The stark contrast between the pureness of the creature and the careless slaughter, coupled with the imagery of the blood against its pure white hair illustrates violence and cruelty. As many events in The Once and Future King allude to war and violence, this passage also relates to war. T. H. White shows repeatedly his disdain for war in this novel, while the idea of war is glorified by many, rarely do people understand the reality of it. War involves much bloodshed and death and this passage truly demonstrates the grimness of war. A second theme present in the passage pertains to the theme of women being deceitful.
Meg has the job of luring the unicorn to lay on her lap and even as the Orkney brothers begin to slaughter it, she “[takes] its horn in one hand… the unicorn [could] not seem able to move from the soft grip of her” (259).
Although the Orkney brothers are actively killing the unicorn, White makes a point of emphasizing Meg’s entrapment of the unicorn. Furthermore, the entire purpose of capturing the unicorn in the first place was to impress Morgause due to her constant neglect of her sons. Even after the unicorn was killed and its head was taken back to the castle, Morgause still did not notice her son’s efforts of impressing her.
Finally when she did find out about the unicorn, she “had them whipped for it” (263).
These female characters represent White’s resentment towards women. A closer look at White’s upbringing wills that growing up his mother was often neglectful, similar to the character of Morgause, and that his depiction of female characters directly correlate with his personal life. Interestingly enough, although the boys went on the unicorn hunt seemingly to impress their mother, during the hunt Agravaine states that “‘this girl… is my mother’” (256) while later he suggest that they “could hit [her] too” (258) with the sticks.
The Essay on Buffalo Soldiers Stamps War White
Buffalo soldiers Miracle at Sant " Anna by James McBride 277 pp, Sceptre The United States fought the second world war in Europe with two armies. One, as James McBride hints, has been lionized in countless novels and films; the other all but obliterated from American lore. In tracking the "buffalo soldiers" of the segregated US army, McBride, author of a bestselling memoir, The Color of Water, has ...
Whether consciously of subliminally, the resentment towards their mother becomes apparent. This chapter also provides readers with a greater insight to the characteristics of the Orkney brothers. For example, Gawaine prefers to take charge of situations as he is the oldest, while the others naturally follow his instructions. Gareth is the most affable of the brothers; he shows the most empathy both towards Meg and the unicorn. When he sees that Meg is upset, he tries to console her by letting her “have some shots with [his] catapult” (257) and when Agravaine jabs the unicorn Gareth tells him to “leave [the unicorn] alone” (259).
In contrast to Gareth’s compassion, Agravaine proves to be the most ruthless and sadistic. As previously mentioned, he suggests beating the unicorn as well as Meg with a stick. Not surprisingly, Agravaine also leads the ambush against the unicorn. While all the others had changed their mind to bring the unicorn home alive, Agravaine single-handedly slaughtered it. His sadistic nature appears later in the novel in addition to his hateful feelings towards his mother when he kills her. Gaheris proves to be the most practical of the brothers.
After the death of the unicorn, while others felt guilty for their actions, Gaheris very practically pointed out that if they do not bring it home, their actions would have been pointless. This passage shows the interesting dynamic between the Orkney brothers, with Gawaine being the leader, Agravaine being cruel, Gareth being compassionate, and Gaheris being the brain. Finally in this chapter White introduces readers to the character of St. Toirdealbhach, who plays the role of one of the boys’ educators. While Merlyn teaches Arthur of the dangers of war, St.
Toirdealbhach teaches the Orkney’s to glamorize it. The irony of him being a saint while at the same time endorsing warfare demonstrates the hypocrisy White finds in the world. Similar to the idea that “chivalry” represents sophistication but in reality is actually nothing but pointless and barbaric, the name St. Toirdealbhach gives off the impression of someone with good characters and morals (saintly) and in reality harbors a lot of anger and aggression. The concept of perception versus reality presents itself in this passage as with many others.
The Essay on “The Tale of Sir Gareth” : An Entertaining Story
Many characteristics can make a story worth reading. In Sir Thomas Malory's "The Tale of Sir Gareth," the vivid characters, riveting suspense, and courtly romance skillfully combine to create an entertaining medieval romance. Medieval romance is a story in which a hero fights to uphold the ideals of chivalry. Without characters, a story is hardly fulfilling. In "The Tale of Sir Gareth," the vivid ...
