Book 4

Book 4 - The Candle in the Wind

Okay, first off, I was a little disappointed with the ending. I think I was imagining something a little more dramatic, climatic. The fact that I never saw Mordred and Arthur fight kind of put me out. I mean, I already knew he was going to die anyway, but a little personal action going on to would have been nice. Did T.H. White leave out the final battle on purpose?

I also noticed the page at the end, the one that Arthur spoke to carry on his legend. His name was Tom (Thomas) of Newbold Revell, which I later figured out after a bit of research, was a cameo of Thomas Malory, the author who wrote L'Morte de Arthur. I thought that was a nice trick of T.H. White to sneak in there.

I thought Mordred was a little...weird. I mean, even if I was really angry or rebellious, I wouldn't go marry my step-dad just to spite my mom. That would be weird. Especially when Guenevere was old enough to be his grandmother (or looked it). I think what really brought about the downfall was possibly the death of the Orkney Brother's (and Mordred's) mother. After that, Mordred was ready to bring Camelot down. Although, I don't blame him for being resentful towards his father after he tried to kill him as a baby (but then again, Arthur was only nineteen - Morgause had taken advantage of him). He reminds me of some other classic bad guys I've read about, the kind that are sneaky and clever, and trap people instead of killing them outright. Like how he forced Arthur into prosecuting Guenevere and Lancelot. Arthur didn't want to do it, but he had no choice, and after all, their love was against the law. He supposed it was for justice, but he knew he didn't feel justified. Why would you want to kill your wife and best friend just for the sake of the law? I think its a battle between morals and the law. Just because its the law doesn't mean its right.

I was upset that the Orkney brothers had turned against Arthur. Really, it was Mordred's doing. He convinced them that every thing that was going wrong was Arthur's fault, because he didn't want to face the facts. I felt espescially bad that Gareth died (he was my favorite character) and his brother, Gaheris. It made me want to hate Mordred even more, but looking back on it, Mordred had a pretty twisted childhood, too. First, attempted murder on him as a baby, then raised to hate his well-meaning, yet a little naive father, then going furthur into hatred as his mother is killed. I think all that anger, hatred, and resentment really did something to him, as in the end he had pretty much gone insane.

Guenevere and Lancelot...I feel pretty bad for them, although I think they knew they saw this coming. I mean, Arthur warned them, after all. I'm still wondering what would have happened if Guenevere was executed and Lancelot never came. Gareth and Gaheris would still be alive, that's for sure. Could it have possibly halted the rising rebellion Mordred was forming? Even for a little while, for Arthur to have a chance to understand what was going on behind his back. I think Mordred was banking on the fact that Lancelot would rescue Guenevere and possibly kill his brothers. Plus, if Guenevere had died, she would have never been asked to be married by Mordred, escape to a castle in London that was now getting attacked by Mordred, Arthur wouldn't have made his way back to protect her, and Gawaine wouldn't have killed himself trying to go with him to help. Basically, because of their love, everything happened, one right after the other, like dominos falling onto each other. I think that's why there was a book soley on Lancelot's life and love for Guenevere, just to toss you a huge hint at what may happen next. I have to say, I think their love was a lot more tragic (and real) than Romeo and Juliet's.

But in the end, I think I found the conclusion, although anti-climatic, still hopeful. Arthur had Tom carry on his legend, so he could bring back the Knights of the Round Table once more, and restore peace and prosperity (hence, The Once and Future King). I liked the metaphor of blocking the flame of the candle (which represented Arthur's ideas and such) with a shield from the wind. Did T.H, White leave out the final battle because he wanted the reader's to remain hopeful? Did he think he was trying to tell us something when he was writing down Arthur passing on his legend to Tom? Did he mean for the generations to come to return peace and prosperity (after all, it was during WWII, and peace and prosperity was pretty hard to find) and end the feud between the Galls and Gaels (like the war between the Axis and the Allies). Maybe he was trying to say that the young people of the generation during WWII could somehow bring an end to the horrible war with, perhaps, a new idea, like the Round Table?

Book 3

Book 3 - The Ill-Made Knight

This story was basically how Lancelot became the greatest knight of the Round Table and how he always dreamed of performing a miracle worthy of God, and mostly about his affair with Guenevere and the Elaine problem.

I think T.H. White made Lancelot ugly because, while in other versions he was handsome, it almost made him too perfect. And from reading the book, when you are absolutely perfect, you disappear. So that probably wouldn't have made sense for Lancelot to look as good as his nature. After all, its not what matters on the outside, but what's on the inside.

I'm not really sure WHY Lancelot and Guenevere came together to form the affair - he never even liked her at first - but it seemed like he was sorry he was being cruel to her after seeing her pain and wanted to make it up to her. I guess this must be his guilt complex or something, but it seemed to make him a very strong and well-respected knight.

