Summary:
Analyzes The Once and Future King, by T.H. White. Describes how the four main characters of the King Arthur tale handle their different struggles with evil.
Life is a constant battle between good and evil. This concept is displayed all throughout the novel The Once and Future King. Arthur, Merlyn, Guenever, and Lancelot each handle their struggles differently. The fight against good and evil can go either way; it is how the character chose to handle their problems that determined their fate.
Arthur's battle was one against evil. He did what he could to rule with an iron fist, but bring peace to his land. According to Arthur the root to all evil was the fact that a king could do what he pleased. Arthur did his best to over come that by strictly following the law, even if it meant killing his own wife. Arthur fought against the evil by creating the round table. All knight were equals at the round table. In Arthur's mind a corrupt leader was evil at its purist. Arthur struggled to keep his views alive by fighting and defeating many of the corrupt leaders that kept his land at war. Arthur's efforts were destined to fail, however. Deception amongst the ranks of his knights led to the eventual falling of the round table. While Arthur lost his war against evil only because some knights were not ready for peace. These knights did what they could to gain revenge on each other, which brought the round table down.
Merlyn's way of handling the battle against evil was to educate Arthur. Using his magic Merlyn taught Arthur about the evils of the world. He taught Arthur that in order to attain peace the people must work together, and their leader not become corrupt. It was Merlyn who gave Arthur the idea to create the round table. Merlyn may have been the most important character of the story. He helped Arthur decide what was truly evil in the kingdom.
Lancelot and Guenever's struggles were intertwined. They shared a secret love. But instead of fighting the evil and telling Arthur of their affair they chose to hide it. Guenever lover her husband but she gave in to the evil and betrayed him. There were times were they thought to confess, but they never did. Lancelot fought his love for Guenever. His love and respect for Arthur kept him from her until his breaking point, where he could no longer stand not being with her. Lancelot gave in to temptation. Lancelot was the best knight, he had never been beaten and knightly game. He was the perfect knight. He did what he could to help people, but his efforts were rarely rewarded with success. His downfall arose when he mistakenly slept with Elaine. From that point on Lancelot had lost his title of Best knight. It is this that makes him a tragic hero. His flaw was his love for Guenever, their love was so powerful that Lancelot gave up his holiness to be with her.
In the end all the attempts of these four characters were for null. The evils overcame them and led to their downfalls. But it was the constant struggle that kept the characters going. They strived to defeat the evils that plagued them, and although they failed they didn't go down without a fight. The way that these four characters fought against their evils determined their futures, whether good or bad the characters each chose their own way to combat the evil.
This is the complete article, containing 559 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
