (page 24)

Then, he continues saying, 

“He [the master] took me with him to row the boat… I proved very dexterous in catching fish… sometimes he would send me with a Moor… to catch a dish of fish for him.”

Crusoe also mentions the task of another slave. He tells, “The carpenter of the ship, who was also an English slave…”

These excerpts show that the slaves in Salle used to do the tasks which were common and typical in the Islamic Slavery. 

Conclusion

Crusoe´s descriptions of his staying in Salle as slave coincide with the historical information connected to slavery in Islam. In the novel it was possible to find instances of Islamic slavery which show the circumstances under which Robinson Crusoe was captured, some regulations within Islamic law and the tasks Robinson Crusoe and other slaves performed.

Bibliography 

• Ethics and slavery, bbc.co.uk http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/slavery/ethics/intro_1.shtml
• Slavery in Islam, bbc.co.uk, Last updated 2009-09-07. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/slavery_1.shtml
• The Feminist Sexual Ethics Project, Special Focus: Islam, Islam and Slavery; Kecia Ali; Brandeis University; Revised 2 February 2004. http://www.brandeis.edu/projects/fse/Pages/islamandslavery.html
• Slavery White, Black, Muslim, Christian; Davis Brion Davis; The New York Review of Books; 2001
• http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2001/jul/05/slaverywhite-black-muslim-christian/
• Oxford Advanced Learner´s Dictionary; Oxford University press;
• A Brief Illustrated Guide To Understanding  Islam; I.A Ibraim;  2010. http://www.islam-guide.com/

Analysis and Comparison of Arthurian Mythical Elements Present in Martin Luther King’s Speech 'I Have Dream'

Student: Cristina Hoppenthal

Year: 2008

“I say to you today,  my friends,  that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment,  I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream” (Luther King,  Martin.1963)

In 1963, Martin Luther King, a Baptist minister struggling for racial and religious equality in the United States of America, mobilized  a mass of supporters  from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, where he delivered his famous speech: I Have a Dream. His public declaration bore a strong objection against injustice and social segregation in the United States of America.

Basing his beliefs on the principles of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 promoted by Abraham Lincoln against slavery and for equality of rights for the black people in the United States, King aimed his struggle at the recovery of these past principles by prosecuting a corrective action towards the future of the socio-political system of the American Nation.

King’s I Have a Dream, inspired in the principles of the past traditional America of the midst 1800’s, seems to comprise some of the mythical elements of the Arthurian folklore. In King´s allocution, the concept of the defense of the system and the figure of the outsider can be realized as relevant elements from Medieval culture and taken as a basis to understand the principles that gave ground to American people’s ideology and how they were reflected in King’s talk. 

The purpose of this paper will be to examine the presence of mythical Arthurian elements of the defense of the system and the figure of the outsider, taking as a starting point some significant parts of Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech and contrasting them with the traditional mythical elements of Arthuriana.

The development of this work will be carried out by considering some of the texts by Gary Engel, Sally Slocum and Alan Maccoll about Arthurian tradition as well as further informative texts obtained by personal research.

The Defense of the System

“The Arthurian Mythos is part and parcel of American culture. The Arthurian mythos is the ideology of the American political system.” (Slocum, Sally. 1992)

In this initial quote by Sally Slocum from her work Popular Arthurian Traditions,  the author makes reference to one of the most relevant ideological elements –the defense  of the system- in Arthurian folklore and its strong influence in American culture. 

In that respect, we could say that Arthurian romance refers to the deeds of knights and heroes committed with the defense and maintenance of a certain social order represented by their system, a system which relied on their beliefs, governmental and social organization and values, and which had to be preserved from any threat likely to undermine their way of life and culture.  In Arthurian romance, this is exemplified by the character of Arthur who, first as a knight and later as a king , aimed his fights and battles at defending the English Kingdom from the recurrent attacks of the Saxons, being his main objective to recover and maintain the stability of his country. 

