triumph.
Many people know the myth of Robin Hood, but they do not know the life of Robin Hood. It is a good novel to read if the reader likes stories of a true legend. Also, it is a novel that deals with friendship, motivation, action, bravery, and love. The novel is primarily based on friendship.
The friends that Robin makes and the camaraderie they share makes this a terrific book. Living in the forest,away from the law, they are all outlaws and they are all there for each other when trouble presents its self. One example is when one of the outlaws, Little John,is about to be hung, the rest of the crew risked life and limb to save his life. A few of the members even died trying to help Little John escape, but they all knew that was the meaning of friendship. When one of the outlaws was sick or wounded, someone always stayed with them and made sure he got better. With their friendship came trust.
All of the outlaws knew that they could trust each other, no matter what the situation presented. If one of the outlaws went into the city to buy goods, the others knew that he would not run off with the money or tell the Sheriff where they were hiding. A good example of that is when Will Stutely had a falling out with the gang. He went and worked in the sheriffs kitchen as a cook, and even though he had left the gang and was employed by the law, he still kept the hiding place secret and told noone the where abouts of Robin Hood.
Another reason the novel is good to read is the motivation the gang has. Their primary motivator is freedom. Everything they do is to try to gain freedom from the crooked king. They live in caves throughout the woods and sleep on the hard ground because they are just glad to be free there. In the forest, they make their own laws and obide by them strictly.
If someone does not obey the laws set by the gang, then they are kicked out of the forest and must live in the non-democratic city and give up their freedom. Once the gang leaves the forest though, they have no respect for any laws but their own. Their secondary motivator is money. They do not obtain money honestly. They rob the rich people that travel through the forest and give it to the people that are traveling through the forest that need it, as long as they promise to pay it back.
An example from the book is where a Knight that owes a rich Bishop two hundred dollars is traveling through and meets Robin and the gang. After Robin tried to rob the Knight, the Knight tells him that he is poor and owes the Bishop money he had borrowed to feed his family. Robin gave the Knight the two hundred dollars that Robin had stole from the Bishop in the first place. The Knight took the money, but had to promise to pay it back in one year. So unlike the myth, Robin Hood did not give the poor people money, he loaned money.
And if the person couldnt pay it back, they couldnt borrow it. But, that is how many of the people joined Robins gang. They wanted to be free of debt and obtain freedom, so they took the oath of friendship and were in the gang. If an action/adventure book is what a reader is looking for, I would have to say that few books compare with Robin Hood. From the opening page until the end, there is always something going on.
On every walk Robin takes, he gets into a fight with somebody. A few words of disrespect towards Robin are spoken, and the sword is out. Usually, after the fight, Robin and his opponent become friends, and a new member of the gang is found. That is how Robin met Little John, and a few other members of the gang. All of the battles are narrated so perfectly, that the reader can visualize every blow.
The author also does a good job of making the fighting scenes seem real by letting Robin lose a couple fights. There is also allot of action when Robin enters an archery contest. Every time he enters a contest, he has to wear a disguise so noone will recognize him, since he is an outlaw and the sheriffs worst enemy. After winning the first archery contest he entered he gave the prize, a golden arrow, to a pretty girl named Marion who Robin fell in love with instead of the Sheriffs daughter whom the prize usually went to.
That incident started the feud between the Sheriff and Robin Hood. When Robins gang and the Sheriffs men fought there was allot of action, too. Swords were flailing, sticks were swinging, arrows were flying and men were dropping. The war would usually start with one or two of Robins men getting attacked by the Sheriffs men, then with a blow of the signal horn, all of the outlaws were at their friends side fighting for their freedom. Another important element to the novel is bravery.
Ever since the first time he defied the Sheriff by giving Marian the golden arrow, Robin displayed his bravery. When the gang named him as the leader Robin had to be brave and take the fate of the group of outlaws into his own hands. When there was a particularly dangerous mission, Robin volunteered himself to carry it out. Even in times when he was surrounded by enemies, he found it in himself to rise above the occasion and prevail. The whole gang was brave for knowing that their life was at stake for living in the forest and defying the Sheriffs law, but their freedom was worth more than that.
After Robins father had died he had to support his mother, and even as a boy Robin showed manlike courage and took over his fathers job as a forest ranger. But after the Sheriff found out that his new ranger is the same person that offended his daughter by not giving her the golden arrow, the Sheriff gave someone else the job, and Robin was forced into the life as an outlaw. Above all, Robin Hood is a Love story. He had love not just for his fair maid Marian, but he also had love for his family, friends, and country. His love for Marian probably showed the most. Even though she lived in the city where Robin was wanted dead, he still ventured in to see his love.
Eventually, when the sheriff found out that Marian was seeing Robin Hood, he tried to make Marian his daughters maid, so Marian fled. Robin took her in and found her a place to stay with his rich uncle Montfichet. He showed love for his family by supporting his mother after his fathers death. He also showed love for his family by helping his cousin Geoffrey of Montfichet who was banned from the country, regain his citizenship.
Robin showed love for his friends by always being there for them when they needed him. No matter what, Robin helped his friends when they were in need, even though a great deal of danger was usually involved. He proved that he loved his country by not leaving and fighting for what he believed. It would have been much easier for Robin to just leave the country and live somewhere else, but he wanted to live in the country where he was born and raised and where his father had died. Robin Hood is more than a good book, it is a legend.
People all over the world know about the keen archery eye of Robin Hood. In the novel, Robin Hood is not glamorized by the taking from the rich and giving to the poor. He is considered an outlaw, by the law and the townsfolk alike. The author, Paul Creswick does not try to make Robin a hero, but tries to present Robin as a leader of an organization that wants freedom, a concept that is taken for granted all too often today.
