THE ONCE AND FUTURE

KING
BOOK 1
BRANDON GONZALEZ
VIVIAN NGUYEN
TIFFANY NGUYEN
ROBERT NGUYEN
SANDY NGUYEN
THAI NGUYEN
THUC NGUYEN
ELEMENTS OF ROMANTIC LITERATURE
Literary movement that is focused on the philosophical value
of reflection on the beauties of Nature, believed in the
importance of solitude and individualism, and sought strong
emotion as a source of aesthetic experience.

Book one includes the philosophical value of reflection on the
beauties of nature, each of the magical adventures that
Merlyn gives the Wart were designed to impart a carefully
calculated lesson or set of lessons. Each animal reveals to the
Wart a different way of life.
HERO'S JOURNEY AND PROGRESSION
In the beginning of the story, Arthur was presented to the reader as
an adolescent~undeveloped as a man and inexperienced.
Throughout the story Arthur slowly learns about the world from
Merlyn, transforming him into various animals forms in order to
learn more about the world around him.
His journey begins as he picks up the responsibility to retrieve Cully
from the forest, then leading to his meeting with Merlyn which in
turn begins his path to maturity.
Later on in the story Arthur pulls the sword out the stone and can
be seen as a responsible and loyal man with enough understanding
to successfully become a leader.
Arthur is considered a hero because he undergoes a journey filled
with strife and misfortune in order to achieve his life-set goal~he
becomes wiser and in turn leads his people.
WART
- Mostly known as Arthur, or
King Arthur.
- Biological son of Uther
Pendragon
- Took his rightful place as
King when he successfully
pulled the sword out of the
stone
- Mostly tutored by Merlin to
become the next King of
England
MERLYN
Wizard who lives "backwards in time"

Tutor/Friend to Wart

Turns Wart into multiple animals - lessons of life

Serves as a father figure towards Wart
SIR ECTOR
Wart's foster father and Kay's biological father
Kind landowner who is the Lord of the Castle of the Forest
Sauvage
SIR KAY
- Arthur's older adopted brother
- One of the many knights of the Round Table
-Spoiled during his young years
- Kind-hearted deep down
SIR PELLINORE
He is a wholly comical character
The first knight that Arthur meets
His lifelong goal is to hunt the "Questing Beast"
SIR GRUMMORE
A neighbor, good friend, and confident of Sir Ector.

Sir Grummore had died without a heir, and to this politically
chaotic situation, is where you get "The Sword and the
Stone." Sword running through an anvil into a stone, and for
whoever is able to pull it out is the new King.
PIKE
The great pike, or king of the fish in Sir Ector's moat.
He presents a simplistic view of power and the nature of
leadership.
Demonstrates to the Wart the cruelty of individual tyranny
"Power is of the individual mind, but the minds power is
not enough. Power of the body decides everything in the
end, and only Might is Right."
Arthur's experience with the Pike motivates him to change
the style of leadership to be a different type of ruler.
CHARACTER
RELATIONSHIPS
ALLUSIONS
Excalibur, Arthur's sword signifies that he was the true king,
leader, and that he will be the one lead them to victory in
their fight. Also, this sword was given to Arthur by the Lady
of the Lake in most versions of the legends whether she is
portrayed as a high priestess of Avalon or an ancient Welsh
goddess of water.

Wart is a nickname for Art, which in turn is short for a longer
name, most likely Arthur.
ANACHRONISM
Anachronisms are the misplacing of any person, thing,
custom, event, or idea outside its proper historical
time. Examples:
1. "In the smoky vaults, where once the grubby barons had
gnawed their bones with bloody fingers, now there were
people eating with clean fingers, which they had washed with
herb-scented toilet soap out of wooden bowls." ~ Dark Ages
(approx. 1200) - Soap didn't exist until modern ages.
2. "Castor and Pollux blow me to Bermuda!" ~ Dark Ages
(approx. 1200) - Bermuda was not discovered until 1500s
3. References to port wine(1756), Bunsen burner(1850s),
encyclopedia Britannica(1768), and a psychologist.
ARCHETYPE
Archetypes are very typical examples of certain people or
things
An example of an archetype in book 1 in The Once and
Future King would be, innate wisdom vs. educated stupidity
Kay and Wart are a perfect example because although Kay
is technically the leader, Wart is more suited to be a leader
instead. With Kay's illogicality, he loses to Wart's smart
sense.
PARODY
In the first book T.H.White makes fun of:
The government - the author pokes fun at the government
when Merlyn turns Wart into an ant and when the Wart
was observing the ant colony and how they function, the
ants suddenly broke out fighting for no reason.
Knights - T.H.White makes fun of knights in the scene
where Sir Pellinore is jousting with another knight
GOVERNMEN
T
Monarchy
(Pike)
Communism
(Ants)
Military society
(Hawks)
Democracy (Geese)
SIGNIFICANT QUOTES
"Power is of the individual mind, but the minds power is not
enough. Power of the body decides everything in the end, and only
Might is Right." (52)
If I were to be a knights, I should pray to God to let me encounter all
the evil in the world in my own person, so that if I conquered there
would be none left, and, if I were defeated, I would be the one to
suffer for it. (181)

