“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is an important moral taught to children by the handfuls at the current day. Unfortunately, it is often coined as too childish for the general public to abide by, but under certain circumstances, as in the case with this novel, it should be applied. No one knows where this short phrase came from, but content-wise, it is loaded with many possible metaphoric interpretations. Some of these can be related to certain situations in The Once and Future King . In the story, Arthur felt the turmoil within the round table could not be absolved, so, as a possible sub-goal for the Grail Quest, he sought a purification for all. But, because of his negligence towards the severity of the quest, by, in other words “judging the book by its cover,” the quest was unsuccessful from a certain perspective. In effect, the Grail quest resulted in a decrease in religious purity instead of an increase as intended.
As a result of the quest, the Orkneys, Gawaine especially, were religiously soiled. The Grail quest brought into vision all of the negative qualities of the Orkneys. One of these qualities being envy. Gawaine was jealous of Galahad. “All we had done was play the butcher’s part, in finishing wasna rightly ours… Galahad rode his gait and wouldna speak to with us, the meaning was that we were sinful – he was blessed” (White 439, 440).
The Term Paper on The Search For The Holy Grail
... through the romances concerned mainly with the quest for the Grail and the heroes in it, or ... installment of the Grail legend is the Quest del Saint Graal (The Quest of the Holy Grail) and attributed to ... stories are concerned mainly with the actual quest for the Grail, but also give some account of the ... Cistercian order. The story of the Quest of the Holy Grail is entirely encompassed in Le Morte ...
Galahad had just passed through the Castle of Maidens peacefully, while Gawaine, Gareth, and Uwaine followed him massacring the population. This unnecessary killing angered the group of three and gave them a feeling of inferiority because of the waste of strength and their lack of perception. “It seems he wasna for approving of such knights as fight for sport….He gave a blow which split my helm whatever and broke the iron coif…” (White 442).
Again, Gawaine demonstrates his jealousy towards Galahad in the form of disrespect, as he mocks him for his peace-keeping style. Of course, irony prevails as Gawaine is beaten senseless, and once again Gawaine’s hatred represents that of the whole Orkney faction, as Galahad represents the rival clan. Another showing of the Orkney’s lack of purification was their continuous pride in killing. Killing is bad under any terms as written in the Bible. “I slew King Bagdemagus” (White 442).
Gawaine said this with joy as he tried to impress Arthur and Guenever after he returned from a hard journey. This kill was a consolation prize for Gawaine, as his bid for the Grail was rejected. “All we had done was play the butcher’s part, in finishing wasna rightly ours” (White 439).
Gawaine speaks of his killing of a mob of people. Here, as he speaks, he shows absolutely no respect for human life. He speaks of them more like livestock than people. This misuse and disrespect of the human body is anything but Christian.
During the Grail Quest, knights killed defenseless, innocent people. Under certain circumstances, killing was rendered acceptable during the Dark Ages, but never is it permissible to slaughter innocent and untrained civilians, never mind what the situation. This carnage is described as impure. In one instance, Lionel almost killed Bors. “He said he was going to prevent me at all costs from becoming a fratricide. I killed the hermit” (White 447).
Lionel almost killed Bors, but an innocent hermit jumped in the way and was killed. This was later proven evil as God appeared to Bors and Lionel, just before Bors was to be run through. In another case, the knights who eventually found the Grail slaughtered a mass of people. “They killed a lot of men in the fight, and Bors and Percy were upset about it, but Galahad said it perfectly alright killing people who had not been christened” (White 455).
The Dissertation on The Power of Language: White Knights of the Kkk
The Power of Language: White Knights of the KKK The KKK: Origin and Background One of the most unforgettable notorious groups of America is the so-called Ku Klux Klan. They are said to have been formed in the late 18th century, in the midst when the Black slaves were able to win for their freedom. The leader of this group is named as Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was later considered as the Grand ...
Although these people were soldiers, they were still people, most likely just taking orders, so again this killing was immoral, thus causing spiritual anguish.
Lancelot discovered he was impure for a fact. To achieve the goal of obtaining the Grail, one must be pure. “I was not allowed it. So it will be wrong and you will hurt me if you make a fuss about it” (White 460).
This statement by Lancelot to Arthur and Guenever is vital because it shows that Lancelot was significantly impure. If he was pure, the Grail would’ve been his, but, he was rejected because of his immoral sexual acts. Prior to this discovery, Lancelot had a slim hope of being judged as clean of detrimental sin, but this whole confidence was dismantled quickly due to his lack of success during the quest. “He unhorsed me at the first tilt – my son did” (White 462).
This occurred when Lancelot was out jousted by Galahad early in the quest. Considering Lancelot had never lost a tilt, this implied that he was to forfeit his title as “the best knight in the world” (White 462).
With this title of best knight also seemed to depart was his false sense of purity, and with that his strength. Lancelot’s strength was a miracle, and as long as there was a chance of being pure, his strength stayed with him, thus, much of what made Lancelot so invincible was his mind. “But the white knights took me prisoner quite soon” (White 465).
Lancelot loses again after his loss to Galahad. This incident affirms the theory that Lancelot had lost his power. “I rode to the water of Mortoise where a black knight came to joust with me. He knocked me down as well,” (White 466).
Lancelot was beaten a third time by an unknown black knight. By this time, it can be firmly established that Lancelot has lost at least some of his physical prowess. Another showing of Lancelot’s contamination of his religious self was his childishness. “I felt as if she had broken the last piece of my heart” (White 463).
The Research paper on White Knight Case Study
Question 1 Based on the HR Business Partner of White Knightâs findings there is a lot of room for improvement in their recruitment and selection process. Performance levels and customer satisfaction are taking a hit due to a lack of efficiency in areas such as recruitment/selection, staff retention, job design methods and reward management. My first recommendation would be a change in the advert ...
The lady tells Lancelot that Galahad was the best, and he began to sulk and feel sorry for himself, instead of trying to improve himself. After each of the previous three defeats of Lancelot, he cried and begged for pity from God. Pity will not lead to the attainment of goals.
Based on the evidence shown, it could be assumed that the Grail Quest was detrimental to the religious purity of the knights instead of beneficial. Rivalry, morality, and death had their role in the quest, and justice seemed to be ignored. Of the three, morality was most vital because it eventually doomed Lancelot. He played a major part in the Grail Quest and Lancelot as a person should be focused upon. He is a prime example of “judging a book by its cover.” Looking beyond the surface can save much abuse and hardship, and, in certain cases, even possibly save a kingdom.
