Reading Notes: Lupin, Goemon, Hood and Kidd

Arsene Lupin - character created by Maurice Leblanc, gentleman burglar.

Book: The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar by Maurice LeBlanc

Stories:

The Arrest of Arsene Lupin (Ch 1) - 

Told from the point of view of Monsieur d'Andrezy who receives a telegraph aboard a ship saying that Arsene Lupin has boarded, is alone, has blonde hair and is going by a name that begins with R. He accuses another passenger named Mon. Rozaine of being Lupin because he fits the criteria and is also getting friendly with the women d'Andrezy is fond of (Miss Nelly). Rozaine is cleared, and Lupin is never found despite further thefts. When the ship docks, d"Andrezy and Miss Nelly (who he credits Lupin for his becoming close to her on the ship) watch all the others exit and make it past the detective waiting to arrest Lupin. When they walk by, he stops d'Andrezy, who was Lupin the whole time. Miss Nelly takes his picture, keeps walking, and tells no one, and Lupin is arrested.

This quote from the story makes me think about Joker and his ability to have multiple personas instead of just one like everyone else:

"Why," said he, "why should I retain a definite form and feature? Why not avoid the danger of a personality that is ever the same? My actions will serve to identify me." 

Ishikawa Goemon - Ninja thief - son of a Samurai, 16th century. Studued ninjutsu under Momochi Tanba after he lost his parents. Later went to Kyoto and became a robber - organized a band of thieves - stole gold and other valuables from wealthy residents of Kyoto. Pretended to be merchants by day to scope out targets. When members of the group were eventually caught, they sold him out as their leader. May have tried to assassinate Japan's leader at the time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Goemon was executed. The means vary by legend, most common being that he and his son were put in a kettle of oil and boiled to death. Said to Hideyoshi right before his death," Indeed I stole a fortune, it is true that I am a thief but you are also a thief because you stole the whole country of Japan. "

-He was a thief for himself, not to help the weak like Robin Hood, but became popular because he stood up to authority in a time when that was unheard of.

-Other stories say he gave the money he stole to the poor. 

-Kettle shaped bathtubs are now called goemon baths (goemonburo). 

-He is typically portrayed today as either a ninja or a bandit.

Sources:

Ninja Encyclopedia

Wikipedia

Story idea: I would retell the story of Goemon and his band of thieves based on the websites above and any others I can find. I have not found a book that references him, but I think there is enough to go on from internet sources.

Robin Hood - Robin plans to enter the Sheriff''s contest, meets ta group of men along the way. They make fun of him, calling him an infant. He bets them that he can shoot the deer with the best heart and they wager he can't kill just one. He wins, and tells them the wager was 300 pounds. They tell him he shot the king's deer and try to capture him, but one suggests they let him go because he is so young. Robin leaves angry, one of the men was drunk on ale and angry, shoots an arrow after Robin. It misses (just barely) because he was drunk. Robin turns around and shoots an arrow which kills the man. He settled in Sherwood Forrest, never returning to Locksley Town. He was an outlaw for both killing the man and the deer and had a 200 pound price put on his head, and the Sheriff of Nottingham began pursuing him since the man he killed was one of his relatives. Robin hid in the forrest for a year, and others like him gathered there "to escape wrong and oppression". They decided to take from their oppressors with Robin as their leader, and to help the poor by returning the things that had been taken from them. They promised to not hurt children or women, and they people they helped praised Robin Hood.

Meets a stranger on a bridge - they fight over who should cross first and is the better man. The stranger is taller and broader than Robin, carries a staff so Robin quickly makes one and they fight. The stranger wins and Robin falls off into the water, and starts laughing hysterically. He is impressed by the stranger because no one else has ever bested him in a fight. Robin asks him to be his right hand man. The man says he will join if Robin wins against him in an arrow shooting contest. The stranger hits the mark, and Robin splits his arrow with his own. The man, John Little, agrees to join, and the merry men decide they prefer to call him Little John because they think it's funny. 

This quite makes me think about the path Crow's life takes:

"Gone was all the joy and brightness from everything, for his heart was sick within him, and it was borne in upon his soul that he had slain a man."

Story idea: Crow tells the story of how he became a thief, and eventually ends up with the Phantom Thieves. He and Joker are competitive with one another, but become close friends.

Book:

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

Stories:

How Robin Hood Became an Outlaw

(Photo by Frank Godwin)

Captain Kidd - aka William Kidd - a Scottish sailor , settled in New York City and became an apprentice on a pirate ship. Married one of the richest women in NY, Englishwoman Sarah Bradley Cox Oort. Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont was governing over NY, MA and NH and asked Kidd to attack other known pirates and enemy French ships. By saying yes (and he pretty much had to), his reputation as a pirate was established. 

He supposedly buried treasure - treasure hunts happened in Nova Scotia, NY and CT. 

Possible story sources:

The Gold-bug by Edgar Allen Poe - a story about searching for Kidd's treasure.

The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd by Richard Zacks

Extra reading done this week: Three chapters from The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar by Maurice LeBlanc; one chapter of The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle; several websites about Ishikawa Goemon and William Kidd.