"Love is a trick played on us by the forces of evolution." (52)

"Power is of the individual mind, but mind's power is not enough.
Power of the body decides everything in the end, and only Might
and Right."(52)

"Who so Pulleth Out This Sword of this Stone and Anvil, is
Rightwise King Born of England."(197)
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
Here is the stone, and you have the sword....You are my son that I
am proud of, and always will be, whatever you do. Will you promise
me that you took it out by your own might?"(206)

I feel strange when I have hold of this sword, and I notice
everything much more clearly." (203)
You see, we have a tutor who is a magician and I thought he might
be able to restore him to his wits. (115)

God save King Pendragon, May his reign long dra on, God save the
king, Send him most gorious, Great and uproarious, Horrible and
Hoarious, God save our king."(141)

EVERYTHING NOT FORBIDDEN IS COMPULSORY."(121)
SOCIAL ASPECTS
T.H. White experienced a difficult phase of drinking and
confusion about his sexuality, affecting how relationships
between characters were portrayed.
Lived a solitary life, having only a few friends due to
academic and literary relations.
Kept many pets to keep him company which may have
affected how he portrayed his image of human cruelty, war,
and Merlyn's lessons to Arthur.
POLITICAL ASPECTS
T.H. White was a scholar and studied about Arthurian
legends, analyzing Thomas Malory's Arthurian story, writing
his own story with his unique twist to it.
The government in the 1900s was a democracy, but before
this was the knowledge of how well the previous
governments worked. Teaching Arthur what each's pros and
cons were developed Arthur's personality over time.
PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECTS
Violence/aggression is not the answer to life's trials

It doesn't matter what government is in place, but the leader
who guides this government.

"A goose can see boundaries beyond land." A man's worth is
not only based on how much land he owns.

Determination to do what is right (Might vs. Right)


SYMBOLS:
ANIMALS
SYMBOLS: CAMELOT
- Represented by Arthur and
his glory and fame.
- Incorporates similar
personalities of this castle
with personalities of Arthur.
- A powerful symbol of
Arthur's court and universe

SYMBOLS:
MIGHT VS.
RIGHT
Chapter 5 - Pike: "Power is the most important thing"
Chapter 13 - Ants: "Can overpower = must overpower"
Chapter 18 - Lyo-Lyok: "Overpower < teamwork"
Chapter 21 - Badger: "Human bullies"
Chapter 23 - Arthur: "Force < knowledge"
SYMBOLS: QUESTS
- Represents the
relationships to the society
people
- Usually knights go on these
types of adventures to prove
their capabilities
- The Questing Beast
represents how meaningless
the quests are.
SYMBOLS: ROUND TABLE
After Arthur's epiphany about
might vs. right, he creates the
round table to represent his
manifestation of his sense of
justice and fairness
Vital part of Arthurs attempts
to represent Justice
To prevent the struggle of power
within his country
Main focus to unify his knights
Symbolize his belief that Might
is not always Right!
SYMBOLS: SOCIAL STATUS
In Roman Republican society, the knights were a social class
of the middle order, and they were called equites. The equites
were sort of middle class, and they used to serve in the army
as cavalrymen, since they could afford to maintain horses
and armors.
SYMBOLS: SWORDS
Signifies the desire for POWER
Represents the "Rightwise King
Born of all England"
Reflects the success of the trials
that the Wart has faced
Indicates Arthur's progression of
becoming king of England but
also the changes for his country as
well.


RELATIONSHIP TO SOCIETY
Merlyn - knowing what has happened instead of what is
going to happen

Governments in society today

No "perfect government" - Attempts to shape into Arthur



PORTRAYALS IN MEDIA
- Disney Vs. Novel

- X-Men Comics - Merlyn in both DC and Marvel comics

- DC - "Green Arrow"
- Marvel - Resembles actual Merlyn in Arthurian Legend

- Lev Grossman's The Magicians
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
WORKS CITED
"Character Map." CliffsNotes. Online. 17 January 2011.
<http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/The-Once-and-Future-
King-Character-Map.id-105,pageNum-20.html>
"Topic Tracking: Might Makes Right." BookRags. Online. 17 January 2011.
<http://www.bookrags.com/notes/ofk/TOP4.html>
"The Once and Future King." SparkNotes. SparkNotes LLC. 2002.
Web. 17 Jan. 2012.<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/futureking/>
"Summary & Analysis." SparkNotes. Online. 17 January 2011.
<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/futureking/section1.rhtml>

"The Once and Future King by T.H. White" Internet Doorway's Member Web
Server. Web. 18 Jan 2011.
<http://www2.netdoor.com/~moulder/thwhite/toafk_a.html>