Lancelot's relationship with Guenevere is very complicated. He wants to be Arthur's best knight, but he also likes Guenevere - a lot. And when you're part of the Round Table, that combination isn't allowed to happen, and I think this is a cruel twist on Lancelot's internal conflict, where he wants to achieve perfection, to follow God and be truly pure, the affair with Guenevere and the unintended betrayel of Arthur. His affection is split between the two (for a few pages I thought he might've been gay - but apparently that's not the case) and he struggles with it in the attempt to become and remain pure of heart and soul.

I think Arthur ignored the affair because he didn't want to cause up trouble. I figured by now he's a bit of a peace activist, maybe even a pacifist, and bringing the affair into publicity would just cause too much trouble and he probably figured the world was better off not involved. I mean, he wants to achieve peace throughout England, and killing his best knight and queen for treason isn't going to cut it.

The Orkney brothers are pretty much beside themselves throughout the book. Agravaine is quite brutal, yet still fears pain inflicted on himself, Gareth is still trying to do his best, Gawaine tries to be a good knight despite his hot temper, and Gaheris is kind of an idiot and still doing what everyone else is doing. They seem a little resentful by the fact that England won over the Gaels, but they're not partcularily malicious. I think they were overreacting (or, at least, Agravaine was) when King Pellinore accidentally killed their father. It made me realize what a tough-luck kind of guy Pellinore was.

I think the business with Elaine was more of an accident than anything. She said so herself, although I think the King was conspiring for them to have a baby and marry anyway, since the butler was trying to get him drunk enough to not think straight and actually believe Guenevere was in the tower. I thought Elaine was a bit of a scapegoat, since Lancelot was venting his irritation on her. I mean, she was only eighteen, and didn't seem very clever or devious enough to think of a plan like this herself. I finally figured out the difference between Galahad and Lancelot, and realized that Galahad had achieved what Lancelot had always wanted, but was foiled by his affair with Guenevere and the event with Elaine. I was sort of sad when she died, always hoping for him to return to, and I thought, although she was loyal to him, it seemed a little pathetic. If all she had to go on was a couple of words, I thought she should've gotten a better lifestyle, instead of living day after day, hoping each morning that today might be the day he'd return and get disappointed each time for over twenty-five years. Then she had to lose her only child when he finally found the Holy Grail and was blessed with an early ticket to Heaven.

Books 1&2

Book 2 - The Queen of Air and Darkness

When I was reading this book, I noticed that it was mostly about Arthur preparing for the battle with the Gaels and coming up the idea for Knights of the Round Table. I think he meant to use that as a group of honorable knights joined together to defend the undefended, and to make a code of chivalry, so they wouldn't fight others just because they're stronger. I noticed Merlin mention Hitler in the story as he was arguing with Sir Kay about reasons why wars are fought, and how Hitler, instead of offering the new ideas of how to make the country (or world) better, he imposed forcefully on them.

I didn't think Morguase had much of a maternal relationship with her sons. It didn't seem like she cared much about them, though she seemed touched when Gareth gave her the heather as an apology. I think she should have been proud of her sons for catching a unicorn (though it was rather disgusting; I don't think any mother would want to clean up that mess), not jealous because she couldn't catch one. She seems pretty jealous, too, how she always admires her reflection whenever she got the chance and how she eventually have a baby with Arthur. I don't know why, but I think she was using him. I knew by the time I was half-way through the book that the title was named after her, although she didn't really seem to hold much for the "Air and Darkness" part. She wasn't much of a witch, since she didn't take it seriously, like her sister Morgan le Fay did.

I thought the Spancel was kind of weird and gross. I knew Morguase had magic in her blood, but the book clearly said she wasn't serious about it. I wonder why she wanted Arthur to fall in love with her? Did she know that their son, Mordred, would kill Arthur eventually? But it seemed like Arthur woke up in the middle of the ceremony, although apparently he didn't, since he lived on after a year.

King Pellinore is, what I think, the comedian of the story, along with his friends, Sir Grummond and Sir Pelomides. What I wonder is where the magic boat came from, and why the three knights seemed to trust it so easily, despite the fact that a knight "never backs down from an adventure" or something like that. I thought it was funny how the Questing Beast fell in love with the hoax Sir Grummond and Pelomides created. It kind of seemed right that she would never get caught, no matter who was chasing her.

To me, Arthur sounds a little bit of an idiot, although less so than he was in the first book. I think he didn't have a very impressive childhood, and therefore didn't get much character building to make him a little smarter and less naive. I think he's more intelligent when he actually thinks about things, instead of just living in the moment and doing things on a whim.

The Orkney brothers are individuals, and you can almost see what sort of knights they would grow up to be.