Thomas Green (1998), an expert in medieval literary tradition, highlights the significant role of adventurous knights and kings in their pursuit for peace and governmental balance of their territory. He portrays Arthur as “peerless warrior who functioned as a monster-hunting protector of Britain from all internal and external threats”. In Green’s description, Arthur takes up the challenge not only of defending the system, but also of recovering it. It was perhaps his ideal of system of the past which made him carry out his adventurous enterprise  with personal commitment and strong determination despite the dangers and effort his fight may involve. With similar spirit and enthusiasm, Luther King fought  to preserve the mythical ideal of system bestowed by former generations to the twentieth century American society. In this specific case, King’s struggle was aimed at preserving the ideal legislative system of his country from an internal threat: the alienation of a part of American society due to the neglect of the laws once considered by the Emancipation Proclamation, but still disregarded by the 1960’s Legislative Power of the American government. In relation to this matter, it is interesting to mention that one of the executive orders contained in the Emancipation Proclamation declared the freedom of all slaves of the Confederate States of America as well as the immediate application of this law in all states. Eventually, and although the former slaves’ civil rights were ratified and granted by the Thirteenth Amendment on December 18, 1865, this socio-political law was actually neither fully considered nor applied by the American governments during the following decades. Deeply worried by the neglect of the Government of the United States of America, Martin Luther King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, with the aim of recovering and maintaining the original spirit of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

The realization of ambiguity in Luther King´s declamation

Provided we could apply the Arthurian category of system to King’s speech, a certain ambiguity is perceived from the examination of its content when compared with the ideal system in Arthurian literature. A possible source for this ambiguity may be constituted by the fact that, although being a supporter of the governmental system of the United States during the 1960’s,  King’s beliefs together with  the  current social situation of the time as regards segregation, made him strongly disagree with its current socio-political scheme, particularly with the deviation of part of the social policies which, although being formally considered by the legal framework,  had not been materialized as a part of everyday social praxis. Luther King believed that the contingent social policies of the United States had to be corrected so as to allow the actual integration of minor ethnical or religious groups in American society . Thus,  the recovery of the “ideal system” expressed in the law would permit the realization of  the American Dream, for which social equality and rights were essential requirements. In a part of his speech, King claims for the urgency of this realization:

“ […]We have also come to this  hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.”

The past to serve the future of the system

It is interesting to notice how the idea of the recovery of the system present in Middle Age folklore not only remained in American people’s ideas, but also became a key factor of the social struggle of the twentieth century American society. In that sense, it could have been  this set of beliefs of a traditional, mythical America which gave ground to King’s social movement aimed at retrieving and restoring the American social system one hundred years later.  Consequently, it may be concluded that Luther King aimed his struggle at bringing back the principles of an ideal Legislative System of the past to restore equality, liberty and social rights which were, from the outset, contained in Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and which were ideally represented by the law. This is clearly exemplified in the following lines: 

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice […] But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. […] I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation  where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”

The concept of the Outsider

Immigrants and blood ties

“Then Arthur along with the kings of Britain fought against them in those days, but Arthur himself was the military commander” (Nennius, ca 800 AD)

These introductory lines by Nennius -a ninth century Welsh monk and historian devoted to the recollection of facts and narration of Arthurian romance- portray King Arthur as a transcendental figure who embodies many of the characteristic of knights, such as bravery, faith and prowess. This legendary leader was  acknowledged by his success in defeating the Saxons in twelve memorable battles,  which enabled him to ascend to the throne . What is more, the fact of being an outsider with blood ties to the monarchy of England highlights his personal commitment to the peace and unity of his country, since he performed his struggle in the name of his origin and his people.

