The Crystal Cave
The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart, is a story in the first person, whereas an elderly Merlin tells of his coming of age. The novel began in medieval Wales in the kingdom of Maridunum. The story then moves to Brittany, or Lesser Britain. He then comes back to Wales, then, the rest of Greater Britain, ending up in Cornwall. The themes of this story are about coming of age, good versus evil and things aren't always, as they appear to be. Myrddin Emyrs, also known as Merlin Ambrosius was the bastard child to the King's daughter. Myrddin is the name of a god; Emyrs, or Ambrosius, means "child of light," and Merlin is the name of Roman bird of prey. As a child, he had the Sight and a talent for remaining unnoticed while he gained information. Merlin also knew when his uncle offered him a poisoned apricot. This ability led him to study with Galapas in a cave up on the hill of Myrddin, a god for which Merlin was named. In this cave, was located the crystal cave, where Merlin first learned to control his Sight and where he predicted the mining cave under Vortigern's stronghold and the death of the king. The night that his grandfather died, Merlin was able to escape his uncle Camlach by burning his servant and friend, Cer
It is easy to tell that Merlin isn't really very social with anyone and acts like a recluse. He sneaks around all the time through the hypocaust and loves the seclusion of the hypocaust or the cave. He also is very strong of mind, not letting emotions get in his way, like when he was able to fight back his tears to honor his promise to Cerdic, and burn his body. Also, there was the time that he went across the ocean, in accordance with his father's wishes, even though he knew he would get nausea and seasickness. Merlin is an extremely intelligent individual. His ability to listen in without being detected and his Sight make for a lethal combination when used the right way. Merlin's appearance is clearly that of Roman's with his dark hair and dark eyes. He looked just like his father. He wore a tunic with a cloak and a brooch with the insignia of the red dragon. He walked with a kind of fearless air, since he did not fear his death, which he already knew when, and how it happened. He interacted well with his parents, teachers (i. e., Galapas and Belarius), and servants (i. e., Moravik, Cadal, and Cerdic). His major conflicts happened between him and his cousin Dinias, his uncle Camlach, his grandfather the King, King Vortigern, and his other uncle Uther. Caml
Some common words found in the essay are:
Emyrs Ambrosius, Dinias Dinias, Pendragon Merlin, Wales Vortigern, Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart, England Ambrosius, Gorlois Gorlois's, Cadal Cerdic, Britain Cornwall, crystal cave, red dragon, coming age, uncle camlach,
Approximate Word count = 873
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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