Once and future king expanded my mind
Expanding my Mind
The romance novel, "The Once and Future King", contains several major humanistic themes. Its central theme throughout the entire book is Arthur's exploration of human nature regarding power and justice, as he tries to suppress the widespread "might is right" attitude. Through the transformations Merlyn provided Wart, I was able to develop my own attitude toward the subject of war.
The antiwar theme became most prevalent in the chapters where Merlyn morphs Wart into different species. Each of the spiritual adventures that Merlyn gives Wart intends to teach him a specific lesson. The first transformation that Wart makes is into a fish. As he explores the underwater kingdom, he meets Mr. P, who tells him "only might is right" (52). Mr.P is the epitome of absolute power and his portrait of power is rather unintelligent. The despotic perch lunges toward Wart in an attempt to eat him. In the battle between brains and brawn, however, Wart learns that intellect can conquer even the most robust creature. The next animal that Wart morphs into is a merlin. During his time in the Mews, Wart is interrogated and hazed by the senior birds. Throughout this journey, the author criticizes knighthood and modern military by depicting their rituals as a brutal test. Thus, showing his resentment toward the subject. Next, Wart is changed into the most significant figure: an ant. In this chapter, he learns about what life would be like in a war. The ant farm is a totalitarian regime; who live monotonously working for the queen. The ants are an allegory for nazism. They believe that war is required; "EVERYTHING NOT FORBIDDEN IS COMPULSORY" (121). In his next adventure Wart is converted into the opposite of what the ants represent. When Wart is a goose he finds that geese think for themselves, because their government is accepting. All of the geese are benefitting from the individuality. The author makes it quite obvious that this is his ideal representation of a
The romance novel, "The Once and Future King", contains several major humanistic themes. Its central theme throughout the entire book is Arthur's exploration of human nature regarding power and justice, as he tries to suppress the widespread "might is right" attitude. Through the transformations Merlyn provided Wart, I was able to develop my own attitude toward the subject of war.
The antiwar theme became most prevalent in the chapters where Merlyn morphs Wart into different species. Each of the spiritual adventures that Merlyn gives Wart intends to teach him a specific lesson. The first transformation that Wart makes is into a fish. As he explores the underwater kingdom, he meets Mr. P, who tells him "only might is right" (52). Mr.P is the epitome of absolute power and his portrait of power is rather unintelligent. The despotic perch lunges toward Wart in an attempt to eat him. In the battle between brains and brawn, however, Wart learns that intellect can conquer even the most robust creature. The next animal that Wart morphs into is a merlin. During his time in the Mews, Wart is interrogated and hazed by the senior birds. Throughout this journey, the author criticizes knighthood and modern military by depicting their rituals as a brutal test. Thus, showing his resentment toward the subject. Next, Wart is changed into the most significant figure: an ant. In this chapter, he learns about what life would be like in a war. The ant farm is a totalitarian regime; who live monotonously working for the queen. The ants are an allegory for nazism. They believe that war is required; "EVERYTHING NOT FORBIDDEN IS COMPULSORY" (121). In his next adventure Wart is converted into the opposite of what the ants represent. When Wart is a goose he finds that geese think for themselves, because their government is accepting. All of the geese are benefitting from the individuality. The author makes it quite obvious that this is his ideal representation of a