In this sense, the figure of the mythical outsider in traditional  Arthuriana seems to resemble Martin Luther King’s characteristics and deeds. Being born in the city of Atlanta and with Afro-American blood ties, King was an outsider in two senses: because of his colour, and due to his origin. As for his deeds, his personal fight was for the black people and in the name of his ethnic roots which tied him not only to his ancestors, but also to their original motive of emancipation. Consequently, it may be said that the mythical Arthur as well as the revolutionary Luther King are both outsiders in                                                                                                    their respective societies. In the following lines, King´s origin and color are realized in relation to what he calls his “white brothers” in the struggle for social justice:

“One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.[…] The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidence by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny.”

Martin Luther King´s speech and the chivalric virtues

When it comes to stating a parallelism between Martin Luther King’s characteristics and those of a mythical Middle Age knight, the legendary character of the anonimously written Sir Gawain and the Green Knight  is just one example of Medieval literatue which provides a wide range of concepts, ideals and virtues which make of knights models of moral integrity, determination and faith. Brian Price (1997) explains that “a knight must have faith in his beliefs, for faith roots him and gives hope against the dispair that human failings create”. The following lines of Luther King´s speech reflect the chivalric virtue of faith:

“Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.[…] This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day”

In his work, Price enumerates a set of duties and ideals by which knights were admired,  and explains that, although there has never been a formally written “code” of chivalry, knightly values and beliefs can be found throughout Arthurian literature, from which justice, faith, prowess and courage are perhaps the most representatives of the character of  knightly Middle Age warriors. 

Providing that we allow the aforementioned parallel between King´s speech and Arthurian knights, it could be deduced that it was precisely in their deep religious faith where knightly warriors found the strenght to  fight for their ideals 

But it was perhaps the courage to face the frustrations and difficulties of the struggle, what made of knights  brave and virtuous warriors in their pursuit of their dreams.

Price refers to the virtue of courage saying that “ being a knight often means choosing the more difficult path, the personally expensive one. Be prepared to make personal sacrifices in service of the precepts and people you value”. Conceptually speaking, the ideal courageous knight of the Arthurian myth could be pictured in the following lines of King´s words, where suffering and dispair are presented as a heavy burden to be endured by those who fight in the pursuit of an ideal: 

“I am not unmindful that some of you (his followers) have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality”.

In Luther King´s strict case, his  strive in the attempt to achieve a definitely just social policy for his people was dramatically interrupted by his assassination due to conspiracy of his opposers, what may be interpreted as the heroic end of the knight who readily offers his life in the defense of his ideals adding a special signification to his life and struggle. One striking example of outstanding bravery and determination from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight may serve to illustrate a knight´s devotion and honour: it is the case of Sir Gawain who, having made a pact with the Green Knight, holds his promise up to the last consequences and despite he knows that his life is at risk, takes up the challenge to encounter his enemy with courage and faith .

Eventually, and due to King´s prowess in political and social matters, his struggle finally met its dearest aim: the 1964 Civil Rights Act of the Constitution of the United States of America.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, it may be said that the mythical ideal of the recovery and defence of the system found in Arthurian folklore proved to be not only a major theme in Arthurian romance, but also considerably influential in twentieth century American people. Consequently, this influence, which became deeply rooted in American culture,  gave ground to Martin Luther King´s strive to bring back the traditional ideals of the past Emancipation Proclamation, carry out the necessary corrective actions, and restore a particular social order by means of a concrete social policy one hundred years later. 

It is precisely in his speech  I Have A Dream where the concept of the defence of the system becomes specially meaningful as, although being in favour of the American system, King recognized its contingent social policies as an internal threat likely to undermine the set of beliefs, values and social order of the American people, for whose recovery he was determined to fight.

As far as the Arthurian concept of the outsider is concerned, and provided a parallelism may be drawn between King Arthur´s and Luther King´s spirit and conviction, both took up challenges and carried out their struggle in the name of their origin and their roots.

Similarly, some the knightly virtues such as faith, courage and prowess can be realized in King´s speech, underpinning Arthurian warriors’ chivalric characteristics which made of those mythical heroes models of bravery and personal sacrifice.

