The Sword In The Stone Character Analysis

In 1958, T.H. White wrote The Once and Future King: a novel in which he retells the famous Arthurian legend. In Book 1, The Sword in the Stone, he incorporates multiple characters who reflect the various aspects of human nature, and what happens to them when faced with the temptation of power. In the novel, T.H. White writes about a young boy demeaningly nicknamed the Wart, and his mentor, Merlyn, who happens to be a wizard. Merlyn turns the Wart into various animals, where he learns through first hand experience in order to prepare him for his inevitable destiny of becoming king. In these adventures, he meets the “King of The Moat,” learns from a gaggle of geese, and is turned into a badger. Each of these metamorphoses perfectly exhibits a different facet of humanity, and the different ways in which humanity might react when given power. The first transformation that the Wart undergoes is into a fish, where he learns of the violent tendencies of human nature. Before the Wart is able to fully adapt to his surroundings, he encounters Mr. P. This “King of the Moat” has irrational philosophies and claims that the “power of the body decides everything in the end” and that through natural selection, “only Might is Right” (White 52). That philosophy, prioritizing might over morals, is similar to the theory of …show more content…
Power is a key concept that can change human nature whether that be for the better, or for the worse. Some elements of human nature and power are perfectly shown with the characters introduced and the adventures taken in The Once and Future King. The evil ways of Mr. P prove dismissive and selfish tendencies, the peaceful ways of the geese prove the compassionate and fair tendencies, and the Wart’s transformation into a beaver proves the power-hungry and capricious tendencies. All of these deportments show the wavering strength of human will in the face of