Robin Hood

Robin Hood, by Paul Creswick, is a story of great 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 sheriff’s 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 couldn’t pay it back, they couldn’t borrow it. But, that is

how many of the people joined Robin’s 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