Shanaz Shakur
Ms. Churchill
English Honors 2, Period 0
21 September 2016
Essential Motifs in The Once and Future King Other than for the purpose of storytelling and entertainment, people read books to learn life lessons and understand morals and values. People read stories and take into account what the characters learn, and apply those lessons to their own lives. In The Once and Future King, T. H. White teaches us three major themes; that while the justice system gives people a chance of being proven innocent, it is not always fair, that one can not always trust their family, and ultimately, no matter how hard one tries to prevent the future, they cannot alter what destiny has already decided for them. For each of these three themes, there …show more content…
In many cases, both in the time of King Arthur and in modern day, one can not always trust their family. An example that features this theme is how Morgause deceives her sons and influences them at a young age to seek revenge on Arthur for her own reasons. It was apparent that Queen Morgause was simply using her sons for the sake of vengeance, but her sons wanted so badly to be loved and nurtured by their mother, so they trusted her commands. This resulted not only in the hatred for Arthur (that would later only grow stronger) but also the actions they blindly committed for their mother with no concept of what was right and what was wrong. Another example relative to this theme is when Morgause manipulates Arthur, her half brother, into sleeping with her. Despite being half siblings, Morgause charms Arthur into falling in love with her, and conceives a child-- a child that would later come to, as she intended, overthrow Arthur. Morgause saw no boundaries with this plan, in spite of being related to him. A final example in which this theme is portrayed is when Queen Morgause is killed by her own son Agravaine. Her sons had caught their mother sleeping with another man after their father had died, and Agravaine was furious enough to kill her. All these examples relate back to the theme by showing …show more content…
White’s The Once and Future King leave an impact on the reader, because they will realize that the justice system is not always just, that sometimes, even family cannot be trusted, and that it is impossible to prevent what destiny has planned. These motifs are essential to everyday life, and should be considered when making important and significant
Ms. Churchill
English Honors 2, Period 0
21 September 2016
Essential Motifs in The Once and Future King Other than for the purpose of storytelling and entertainment, people read books to learn life lessons and understand morals and values. People read stories and take into account what the characters learn, and apply those lessons to their own lives. In The Once and Future King, T. H. White teaches us three major themes; that while the justice system gives people a chance of being proven innocent, it is not always fair, that one can not always trust their family, and ultimately, no matter how hard one tries to prevent the future, they cannot alter what destiny has already decided for them. For each of these three themes, there …show more content…
In many cases, both in the time of King Arthur and in modern day, one can not always trust their family. An example that features this theme is how Morgause deceives her sons and influences them at a young age to seek revenge on Arthur for her own reasons. It was apparent that Queen Morgause was simply using her sons for the sake of vengeance, but her sons wanted so badly to be loved and nurtured by their mother, so they trusted her commands. This resulted not only in the hatred for Arthur (that would later only grow stronger) but also the actions they blindly committed for their mother with no concept of what was right and what was wrong. Another example relative to this theme is when Morgause manipulates Arthur, her half brother, into sleeping with her. Despite being half siblings, Morgause charms Arthur into falling in love with her, and conceives a child-- a child that would later come to, as she intended, overthrow Arthur. Morgause saw no boundaries with this plan, in spite of being related to him. A final example in which this theme is portrayed is when Queen Morgause is killed by her own son Agravaine. Her sons had caught their mother sleeping with another man after their father had died, and Agravaine was furious enough to kill her. All these examples relate back to the theme by showing …show more content…
White’s The Once and Future King leave an impact on the reader, because they will realize that the justice system is not always just, that sometimes, even family cannot be trusted, and that it is impossible to prevent what destiny has planned. These motifs are essential to everyday life, and should be considered when making important and significant