36 pages • 1 hour read
Jon ScieszkaKnights of the Kitchen Table
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1991A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
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BetaThemes
The Power of Teamwork
The characters of Knights of the Kitchen Table rely on partnership to get themselves out of sticky situations. In doing so, they showcase the many forms that teamwork takes, as well as what is required for teamwork to be effective. Through the encounters Joe, Sam, and Fred have with the black knight, Bleob the giant, and King Arthur’s court, the book explores how teamwork saves the day.
Teamwork requires a willingness to be a unit. When the boys confront the black knight, Sam and Joe have no idea what to do. Both boys think running away is the best and safest option, but Fred doesn’t agree. Instead, Fred sees the situation for what it is—a game of sorts—with the black knight simply being an opponent. This allows Fred to come up with a suitable plan, which he then relays to the others. While Sam and Joe are skeptical, they trust Fred and do as he instructs. After the knight misses them twice, Sam and Joe realize Fred’s plan has merit and are more willing to finish the job. Though it takes a bit for Sam and Joe to believe the plan is solid, they are willing to try the plan from the start because they believe Fred knows what he’s doing. In this way, the book shows how teamwork is fostered by believing in one’s leader and teammates. Additionally, Sam and Joe don’t have to trust the plan; they just have to participate in it. Once they resolve to be team players, the plan comes to fruition, showing how working together makes teamwork possible.
The key component of teamwork is trust. When Sam starts his riddle trick and turns to the others to confirm his story, Joe and Fred readily agree, even though “[they] didn’t have the faintest idea what [Sam] was talking about” (34). As with Fred’s plan for the knight, Sam’s plan for Bleob only requires that Fred and Joe agree with him. Joe and Fred don’t have to play an active role in taunting Bleob, but this doesn’t make their role in the plan any less important. Indeed, the narrative shows that team members are just as important as the team leader. Joe and Fred are backup; while they don’t initially understand what Sam is up to, they trust him because their years of friendship have taught them that Sam is smart. This trust leads to Sam’s success with both stopping Bleob’s assault on the castle and pitting Bleob and Smog against one another. Without trust, Joe and Fred would have faltered and the plan would have fallen apart, illustrating how trust forms the backbone of effective teamwork.
The narrative shows that teamwork can mean stepping back to let someone shine. When Merlin calls on the boys to prove they are enchanters, the burden of proof falls squarely on Joe—the member of the trio with stage magic experience and knowledge. Joe is placed front and center among the boys, and all Sam and Fred can do is step back to let Joe work his proverbial magic. By doing so, all the attention is on Joe and his trick, allowing him to pull off his deception without difficulty. Too much involvement from Sam and Fred would detract from Joe’s performance; the other boys must simply support. Unlike with the black knight, there is no need for them to actively participate. Like with Bleob, they have to trust in Joe’s ability; at the same time, they do not need to bolster Joe’s performance. Their only job is to hang back and watch, showing the many roles team members can play.
Effective teamwork requires adaptability, suspension of ego, and acting like a unit—though not every situation calls for the same level of involvement from all team members. Joe, Sam, and Fred face situations that force them to adjust the dynamics of their team to find success. While facing these challenges, they don’t argue about who’s most important or get mad when someone takes the spotlight. They just do what needs to be done so their teamwork can carry them to victory.
Our Differences Make Us Strong
The characters of Knights of the Kitchen Table have unique strengths that make them the most powerful versions of themselves. This sometimes results in victory and sometimes in defeat. Regardless, the characters’ strengths give them unique skill sets that carry them through situations. Through the boys’ differences, Bleob’s character, and Merlin’s role in King Arthur’s court, the book explores how being different is empowering.
Within a group, differences help one stand out. Though Joe, Sam, and Fred are very similar in age and personality, they each have unique skills that serve them while they are trapped in King Arthur’s time. Joe is the leader, Sam is the brains, and Fred is the joker who acts on instinct. Together, these qualities let the boys be an effective team.
There’s also more to the boys’ relationship than working together. Even when they don’t realize it, their unique qualities bring out their strengths and support the group. In Chapter 8, the boys finally realize that they’ll need magic to return home. However, they are no closer to a solution, and Fred finally tells the others to “forget that magic jazz” and get back to baseball (46). Here, Fred’s unique ability to shrug off difficult situations leads to him hitting a ball through Merlin’s window and the boys realizing that Merlin has magic that could be their ticket home. Without Fred’s carefree outlook, Sam and Joe would have overanalyzed the problem and may never have come to an answer, showing how Fred’s difference is a strength among the group. It also suggests that sometimes one must step away from a problem to solve it.
