A story is not complete nor acceptable without a visible theme. Themes give novels an opportunity to teach the reader a moral. In T.H. White’s fantasy literature novel The Once And Future King, the reader will discover multiple morals within its four-part plot. The novel takes place in twelfth-century England where the viewer meet a young King Arthur and his life and trials living through the Middle Ages. Much of this book consists of Arthurian Legends and does a wonderful job conveying its themes. White’s TOFK teaches its audience about the concept of power, pacifism, and the reality of knowledge vs. strength. This essay will explain the morals and views within this Arthurian novel.
To begin with, TOFK exhibits power constantly throughout
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its storyline, labelling it as ‘Might of Right’. The idea of ‘Might is Right’ means those who are powerful can do what they wish unchallenged, even if their actions are immoderate. Power is a key concept in this novel. Much of the conflicts dealt with the imbalance of strength and justice. Merlyn first explains it in Book One after Arthur describes his disliking towards Sir Bruce Sans Pitié - an infamous knight who performs sneak attacks and ambushes, “He is a swine. He goes murdering maidens-and as soon as a real knight turn up to rescue them, he gallops off for all he is worth.” (White p. 224) Sir Bruce is an example of this theme because he proves that while he is a murderer and his actions are unjustified, his social status as a knight simply gives him the right to do so. “Their turbulence does not cost them anything themselves because they are dressed in armour, and you seem to enjoy it too.” (White p. 225) Justice back in the 12th century wasn’t as advanced or reasonable as it is today, but even in the modern world, people who have strength in their status can sometimes if not always, can get away with immoderate actions that regular people can’t. In the same manner, The Once and Future King displays the concept of pacifism - the belief that any violence, including war, is unjustifiable under any circumstances.
War is constantly displayed through the book, yet it is intended to show that war is practically pointless and barbaric. A character who would represent this moral would be Merlyn. The wizard explains to Kay and Arthur in Book Two about bloodshed in the past and why it happens. "There is only one fairly good reason for fighting-and that is, if the other man starts it...wars are a wickedness, perhaps the greatest wickedness of a wicked species." (White p.232) Describing the human race as a ‘wicked species’, Merlyn states that war is basically evil only done by evil-doers, or in this case the human race. When Merlyn turns Arthur into a goose, he meets a female goose named Lyo-Lyok. He asks her if geese ever fight, which makes Lyo-Lyok upset that he talked about war so nonchalantly. In the end after Arthur asks about boundaries, Lyo-Lyok makes a statement. “Imaginary lines on earth, I suppose. How can you have boundaries if you fly? Those ants of yours - and the humans too - would have to stop fighting in the end, if they took the air.” (White p.170) This shows that the geese are governed by no laws or leaders; policies by their morals. They think that war is pointless and that boundaries are not necessary. What Arthur learns from being a goose is that war isn’t something to be used over something unnecessary. To …show more content…
go into war only brings trouble into the world and truthfully in the end, does not solve anything. Pursuing this more, White’s novel further presses onto the subject of knowledge. It is said knowledge is greater than power. Merlyn, being the wise man, expresses this theme a lot in hopes that Arthur would become a wiser man. Merlyn explains to both Kay and Arthur about war and choosing sides in Book Two. “Any reasoning man who keeps a steady mind, can tell which side is the aggressor in ninety wars out of a hundred. He can see which side is likely to benefit by going into war the first place.” (White p. 234) What this means is that the man with more wits can benefit from his own intelligence, thus having the better advantage regardless of his strength. This relates to knowledge being power and ignorance being bliss. It is also known that those who have brute strength only tend to rely on what gives them that power, but those with pure knowledge can rely on themselves to get through life. An example of this is when Arthur has his first experience being a fish, he asks Merlyn to come with him. Merlyn replies with, ”I will come. But in the future you will have to go yourself. Education is experience, and the essence of experience is self-reliance.” (White p.46) This is meant to explain that the more experience you have, the better off you’ll be in life. The essence of self-reliance is resistance to conformity. It is better to trust yourself than rely on others. In brief, T.H.
White’s The Once and Future King expresses many themes within its Arthurian tale. With the help of strong characters and key scenes, TOFK successfully explains the futile barbarism that is war, the advantages of self-reliance and intelligence, and how unjust power can outrun justice. These themes can be related to real world situations. With war, people will do anything to make a point, even if it’s something minor. But as humans, we are vicious and determined to prove ourselves right, so we choose to use guns and hurt people. What we don’t realize is that fighting isn’t worth the statement. All around the world, many have stated that knowledge is more efficient than power. Those who have the intelligence can be powerful, and can be more responsible because they know better than those who don’t. In today’s society, peace is one of the most notable symbols The White does an amazing conveying themes into his
novel.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is set in the depths of the Great Depression. A lawyer named Atticus Finch is called to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. The story is told from one of Atticus’s children, the mature Scout’s point of view. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the Finch Family faces many struggles and difficulties. In To Kill a Mockingbird, theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based off an author’s opinion about a subject. The theme innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols.
...176). History provides a moral and spiritual point of reference for each new epoch. In All the King’s Men, Jack Burden the historian discovers that the past, honestly considered, does not deceive, nor do its vivid object lessons lead men astray. As Jack replays in his memory the actions of the characters (including himself) in the drama of his life, he grows to understand the roles played by those characters in his spiritual development, and to love them for their true nature. By contemplating the past in this manner, Jack builds out of truth and time a foundation that will raise him to stand strong in an uncertain future.
The Arthurian cycle shows a sporadic awareness of the impossibility of mere humans fulfilling all the ideals that Arthur and his court represent. The story of Lancelot and Guenevere, Merlin's imprisonment by Nimu‘, and numerous other instances testify to the recognition of this tension between the real and the unrealistic.
