Monty python and the Holy Grail - Essay Example

Monty python and the Holy Grail Monty python and the Holy Grail is a film which narrates the legend of King Arthur and his quest to find the Holy Grail. On his way together with his knights, they find many things and revelations. The swimmer, according to Cheever's Dark Knight of the Soul: The Failed Quest of Neddy Merrill is a character related to the Holy Grail by the imagery use of the cup and the quest for an unknown cause. The two essays have a connection because both are about characters in a quest for the Holy Grail. In the Monty python essay, King Arthur and his Knights are made symbols of the dark times by the challenge they are given by God, to find the Holy Grail. They go looking for it, find things along the way, and yet they do not give up. God is represented by an animated photograph of cricket figure in the film, when he is giving instructions to the King. The Swimmer is a symbol of the old myths because of the way it was explained, and that it could be interchanged with other myths. One of the several myths related to the swimmer is the powerful evocation of the lack of the sense of purpose in the privileged class of the Americans in the twentieth century. The main idea brought out by Blythe and Sweet is that the best way to understand and think of the swimmer is through the quest for the Holy Grail. The whole essay is mostly concentrated on relating The Swimmer to the Holy Grail. This idea is driven from the act of Neddy being helped by the old wise man, but not paying attention to his assistance, and the way he refuses to comprehend his inspiration and quest. On the other hand, the knights behave in a completely opposite manner from Neddy. These factors are what links Neddy to the Grail quest. The authors show how the Swimmer can be a story about a certain myth, and at the same time go through a critical examination and linking the Swimmer to the quest of the Holy Grail. In Cheever’s story, the lifestyle portrayed is hedonistic and sybaritic, involving a lot of drinking and partying. The cup is viewed as the Grail symbol, and here, it’s used for selfish enjoyment. Cheever uses a language that makes him Grail hero, when introducing his protagonist. Neddy Merrill has the feeling that he is a man with a destiny, and that makes him a legendary figure. Cheever insists that Neddy is a unique figure because of his youth slenderness and he has the physical ability to dive headfirst into the pool, displaying his swimming skills. He also has a wife, daughters and a mistress, which makes him a grail hero. As a Grail hero, Neddy begins his quest, but because he is drunk, he believes he can get to his home by water. His quest was a selfish one, since he was doing everything just for himself, and not for the community. He leaves his social group and starts off his first step of his journey through an unknown route, where he must use very thorny passages and cross extremely dangerous streets. In the Monty Python essay, King Arthur is the symbol of the Grail Hero. He sets out on the quest for the Holy Grail as instructed by God, but along the way, he gets involved in fights with the knights. This shows his selfishness and cruelty, especially when he chops off the knights arms and legs. Together with the other knights, they encounter many challenges like the soldiers at the French castle, who insult them, and deny them access. The characters in both essays are determined to find the Grail despite the difficulties. Neddy passes over a thorny edge and extremely dangerous streets, along the road of trials. He encounters several difficulties like the bartenders who snub him, the gravel that cut his feet, and the hostesses who insult him. It is typical for a Grail Hero to encounter a dark tower, according to this essay. According to Cheever, Neddy has to swim to the side of the pool so he won’t collide with the rubber raft of rusty towers. However, he is later threatened and chased by lifeguards, but that does not stop him as he continues with is quest for the Holy Grail. In the Monty Python essay, King Arthur and his Knights are as determined as the Swimmer. On their way to find the Grail, they each encounter obstacles, after separating into two groups. They all find ways to run away or deal with the obstacles and later re-unite with three more knights. They then enter a cave which has the location of the grail on its walls. However, they must first defeat the rabbit of Caerbannog, after which they go ahead into the cave. They end up losing one knight in the fight but still keep on searching for the Grail. In the cave, they are attacked by the black beast which kills the monk accompanying them. King Arthur and the rest of his knights escape death and run to their final destination, the bridge of death. The final destination for King Arthur and his knights is the most dangerous stage. At the bridge, they are challenged by an anonymous black knight to a duel so they can cross the bridge. They are supposed to answer a question to the bridge keeper. Arthur tricks the bridge-keeper into answering his own question, after which he is thrown into the chasm for not knowing the answer. This act focuses on deconstructing and undermining the traditional themes of Arthurian legends as an option for undermining the symbols of traditional politics and social values. In the Cheever’s easy, the author explains how Neddy arrives at a desperate situation and is helped by a traditional helper. This happened just at the final stage of his quest, when he was almost naked, in the middle of beer cans, rags and blowout patches. At that situation, Neddy was being attacked with beer cans and jeers, and it is the time when the old man led him to the middle of the road. This is relative to the Monty Python essay whereby King Arthur was almost trapped and killed just at the end of his quest, when it seemed to be doomed. The characters in both essays are regarded as Grail heroes but they don’t do as the Grail hero is supposed to. According to Cheever, Neddy does not inquire about the nature of the Grail. As a hero, he is expected to first explore the nature of his quest. Neddy repeatedly fails to ask the right questions and find answers. All along his journey to find the Grail, Neddy is lost on the track of time. He can’t tell what season it is, and even in his own mind, he knows that he has a predilection for not thinking. He realized he was so determined to complete his quest even though it meant risking his life, and he couldn’t go back. In the Monty Python essay, the Grail hero lacks the same ability to think about the nature of his quest, and almost losses his life on the same. At the end of the quest, both Grail heroes fail. In Cheever’s essay, Neddy finally arrives at the Grail castle, but his goal was a big failure. He arrives at his home, which was his goal, but he was so exhausted that he felt his triumph was a failure. His home was dark, the doors were all locked and when he held the handle, rust came off on his hands and the place was so empty. In this conclusion, the author explains that Neddy was caught up in the modern myths and the youth cult, and he is a failure in his quest. In the Monty Python essay, Arthur fails in his quest as well, and is arrested by the police. He has also failed in his quest for the Holy Grail. The essays portray the Grail as symbolic to the ironic gap between the Heroes’ selfish search for his their youth as well as the materialism and the traditional Grail’s hero selfless community- serving quest. In the Cheever’s essay, Neddy is the modern man and he has lost his spiritual bearings and the life-saving waters are used purposely for the fun of swimming. In conclusion, the Monty Python essay and the Cheever’s essay are connected in their main ideas, events taking place, characters and the setting. They both represent the historical myths and the selfishness of the heroes. The setting of both essays is in the medieval ages, when there were a lot of myths and misconceptions. Work cited Hal Blythe, Charlie Sweet: Cheever's Dark Knight of the Soul: The Failed Quest of Neddy Merrill. 1992. Monty Python: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 1975 Barnhisel, Greg. An overview of ‘The Swimmer’. Short stories for students. 2002. Read More