Why Did Jfk Camelot

The Kennedy’s Camelot

On November 22nd 1963, in an interview with journalist Theodore White, Jacqueline Kennedy ‘invoked the image of Camelot’ (American Camelot). ‘She described her years in the White House as an American Camelot, a period of hope and optimism.’ (American Camelot). Jackie (Guinevere) and her husband John (Arthur) were the epitome of grace, style and vitality. Their romanticized life could often emulate some of the attributes to their Camelot counterparts. It’s not just Jackie and John that are compared to characters of the Camelot, John’s two younger brothers Bobby (Lancelot) and Teddy (Galahad) were often compared to this fantastical world of Camelot.

Galahad (Edward ‘Ted’ Kennedy)

‘Though far from perfect and nowhere near a man of great virtue, Edward M. Kennedy was the knight who ultimately set for himself a quest. Its object was no less momentous than the Holy Grail itself: universal health care.’ (Kennedy’s death) "I sware a vow . . . that I, because I had not seen the Grail, would ride a twelvemonth and a day in quest of it, until I found and saw it"(Idyllis of the King) This was the vow taken by Galahad before he set off on
his quest for the holy grail. Teddy’s drive really reflects this vow. He pushed forward using the gift that was not afforded to his brothers, he got to live out his life. He idolized his brothers, he believed that happiness and the perfect life could be built if you just work hard for it. Out of all the Kennedy’s he was the closest to this ‘perfect living’.

Arthur & Guinevere (Jackie and John Kennedy)

Arthur was seen as ‘the model of human perfection for he possesses all the highest qualities to which any man might aspire.’ (Character List) He was seen as ‘virtuous, pure and a powerful warrior glowing with health’ (Kennedy’s death). The only difference between the two is JFK only looked the part, he suffered from Parkinson’s disease which made it hard to get around. But it is programmed in humans to not let facts like this get in the way of a good story. What is a King without his Queen or John without his Jackie? Jacqueline Kennedy much like Guinevere was considered to have great ‘beauty, womanly strength and royal dignity.’ (Character List)

‘The two

Sware at the shrine of Christ a deathless love.

And Arthur said, ‘Behold, thy doom is mine.

Let chance what will, I love thee to the death!’

To whom the Queen replied with drooping eyes,

‘King and my lord, I love thee to the death!’

(“Coming,” 464-469)

Arthur’s love for Guinevere is so similar to the love that Jackie had for John and him for her.
One thing that makes Jackie different than Guinevere is the fact that Jackie stayed by her husband’s side. The two of them broken with grief from losing their Arthur, pushed on and did good. Jackie hours after the assassination of her beloved husband, still in her blood soaked dress she oversaw the transition of the government to Johnson. She was so strong to do so, she disliked Johnson very much. She did this to show the American people that everything will work out fine and that we have to keep living life. Guinevere became a nun after losing her husband, she chose a life of serving God and doing good after the death of Arthur. They are both strong-willed and passionate women who did what their hearts felt was
right.

CONCLUSION

This is why you’ll hear people talking about the Kennedy’s and the Camelot all in the same sentence. It’s because of their fight for their ‘Holy Grail’, how they overcame their struggles and how they met the end of Camelot in America that we can have the motivation to get to our ‘perfect life’ and ‘happily-ever-after’.