Bibliography

• Arthurian Legends. From Encyclopedia of Myths :: Ar-Be  . http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ar-Be/Arthurian-Legends.html 
• Arthurian Legends. Encyclopedia of Myths::Ar-Be
• http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ar-Be/Arthurian-Legend.html
• Dent, J.M. Monmouth, Geoffrey. Histories of the Kings of Britain. London, 1912
• Emancipation Proclamation. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation
• Engle, Gary (1992) What makes superman so darned American? Popular culture: An Introductory Text. Jack Nachbar and Kevin Lause (eds.) Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press
• Green, Thomas (1998), "The Historicity and Historicisation of Arthur", Thomas Green's Arthurian Resources, . Retrieved on 22 May 2008.
• King Arthur. Medieval Literary Traditions. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur#Medieval_literary_traditions
• Maccoll, Alan. King Arthur and the Making of an English Britain. History Today, Vol 49, Issue3. History Todat Ltd.
• Monmouth, Geoffrey. Histories of the Kings of Britain. Chapters IV and XII
• Nennius. Excerpts from the Historia Brittonum http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/nennius.html
• Price, Brian R. A Code of Chivalry. April, 1997
• http://www.chronique.com/Library/Chivalry/code.htm
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Brian Stone (Translator).Penguin Classics.London,1974.
• Slocum, Sally (ed). (1992) Popular Arthurian Traditions. Bowlinh Gree, OH:Bowling Green State University Popular Press
• The I Have a Dream Speech – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net                   http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html

Arthurian Elements in Rocky IV

Student: Ronaldo Rodríguez

Year: 2008

Introduction to Arthurian Romance

In his chronicles, known as Historia Brittonum, Geoffrey of Monmouth gave birth to the Arthurian Story. Arthurian romance, thus, is the name given to the literary genre that exalts the figure of the courageous hero whose endeavors achieve impossible adventures. Its name derives from the figure of King Arthur, (conqueror of Britain during the c. 500 AD) upon whom Geoffrey bestows all the attributes that, with time, would become the essence of Arthurian legend. Based slenderly on historical facts, these medieval chronicles depict, as J. M. Dent has observed,

 “The mystery, prowess, love and enchantment, where valorous heroes achieve impossible adventures and messengers from fairyland appear easily and naturally on marvelous errands.” 

The Arthurian myth is a Christian one. Ultimately, the figure of the hero who brings salvation to all through personal sacrifice is that of Jesus Christ. As the Knigts of the Round Table, he serves someone whose power is higher than his. “I do nothing of myself,” records the gospel of John, “but as my father hath taught me [1]” He portraits all the attributes of perfection and he fights against evil and for the meek and lowly. 

The purposes of this brief introduction is just to account for the origin of a set of values and elements that, as stated above, became legend and were (and still are) taken by and reproduced in western literature and other artist expressions. As Norris J. Lacy has observed:

"The popular notion of Arthur appears to be limited, not surprisingly, to a few motifs and names, but there can be no doubt of the extent to which a legend born many centuries ago is profoundly embedded in modern culture at every level [2] " 

In an attempt to illustrate this phenomenon, this paper will deal with the presence of such elements and values in an American film of 1985, Rocky IV.

Rocky IV: a glimpse 

Rocky IV is fourth movie of the Rocky franchise. Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone), who plans to retire from professional boxing, is challenged by an amateur boxer from the Soviet Union, named Ivan Drago (played by Dolph Lundgren), who has killed Rocky’s friend, Apollo Creed, during an exhibition match. After a personal struggle in which Rocky debates himself between the need to retire and the need to revenge his friend, he decides to accept the challenge. 

The bout is set on Christmas day in the Soviet Union. The American boxer, now coached by Creed former coach, Tony “Duke” Evers, travels to the USSR where is given a log cabin and where is jealously watched by KGB agents.

