Saturday, March 16, 2013

{Do} Judge a Book By Its Cover #1 || A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
Introducing a new series.

    I’m rather excited about this idea. I got it a while ago, and now it’s finally time to post about it! Basically, here’s what I’m going to do:

      1. Choose a book I’ve not read before.
      2. Look over the cover of the book very carefully.
      3. Judge what I think the book is about based on the cover.
      4. Compare my eventual review of the book to what I originally thought of it based on the cover.
      5. Do this series at least once a month.

    The book I’m “judging” today is A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain. Emily requested that I review this, so it’s my next stop after The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. I do know a little about it already, but I’m still going to “judge” it as best I can.
   Here’s what I see:
  1. A full-body-panoplied knight riding a white horse.
  2. Red coat of arms with a gold animal--lion?--on it.
  3. Red feathers on the crown of the knight and horse.
  4. The knight holds a spear.
  5. There’s a castle with flags in the background.
  6. The knight and horse are riding on a green hill.
  7. There are white clouds in the sky, but directly above the knight’s head the clouds turn gray.
   I wish I knew more about symbolism, because then I would almost certainly be able to draw far more conclusions than I can now.
  •    The knight carries King Arthur’s coat of arms.
  •    The knight is in full armor and holding a spear . . . could this possibly mean he’s  going to war? Or is he just part of the palace guard?
  •    The knight is in King Arthur’s vicinity.
  •    Is there some conflict with the knight being there? Why do the clouds darken above him but everywhere else remain white and cheerful?
   Some of the above was influenced by my limited knowledge of the book.
   How do you think I did? Was I terribly far off?

8 comments:

  1. Take Mrs. Kruse! Le Morte D'Arthur was one of my favorite books :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I'm excited about what I can learn from her on symbolism!

      Delete
  2. Your umm... *gulp* pretty wrong:] By the way my name is Layla, I have to comment as anonymous because bloggers having a glitch right now but after we fix it I'll follow you.:) I am 10 years old. Very advanced, if you haven't guessed.But anyways, enjoy the book (because I know you will).
    Layla.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I knew already that the Yankee went back in time to King Arthur's court :) I didn't throw out what I already knew, just judged it by its cover (but one or two of my choices was influenced by what I knew already). Thanks for commenting and *wanting* to follow, Layla!

      Delete
  3. ahh, the copy of your book is much more sophisticated than mine... :) Mine has several knights riding those huge bikes (with a huge front tire and two tiny little ones...) And it's funny to go back and read this after just reading the book. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, that copy's cover is much more sophisticated than mine, too :) The library copy was from 1960, a hardback with a cover that probably told less than the one above. If I'd had your cover I might have been able to discern more.

      So, did you like the book? :)

      Delete
    2. I did like the book... It was slightly weird but entirely enjoyable and one I would recommend every classic book reader to add to their list. :) And that sounds like a true book critic sentence... :) I am not sure I would read it again, but I enjoyed it and loved the cleverness and oddness the whole book had twisted throughout. And I adored Sandy!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Delete
    3. I know, Alisande was so lovely. A ditz, but so am I :) I just disliked it that he called her Sandy. I like Alisande better, personally.

      Delete

Go 'head, leave a comment! I gladly respond to every one :)