The book suggests that being physically strong doesn’t guarantee victory. Bleob the giant has been a serious threat to Camelot since before Joe, Sam, and Fred’s arrival. The knights have not been able to vanquish the giant because he is too strong, even for them. This is partly because the knights do not think outside the box. They rely on physical strength alone and are no match for Bleob, which has made Bleob believe he cannot lose. When the boys face Bleob, Sam doesn’t rely on physical strength, but the strength of his mind. Bleob is no match for Sam’s cunning, which allows the physically smaller and weaker boy to emerge victorious. Bleob’s size and strength often triumph in a physical fight, but these qualities are of no help against mind games. Thus, Bleob falls victim to Sam’s tricks, leading to him facing the dragon and being destroyed. Ultimately, Bleob loses a mental and physical battle, showing that great strength in one area does not always equate to being victorious.
Having a unique strength makes us valuable, the book implies. As the only enchanter in King Arthur’s court, Merlin enjoys a level of power exclusive to him. The people—including King Arthur—look to him for advice, which is shown by how the crowd’s opinion of Joe, Sam, and Fred changes depending on Merlin’s reaction. When the boys claim to be enchanters, the people rejoice, but when Merlin questions them, the people become wary and suspicious. In this way, Merlin is just as—or even more—powerful than King Arthur. The king may lead the people, but Merlin’s ability to read and cast spells makes the people respect him. As a result, the people trust Merlin’s judgment implicitly—sometimes more than their own. This allows Merlin to exert control over situations. He feels threatened by Joe, Sam, and Fred because they have been able to do things neither Merlin nor the knights could accomplish, so uses his considerable influence to discredit them. Merlin exemplifies how power can be misused and how being unique can sometimes offer immunity. The people don’t question Merlin’s motives, which lets him do what he wants, even if there is no basis in fact for his actions. Merlin is valuable in the court, which makes him even more powerful than his magic alone.
The unique types of strength that the boys, Bleob, and Merlin possess give them advantages in very different situations. Their abilities alone do not guarantee success as there is more to victory than being strong. However, when the characters lean into their strengths, success becomes more likely.
The Nuances of Greatness
Knights of the Kitchen Table explores greatness through different lenses. Sometimes, greatness must be proven. When Joe, Sam, and Fred first arrive in King Arthur’s time, they are simple kids with no knowledge or experience with the new world they’ve been thrust into. Their initial confrontation with the black knight forces them to learn quickly and use their modern-day skills to protect themselves. When King Arthur’s knights realize what Joe, Sam, and Fred have done, the boys are suddenly respected members of society, as they’ve beaten a foe that the kingdom has been unable to defeat. Joe’s card trick and Sam’s tricks with Bleob only serve to cement the boys’ status in King Arthur’s court, showing how success earns respect and the perception of greatness. Joe, Sam, and Fred use their wits and quick-thinking time and again because they need to do so to survive. This ultimately leads to them attaining status because others admire and respect them for their accomplishments.
The other knights have failed to vanquish Bleob and Smog, showing how there is a constant struggle to maintain greatness. When the boys meet the knights in Chapter 4, Joe is amazed Sir Lancelot is asking them for help because “this guy was supposed to be the greatest knight who ever lived” (22). Though Lancelot, Percival, and Gawain have proven themselves and their greatness many times over, they struggle to defeat the current forces threatening Camelot, showing that greatness alone is not always enough to win the day and that past greatness does not guarantee greatness in the present or future. Rather than give up, the knights recognize that they need help, and this action bolsters their greatness in a different way. They have faced enough challenges to know when their own skills are not enough. They don’t hesitate to enlist Joe, Sam, and Fred because they realize that greatness sometimes means admitting they are outmatched.
Greatness has the power to influence. To Joe, his uncle is a great magician. Thus, Joe moves through the story with his uncle in mind, calling upon what he’s learned from the man and his gifts to help him through difficult situations like winning over King Arthur’s court. Though Joe’s uncle is never seen, his influence is felt through Joe’s actions and thoughts, showing that greatness does not need to be accompanied by constant displays of evidence. Once someone’s greatness is established, its presence remains alive. As a result, Joe holds on to his uncle’s greatness, which gets him through his adventure. It also drives Joe’s desire to better understand The Book; he realizes how amazing The Book’s magic is based on his belief in his uncle’s greatness.
Greatness comes in many forms and can influence others in different ways. The characters of Knights of the Kitchen Table both respect and understand greatness, which allows them to assess whether bestowing or trusting greatness is warranted. They also show that greatness requires work. This teaches readers not to just expect respect if they’ve done nothing to earn it.
