The Once and Future King - The Sword and The Stone
In The Sword and the Stone (Book I of The Once and Future King) by T.H. White the main character, Wart, is on a quest to find a tutor. One day when Wart is attempting to find his brother Kay's hawk he meets what seems to be a ghost of an old knight on a white horse. He has a short conversation with the knight and he then gallops away. Arthur unsuccessful in finding the hawk and realizes that he is lost, decides to rest until morning. When he wakes up, he stumbles upon a small house. Inside Wart finds an old man who reveals himself as Merlyn. There were pots that cleaned themselves, a talking owl, and all sorts of magical items. Wart explained his story to Merlyn and he offered to take him back to his castle. The Wart is surprised that this man he just met would take him all the way home, and to add on to his shock Merlyn unveils that he will become his tutor. Sir Ector's castle is located in the midst of a wild English forest called the Forest Sauvage. On a hot summer day in August, a month after Merlyn's arrival, the Wart meets his new tutor for his first lesson. They stand on a bridge above the ca
The episode of the next animal that the Wart is transformed into also teaches him a great lesson. The Wart asks Merlyn to transform him into an Ant. He agrees and Wart finds himself on the outskirts of one of the ant colonies that Merlyn keeps between glass plates. A sign above the entrance reads, "EVERYTHING NOT FORBIDDEN IS COMPULSORY." In his head he can hear repetitive broadcasts giving directions. He comes across two dead ants and a third who is arranging them. Because the Wart is doing nothing, the living ant thinks he is insane and reports him to the central command. Thinking quickly, the Wart says he has merely hit his head and he is to join a work group. Soon after, a report comes from the central command about foreign ants, from another Merlyn's colonies, that have appeared near the colony. Just as the two colonies are about to go to war, Merlyn returns the Wart to human form. The ants' society is totally communal; each ant is treated as a replaceable cog in the machine of the colony. Although the Wart can barely stand the uniformity, anonymity, and powerlessness demanded of individual ants,
Some common words found in the essay are:
FORBIDDEN COMPULSORY, Forest Sauvage, TH White, Inside Wart, Moat Wart, Wart Merlyn, King Moat, Sir Ector's, king moat, moat wart, wart meets, central command, King Arthur, wart learned,
Approximate Word count = 753
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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