In the novel, The One and Future King by T.H. White, King Arthur sends all of his knights on a rigorous journey in search of the Holy Grail. Of all the knights that set out on this quest only about half of them return, and only four of the knights are able to actually see the Grail. These four knights that are allowed to see the Grail are Sir Lancelot, Sir Percivale, Sir Bors, and Sir Galahad, with Sir Lancelot not actually being part of the actual finding of the Grail. Although these three knights may not have been King Arthur’s greatest knights, what sets them apart from all other knights that had failed before them was, their purity and their ability to live their lives close to God. By allowing these three knights to find the Grail, White shows a sort of compassion for these three knights in the novel, and shows us that these knights may not have appeared as normal it was only because they were so close to God that it was impossible for them to behave normally.
Of the three knights that found the grail themselves, the one who appeared as the closest to god and the leader of the group was Galahad. Galahad’s life was rough due to the fact that even though he had done nothing wrong he was always perceived as someone who was stuck-up and arrogant, when in reality he was only so close to god that he appears this way. It is as Lancelot says on page 461 when he is comparing Galahad to the Archangel Michael, “Do you think if the Archangel Michael were to come here this minute, he would say: ‘What charming weather we are having today! Won’t you have a glass of whisky?’ ” This quote is important in the fact that not only is it comparing Sir Galahad to the Archangel Michael, but also it shows a connection between Lancelot’s feelings toward Galahad and T.H. White’s feelings towards him. White’s development of the characterization of Galahad leads to a deep connection and understanding in the novel of how Galahad’s holiness causes him to be perceived as abnormal. Another Character that is developed deeply by T.H. White on his search for the Grail is, Sir Lancelot. As Sir Lancelot tells his story of his adventures in search of the Holy Grail he describes a change that he undergoes after he is given his first fall by his own son, Sir Galahad, this change that Lancelot undergoes involves a newfound closeness to god through the realization of his downfall as a knight.
The Essay on The Knight Of The Cart Lancelot
In this romance, there is a battle between reason and love. Both try to thwart the paths of the other. When love is taking control, there is always a sense of reason that prevents Lancelot from doing what he wants, and when reason has the better of him, love makes him go in a different direction. Reason is the logical explanation behind each action taken or decision made by Lancelot. Love is the ...
In order for this change to be truly understood however, you must understand what Lancelot says on page 466, as Lancelot tells the story of the third fall he is given by a mysterious black knight, he says, “If a boy steals sweets, and his parents punish him, he may be sorry and good afterwards. But that doesn’t entitle him to steal more sweet does it?” During this quote Lancelot is comparing the little boy to himself and the little boys parents to god, however the comparison of the candy is a little unclear, the most likely comparison that T.H. White was trying to show was a comparison between the candy and Sir Lancelot’s knightly powers. The way that White, compares the character’s, Galahad and Lancelot is in such a way that Galahad resembles Lancelot in his youth when he was pure and able to perform miracles, but now in Lancelot’s age he has become more of an opposite to Galahad. This transformation from Lancelot’s youthful purity to his older opposite has to do with the loss of his virginity. Virginity is something that is stressed a lot throughout White’s novel and it is what sets Galahad apart from Lancelot and causes him to be unable to see the grail.
The conflict that White creates while Lancelot is on search for the Grail is a man vs. self conflict between Lancelot and his mind. The problem arises as Lancelot as given his first fall by none other than his own son. This fall sets a realization upon Lancelot as he realizes that he is no longer the best knight in the world. This hurts Lancelot deeply because throughout his life he had always made it his goal to be the best and he felt that being the best was all he had. This is shown on page 463, as Lancelot is talking about his first fall, he says, “I couldn’t bear it. I felt as if my prop had been taken away from me… I had a lot of troubles on my mind, which being a famous fighter seemed to make up for, a little, and when that was gone it felt as if there was nothing left for me.” In saying this Lancelot shows how deeply he is hurt by this one fall, but more importantly, this is the beginning of an inner conflict within Lancelot’s mind. A conflict that will not be resolved until he falls twice more and learns to accept that he is no longer the greatest knight in the world. Another conflict that is unearthed by white during this time is a conflict between Galahad and Lancelot. This conflict is deep emotionally but not physically for although both men feel that the other has done him wrong, neither of them truly are willing to confront the other about it. This conflict does not truly arise until the fall that is given to Lancelot by Galahad at which point Lancelot feels that not only has Galahad been the cause of his loss of virginity, and inevitably the cause of him being unable to see the grail but now he has also taken from him the one thing he truly cherished the most, his title as greatest knight in the world. White’s development of both of these major conflicts in Lancelot allows his novel to become not only more suspenseful but also to have more meaning and emotion.
The Essay on Contrasting “Conflict in Things Fall Apart” and “Heart of Darkness”
Heart of Darkness by Josef Conrad and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe are two novels that are written to make a statement. Both are meant to stir the emotions of the reader, whether those emotions be anger, hope, frustration, joy, despair, or enlightenment. Both novels take place in the same location and same time period and involve the same groups of people. Both novels depict European ...
During the novel, The Once and Future King by T.H. White, White uses a stunning ability to create a conflict between two characters by using their similarities and differences to develop emotional feelings between the two characters. This ability allows for White to create a connection towards the characters in his novel and to develop a sense of compassion between the readers and the novel. By use of this connection White causes the search for the Holy Grail to not only be intriguing but to also create conflicts throughout the novel.
