Ragnar Danneskjolds Robin Hood, Essay Example

There is a deeper meaning of Ragnar Danneskjolds statement “Robin Hood is the one man he is out to destroy.” The metaphorical, literary, and symbolic meanings are about rich people’s mentality, rich people boundaries, and poor people being oppressed by the rich and worldly possession. This metaphorical statement is about the unethical and immoral behavior of the rich that lives to suppress the poor. Its statement that Ragnar Danneskjolds shows Robin Hood’s intention as noble not that he wants to kill the rich; he wants to chastise the rich. Robin Hood is the champion of the poor. “It is said that [Robin Hood] fought against the looting rulers and returned the loot to those who had been robbed, but that is not the meaning of the legend which has survived. He is remembered, not as a champion of property, but as a champion of need, not as a defender of the robbed, but as a provider of the poor” (The Reading Registry 1). The implications are each obsession that is important to the rich Robin Hood is out to destroy but not only destroy but also limit the riches most important riches, which is freedom.

Ragnar Danneskjolds statement that Robin Hood is out to destroy means Robin Hood is attacking the spirit of the rich by limiting their real freedom, which is having no boundaries. The rich take pride in the ability to travel to and from with no limitations on where they can travel. The rich in Sherwood can travel anywhere in the world however, the arrogance of being rich wants to travel freely in the Sherwood forests which Robin will not allow. Ragnar Danneskjolds true statement means Robin Hood can take their rich ways from them, which is not dollars and gold but the freedom to have no man in this land to stop them from traveling and taxing any territory. In the mind of the rich, any limitations mean they are poor so as long as they can move about freely they remove themselves from poverty. However, as long as Robin Hood limits their movements, in the rich minds they are poor.

The rich have no conscious about taking land and food away from the poor while taxing them into poverty. Ragnar uses Robin Hood metaphorically to be the conscious of the rich attacking all the things the rich treasures. The statement means the rich will suffer for their foolish ways and Robin Hood will make them pay by taking anything of value from the rich. Ragnar deeper meaning is Robin Hood not only takes money from the rich but the rich has other weaknesses that Robin Hood understands. The deeper meaning is the rich not take pride in money but possessions such as elegant animals, extravagant meals, excessive jewelry, and barrels of gold.

The oppression of poor people by the rich is not just money or taxes. Robin Hood will destroy the foundation that taxes people for land they work. Robin Hoods meaning to destroy is parallel to the rich. The rich oppress the poor with collecting taxes not allowing the poor to progress towards wealth. Robin Hood does the same to the rich by not allowing them the independence to take the taxes. The rich enjoy the forest as their own land because Robin Hood prevents them from seeing the oppression. The rich want to feel the power by taking taxes from the poor. Robin Hood oppresses the rich making them feel the same way by taking their riches such as money, gold and silver.

The metaphorical means by Robin Hood is redistribution of wealth. “In the world Rand paints, almost every country but America has become a communist people’s state, and Danneskjöld is a capitalist warrior determined that those people’s states, founded on the redistribution of wealth, die early deaths” (Michigan Quarters Review 1). The redistribution begins with taking the wealth away from the rich anytime they travel outside of the castle, thus Robin Hoods own way of causing the rich to feel the sting of poverty or limiations on one’s life. The redistribution does not only represent money but the redistribution of power, respect, and wealth. Robin Hood is restoring what the rich has stolen which the independence as a person to till their own land earning profits they can keep. The redistribution in addition represents poor people having a voice.

Danneskjolds operates on the impress that the rich have worldly possessions that consider a rich person. It is the very things they are robbing the poor of such as wealth, pride, and freedom. Robin Hood attacks those very attributes that make the poor even poorer and the rich even richer. He uses his literary savvy to allow Robin Hood to use the words such as destroy in the form of parables.

Citing Works

Michigan Quarterly Reviews. (2014). Between Robin Hood and Ayn Rand: High capitalism in the 1950s. Retrieved October 8, 2014 from http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-cc=mqr;c=mqr;c=mqrarchive;idno=act2080.0042.213;rgn=main;view=text;xc=1;g=mqrg

The Reading Registry. (2014).Ragnar Dannesjold on Robin Hood. Retrieved from http://readingregistry.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/ragnar-danneskjold-on-robin-hood/