The day of the match, Rocky faces not only an almost undefeatable opponent but also a very hostile public. The very head of the Russian government is also present. However, and in spite of being pounded relentlessly, Rocky’s immovable determination allows him to endure to the last round and to defeat Drago by knock out. 

Right after the ordeal, Rocky, now with the whole arena shouting for him, pronounces an emotive talk were he says: "If I can change and you can change, everybody can change!" 

Three basic Arthurian elements

The spirit of Arthurian legend is the spirit of heroic resistance against desperate odds. Three basic elements can relatively easily be found in Arthurian films and books. Firstly, and idea which is not exclusively Arthurian, that is to say, a notion of good, represented by a system and a notion of that which is evil, whatsoever thing that system fights against or it is victim of attack from. Secondly, the presence of the knight as he who defends the system from the evil aspirations of its opponents showing unspeakable courage throughout the process. In order to be genuinely Arthurian, the knight has to go through sore affliction and he has to either defeat an opponent which is stronger than him or to give his life in the attempt. Because of its religious influence, the figure of the hero embeds Christ-like attributes of perfection such as loyalty, charity, personal sacrifice, wisdom and truthfulness among many others. 

Arthurian elements in the film

The notion of good and evil

The notion of good, in the case of the film Rocky IV, is represented by the American system (although its presence it is not explicit but only possible to elide through the presence of its antithesis, the USSR government). Such system includes the ideas of freedom, change and growth. Capitalism is also one of the main features of the American system.  In opposition and consequently playing the role of evil, the USSR’s system is portrayed as not human and hostile. The head of the Communist government on whom there is a close up on the scene of the last match, resembles the face of the former Russian Primer Minister Mikhail Gorvachev.

The knight

Rocky Balboa represents the knight for he fights against the American system’s main opponent, the communist Soviet Union. As a hero, Rocky Balboa portrays some Christ-like attributes. He is an outsider of Italian ancestors; he is meek and humble although by the time of his fight against the Russian boxer he has become a true celebrity. He is close to nature and this is shown when he trains in the cabin log of the country side using natural elements (a mountain to climb, wood to cut, etc.) The idea of overcoming insurmountable odds is constructed by means of the opponent. Drago’s highly advance training along with his faultless physical complexion and the sharp contrast with Rocky’s humble circumstances combine to create the feeling that he cannot be defeated. Even his last name, Drago, brings about the image of middle-ages evil creatures. 

Rocky’s heroic nature is constructed from the very beginning of the movie. After, Apollo’s death, the American boxer faces the tension of retirement or going back to the square to revenge his friend’s death. Rocky’s wife, who strives to get his husband out of the ring from the very first part of the saga and seeing the danger that challenging the Russian means, decides to make whatever it takes to get Rocky out of professional boxing perpetually. It is in the context in which Rocky faces the question “What am I?” to acknowledge with resignation that he is a boxer and consequently he has to face fear and danger for his friend and for the sake of the United States of America

Weeks later, the day of the bout comes and Rocky is ready to fight the Russian. After a few rounds in which Rocky receives more punches that what any other human could possibly resist, he no only manages to endure but he also begins to hit back and even hurt Drago. The Russian’s bounds are seen by his couch and others assistants as something never seen before. In the end, and is spite of the fact that Drago controlled the whole match, Rocky will be stronger in the last round and will make the ordeal come true.

Conclusion

Arthuriana elements can be frequently found in artistic modern products. In the case of Rocky IV, the antagonistic notions of good and evil are represented by the American and Russian government respectively. Rocky Balboa, the movie’s main character, represents the knight who chooses defend the system by overcoming and insurmountable opponent. In the figure of the Rocky, the attributes of honour, sacrifice and perfection are portrayed in order to increase the legend of the typical Arthurian hero. 

[1] John 8:28

[2] Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Bibliography

Monmouth, Geoffrey: Geoffrey Monmouth’s Histories of the Kings of Britain

“The Holy Bible” Authorized King James Version. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day  Saints,  Salt Lake City, Utah, 1979

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur