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 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 

sheriff’s 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 Sheriff’s daughter whom the prize usually went to.  That incident 

started the feud between the Sheriff and Robin Hood.  When Robin’s gang and the 

Sheriff’s 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 Robin’s men getting attacked by the Sheriff’s men, then 

with a blow of the signal horn, all of the outlaws were at their friend’s 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 Sheriff’s law, but their freedom was worth more 

than that.  After Robin’s 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 father’s 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.