Kuebler-The Last Crusade

As my classmates before me mentioned, the trilogy of Indiana Jones serves as a three part reflection on the trials of the knight. Yet each movie seems to hold in it a set of its own tasks. In the Last Crusade we first see Indy as a very young boy fighting for what he believes is right. He lost, but that doesn't mean that he has to like it. Years later we see him still pursuing the same artifact that he feels "belongs in a museum." As the mercenary knight he fights for what he believes and seems to always get away by the hair on his chin.

We transition past the rogue, thief, and mercenary knight and move on to the indentured knight where we find Indy needing to look for his father. Yet it is not just for this reason, he is working for a man who he cannot trust and seems to be a knight on a quest. But it is not until he is with his father that his decision must come. He can either save his friend and the maps and leave the book or continue along on the grail quest to serve a higher purpose. Indy’s father does a good job of convincing him even though Indy is still a non-believer in the grail’s power. Finally as they enter the temple, Indy becomes a knight of the grail and while still technically unworthy of the grail he is able to take up the challenge. He is not seeking the grail for the glory of himself but of sacrifice and care for his father. Indy is able to retrieve the grail and is proven worthy by not being taken by the temptress who killed the last man.

It is not until he listens to his father and releases the grail that he is a fully realized knight. It is because of these stages that we see the transformation of one man into legend. If he was anyone else these events would have never taken place, but that’s not much fun. Indiana Jones, through these quests, is made into more than human. He is a knight of Arthurian Legend and is fit to live on for eternity.