Critical Essay on Ivanhoe: A Tale of Self-Dedication and Strive for Success

Introduction

People strive day in day out throughout their lives to get good things for themselves. Those things could be fame, wealth, education, and many other incentives. In Ivanhoe, the novel by Walter Scott, a character by the name Wilfred demonstrates the strive to succeed by dedicating all his attention to keeping the laws and the codes of value consisting love for adventure, loyalty as well as integrity (Mitchell, 2015). The book is critical as it offers a platform for people to reflect and work on their values in a positive way. The book is full of characters such as Wilfred who portray admirable traits such as the named ones above. These characters are impactful to the readers, and they make them understand that they need to have such character traits. They would be basics in the formation of strong moral foundations and guidelines to all human beings at all the times even if Scott's details were too much hence confusing.

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The book pays critical attention to loyalty, respect, and love. These are excellent values for the readers to emulate. We see the commitment from the citizens which they pay to the nation and their king even in captivity (Mitchell, 2015). They respect the king and the country at large. The love for the country which we can also term as patriotism is vivid throughout the novel. Although at times this patriotism makes the country to have instabilities from time to time due as we found out earlier it is a moral lesson for the readers to know the importance of loving their nations. The book would play an imminent role in impacting the moral values of the readers in a variety of ways. Many readers of this novel have learned several moral lessons which might have had an impact on their lives in one way or the other.

Two essential qualities that Ivanhoe possesses are respect and loyalty. There are several other qualities as captured earlier. However, the two qualities remain outstand and worth emulation by the readers of the novel. These traits are critical as they assist the readers in perceiving the essence of a successful life. For instance, at the very start of the book, Ivanhoe is also recognized as the Disinherited Knight since his father, who goes by the name of Cedric the Saxon, denies him his inheritance (Mitchell, 2015). Nonetheless, although he is neglected and abandoned, Ivanhoe continues to accord his father the respect that he deserves as well as loyalty to him. The respect of Ivanhoe is portrayed in this book again when the castle catches fire, burns down, and someone requests his father whether the defeat was visible. Ivanhoe's father responds to the person by saying that the defeat was not apparent. Even with that response, Ivanhoe's respect and loyalty to his father are unshaken.

Finally, it is not easy to think over some instance when Walter Scott was talking about qualities. It is also not easy to comprehend the novel and appreciate it if the person who is reading it lacks a firm yet the quick capacity of grasping and understanding how life was during the archaic time. Despite all this, Ivanhoe and King Richard were able to paint an image of respect and loyalty (Mitchell, 2015). The showed by example, the quality of integrity, love, braveness, and devotion to the king.

Conclusion

Therefore this book is imminent as the readers gain information and knowledge about the meaning of moral values and principles from the examples set by King Richard as well as Ivanhoe (Mitchell, 2015). These critical examples from the two characters act as a challenge to many of the readers to look for their moral principles and values. Without such values, we all have no reason to strive.

Reference

Mitchell, J. (2015). Scott, Chaucer, and medieval romance: a study in Sir Walter Scott's indebtedness to the literature of the Middle Ages. University Press of Kentucky.