The archetypes that permeate many different stories all originate from Joseph Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces. More specifically, in the medieval story, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a variety of different archetypes are especially necessary to the theme of the story. An understanding of three key archetypes—the temptress the magic weapon, and the task—reveal the essence of Gawain’s role within the archetypal quest motif.
Marie De France’s Lanval is a remarkable short narrative that engages the reader into a world filled with unrealistic elements, but enhances on the true meaning of romance, chivalry and nature during the years that King Arthur reigned. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” unfortunately does not have an author that can be recognized but this epic poem demonstrates the ghastly adventure of a knight who decides to defend the honor of young King Arthur against a supernatural being in this malicious game of cat and mouse. Both of these pieces of literature have enchanting characteristics that define them as a masterpiece of their era and that’s why they both are easily compared and contrasted. In addition, both Lanval and “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” can be classified as similar through their themes, style and plots, although they are different through their language and diction. Even though both of these literatures can be viewed as similar as well as contrasting, in the end, each of these tales have illuminated the realm of fantasy throughout the court of King Arthur.
Thomas Paine once said “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” Conflict is an obstacle that many characters in books go through. It is what drives the reader to continue reading and make the book enjoyable. Additionally, authors use symbolism to connect their novels to real life, personal experience, or even a life lesson. In “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee and “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines, both take place during a time where colored people were being looked down upon and not treated with the same rights as white people. However, both novels portray the conflict and symbolism many ways that are similar and different. Additionally, both of these novels have many similarities and differences that connect as well as differentiate them to one
In literature, fictional stories can teach characters important lessons needed for their future. The Once and Future King, by T.H. White, tells the story of how the main character, Arthur, reaches his full potential of protecting and supporting his country. All of the knowledge Arthur learns in his youth is key in developing his skills and intellect. In the story Arthur has several unique learning experiences presented by his magical tutor, Merlyn. Learning from Merlyn’s lessons allows Arthur to lose the innocence of childhood and evolve into a wise and powerful king.
Jackson, Geoffrey. The “Moral Dimensions of ‘The Thorn.’” Wordsworth Circle. 10 (1979): 91-96. Mermin, Dorothy.
Many people think that reading more can help them to think and develop before writing something. Others might think that they don’t need to read and or write that it can really help them to brainstorm things a lot quicker and to develop their own ideas immediately (right away). The author’s purpose of Stephen King’s essay, Reading to Write, is to understand the concepts, strategies and understandings of how to always read first and then start something. The importance of this essay is to understand and comprehend our reading and writing skills by brainstorming our ideas and thoughts a lot quicker. In other words, we must always try to read first before we can brainstorm some ideas and to think before we write something. There are many reasons why I chose Stephen King’s essay, Reading to Write, by many ways that reading can help you to comprehend, writing, can help you to evaluate and summarize things after reading a passage, if you read, it can help you to write things better and as you read, it can help you to think and evaluate of what to write about.
Everyone remembers the nasty villains that terrorize the happy people in fairy tales. Indeed, many of these fairy tales are defined by their clearly defined good and bad archetypes, using clichéd physical stereotypes. What is noteworthy is that these fairy tales are predominately either old themselves or based on stories of antiquity. Modern stories and epics do not offer these clear definitions; they force the reader to continually redefine the definitions of morality to the hero that is not fully good and the villain that is not so despicable. From Dante’s Inferno, through the winding mental visions in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, spiraling through the labyrinth in Kafka’s The Trial, and culminating in Joyce’s abstract realization of morality in “The Dead,” authors grapple with this development. In the literary progression to the modern world, the increasing abstraction of evil from its classic archetype to a foreign, supernatural entity without bounds or cure is strongly suggestive of the pugnacious assault on individualism in the face of literature’s dualistic, thematically oligopolistic heritage.
Thesis Statement: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows the struggle between a good Christian man against the temptations of this world.
Conflict is constant. It is everywhere. It exists within one’s own mind, different desires fighting for dominance. It exists outside in nature, different animals fighting for the limited resources available, and it exists in human society, in the courts. It can occur subtly, making small changes that do not register consciously, and it can occur directly and violently, the use of pure strength, whether physical, social, economic, or academic, to assert dominance and achieve one’s goals; this is the use of force. Yet, with the use of force, the user of force is destined to be one day felled by it. “He who lives by the sword will die by the sword.”
Tragic and hero may not be words that easily reveal a relationship, but throughout literature the two have been linked to create an enthralling read. The emergence of the tragic hero seemed to take shape in ancient Greece where such works as Oedipus and Antigone were popular among all classes of people. Aristotle defined a tragedy as "the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself. It incorporates incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish the catharsis of such emotions." Though Greece may be credited with the creation of tragic heroes, the theme is seen in literary works across many different cultures, including England. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one such English work where the development of the main character, Gawain, follows the pattern of the classical tragic hero. In this paper, we will explore the characteristics of the tragic hero and show how these traits are demonstrated in Gawain.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval poem by an unknown author, written in Middle English in the 14th century. This poem is uncanny to most poems about heroism and knightly quests as it doesn’t follow the complete circle seen in other heroism tales. This poem is different to all the rest as it shows human weaknesses as well as strengths which disturbs the myth of the perfect knight, or the faultless hero. The author uses symbolism as a literary device in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to give the plot a deeper and more significant meaning. Symbolism is used to emphasise the difference of this heroism story against others and therefore symbolism is of great importance in this poem. The importance of the following symbols will be discussed in this paper; the pentangle, the colour green, the Green Knight, the exchange of winnings game, the axe and the scar. This paper argues the significance of the use of symbolism as a literary device in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Anderson makes effective use of fantasy to teach a moral lesson. He builds up the story in such a way that the reader does not care for the validity of the incidents. The moral lesson is that the proud and the disobedient must suffer.