• Gawaine, the oldest at 14, is noble and proud and brave, like a traditional knight, and seems to have a big influence on everyone else in what they do. He's a bit of a leader, and I think he tries to do what's right, but sometimes makes mistakes. He constantly argues with Agraivaine.
• Agravaine, 13, is the agressive one, always fighting and quite cruel. But he's a wimp and a coward. He doesn't like being hurt himself, although doesn't mind inflicting pain on others, like the unicorn. He's an idiot, and does things without thinking, such as when the other three brothers had firmly decided they were going to keep the unicorn alive and tame it, he jumped out and killed it anyway. He's kind of like the bad apple of the Orkney brothers. His name kind of sounds like "agravate."
• Gaheris, 12(?), is the pushover of the brothers. He goes along with what everyone else decides and stupid in a naive sort of way. He goes with the flow and tends to be a follower, and does what his brothers do. I'm not very sure he knows how to think for himself.
• Gareth, 10-11, he seems to be the kindest and noblest of the four, as well as the youngest. He gets into fights with Agravaine because of his cruelty and tries to make things fair for everyone. He knows how to think for himself and stand up to others. I think he wants to do whats best for everyone, and seems to be the best would-be knight of them all.

Apparently, from the stories they listened to from the Saint, they understood that magic was bad, and I think that contrasted with the fact that their mother had magic in her blood and was testing out some dark stuff.

At the end, I wasn't sure about the importance of Arthur knowing his mother's name. Would it have stopped him from having the baby with his hald-sister? Would it make him think more about his father and his character and what that makes him? He saw the Orkney brothers behind Morgause when he woke up seeing her with the Spancel in her hand. Did that mean they were in on the whole gig? Or did they even know what their mother was doing or was going to do?

Book 1 - The Sword in the Stone (June 6th)

I've seen the Disney version of this book and I thought it was pretty funny and true to the book. They even had the walking suger cup. I was pleased to know that the owl really could talk in the book and that his name really was Archimedes.

I never knew that Merlin's life traveled backwards. I thought about it for a little while, and it didn't seem to make sense. You can obviously tell he once lived in the 1940's (not surprsingly, that was the era in which this book was written), but the way the story goes, the timeline doesn't flow right. If he lived backwards, then how could he have stayed with Arthur for six years? Once he moved on, did he go to a time that was even before Arthur? Did he start teaching Arthur before he carried him as a baby to Sir Ector? Did he go further in the past when he was away from his teaching duties?

I knew from the movie that Arthur turned into an animal several times, though not all of them were seen on film. My favorite was the fish in the book, since he learned something important about being a king (although he didn't know he was even going to be a king - or a Knight - at the time), and how it was revelant to how he would rule England.

In the movie, Sir Ector and Kay were viewed as unpleasant and cynical in the story, although they were viewed a little more friendlier in the book (I still don't like Kay though). Kay seemed a little proud and slightly stupid during the book. He seemed to care more about jousting and knighthood than actually getting smarter with a good education. I think Kay was a bad influence on Arthur, since Arthur wanted to be just like him, even though Kay treated him with less respect than he gave himself. The Wart knew he couldn't be a Knight and Kay was always the one to remind him of it, just to rub it in. It annoyed me when he claimed that he had pulled the Sword out of the Stone, but I felt better when he fessed up.

Sir Ector was more jolly in the book than in the movie, and I liked him better on paper. He didn't doubt Merlin's power and wasn't very suspicious of him using Black Magic. He was lighthearted and kind, and seemed fond of Arthur, and cared for him like a real son, unlike in the movie, where Wart was used more of a servant than anything else.

I liked Robin Wood in this book, and I was surprised that T.H. White would come up with the name mixup, so instead of 'Hood' it would be 'Wood,' although Robin Hood has a better ring to it.I never imagined little John as a giant, or the fact that the author would make a literal version of Hansel and Gretel's Candy House from the fairy tale. It sounded pretty gross to me.

The ants in one of Arthur's transformations irritated me. It was like they had no life, yet were convinced they were the good guys and the other ants were the bad guys, and found that they had a right to steal from the bad guys because, of course, they were good. I think it taught Arthur about the kingdom he didn't want to create once he became King, even though he didn't know he was the heir until later.

I liked Merlin's explanation of how bird's mimick their prey's sounds. It almost made sense, although I'm not entirely convinced its true. I thought it was funny how he and Archimedes got into an arguement about the sounds birds make. I don't think the author mentioned what the nightingale got its call from, though.

I thought it was sad although funny how Kind Pellinore was searching for the Questing Beast. He had this proud feeling of duty that he had to find her (although I can't remember why), and how he started jousting with Sir Grummond just for the fun of it. He was noble and kind, too, for caring for the Questing Beast, just to help it get better again so he can return to his hopeless but somehow amusing chase with her again.

I think Arthur cried when he learned he was the King (even though it made me think he was a weenie for doing so), was because he was overwhelmed by the whole idea of leading an entire country. I think, personally, I might cry to if I discovered I was the long-lost leader of some distant country and suddenly I had an predestined obligation to rule it. I think I would've rather just stayed at home and carried on with my life than become royalty and change to a lifestyle and culture that's completely different from my own. I liked it when the animals he met during his transformation lessons sent him gifts when they discovered he was king. I was surprised they even believed he was an actual human instead of the same species as they were.

Honors 10 Summer Reading

The Once and Future King

• Book 1 - July 6th
• Book 2 - July 20th
• Book 3 - August 8th
• Book 4 - August 17th

Macbeth - Last week of September