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@dmcluckey i feel like Arthur’s decisions were based more off of what his tutor (Merlyn) taught him rather than Kay, but when they did I felt like they were a little more harsh and unforgiving and selfish, like Kay himself.
@sarahjwilcox I highly doubt Mordred would bond with his brothers one because that is a pretty huge age gap and two they come from different father’s meaning Mordred is half English and not full Gaelic like the four other brothers.
Kay and Arthur have a pretty average or normal relationship in which they have their good times and their difficulties. Kay and Arthur did things that brought them close together and there were things that conflicted them to fight. The two men were both the sons of Sir Ector but had different personalities. Arthur was kind and did what he had to do when Kay was selfish and got jealous easily. An example is when Kay forgot his sword at the inn and Arthur went to go get it but instead he pulled the sword out of the stone. But the one who pulled the sword out of the stone would be king. Kay was given the sword and was taking the credit to be announced king but Kay confessed that Arthur pulled the sword and became king. This shows that the two brothers care for each other and help each other out. T.H. White jumps back and forth between England and Orkney because he wants to show the differences of the war from what Kay, Arthur, and four brothers views of it. At the end of Book II the two kingdoms come together when Arthur and Morgause, not knows they are related, have a child named Mordred. What do you think would have changed if Arthur and Morgause never met? What would be affect the most?
@alleydimel I think the brothers will stay close together for awhile but I think that at some point they will branch off and go separate ways
@taylornicholas13 I think they all wanted attention so people would praise them and so people can look up to them
Even though Kay was Sir Ector’s biological son and Arthur was adopted, they still shared a brotherly bond. They shared an amazing adventure in which they helped save prisoners and defeated Morgan le Fay, but there were always times where they would still fight and quarrel, but even those times were dismissed and they generally became better friends. For example, when Kay accuses Arthur of violating curfew, the two break out into a fight, and Kay gets a bloody nose, while Arthur receives a black eye. In the end, Kay just complains that Merlin has not given him any adventures that Arthur has gone on, like turning him into an animal. Even Arthur admits that “their battle had made them friends again…” (White 93). In comparison, Gawaine, Agravaine, Gareth, and Gaheris also have a solid, but more aggressive bond. For instance, the Orkney brothers went out to the forest to try and catch a unicorn for their mother. They agree that they would rather catch the beast than kill it, but only if the unicorn was tame and showed no harm. Ignoring the previous dedication, Agravaine still ran out and stabbed the beast until it was dead. The Orkney brothers still stick around with each other because their father is the King of Orkney and he is almost never around. But the brothers are often very violent and aggressive, even with each other. In Chapter IX of Book II, Gawaine and Agravaine get into a fight in which they almost kill one another. The two sets of relationships both have their similarities and differences. Their education was most likely similar, because Kay and Arthur had Merlyn as their tutor, who was a magic user, and the Orkney brothers had their mother, who was also a magic user. T. H. White switches off between England’s side of the story and Orkney’s side of the story in book II, to give us variety and to show us the different point of views and the parallels between the two families. In the end, the two unite because King Arthur of England and Queen Morgause of Orkney have a baby boy named Mordred. If Arthur was told earlier by Merlyn that he was the son of Uther Pendragon, then do you think that Arthur’s childhood would drastically change?
@sarahjwilcox I think that Mordred will never get along with his other brothers because they are only half-brothers and the age difference is so far apart.
@kl1214 I believe that Kay and Arthur definitely have a stronger bond than the Orkney brothers. Even though Kay and Arthur had their moments when they fought, they still found a way to become friends again. The Orkney brothers quarreled and fought, and at one point Gawaine almost killed Agravaine.
Arthur and Kay, Ector’s sons, are like real brothers. Kay sometimes treats Arthur lower than himself, but aside from a few quarrels here and there they are friendly and caring to each other. Gawaine, Agravaine, Gaheris, and Gareth are incredibly close knit, and they are primarily led by their older brother Gawaine, but the four boys are not well behaved like Arthur and Kay are. Gawaine tries his best to be good, but at the same time he encourages violence with the younger brothers. Often when the boys have an idea with good intention it goes wrong, like when the boys try to get a unicorn for their mother. Attempting to do a good kind deed, and agreeing to not kill the unicorn Agravaine decides to go against the other brothers will and stabs the unicorn and killing it. This leaves all the boys shocked and Gawaine greatly disturbed by what has taken place. While Arthur and Kay go out to go hawking together, and although Arthur does not agree that it’s a good idea he goes along with Kay obediently. Arthur and Kay learn together and go through kindness and love with each other, whilst Gawaine, Agravaine, Gaheris, and Gareth are connected by their mother and violence. T.H. White had the book switch between England and Orkney to show the relationship and lives between the sets of boys. Their contrasts and comparisons show through this style much better than any other method of story tell would. This gives you a fair, in your face, side by side comparison of the boys. At the end of book two the kingdoms come together by Gawaine, Agravaine, Gaheris, Gareth, and Morgause going to England, and Morgause and Arthur’s child Mordred. Does the story go to fast over the Orkney brothers’ trip to England? Are the violence vs kindness themes between the brothers to show a type of foil character set up?
@sarahjwilcox Since so many people have mentioned age, I think the Orkney brothers will not get along with Mordred because Mordred is a Pendragon. The Orkney brother’s hate the Pendragon’s for killing their grandfather and want Arthur dead in the first place, so Mordred would probably be extremely bullied or maybe even killed by the Orkney boys.
@kylethorin I think if Merlyn had told Arthur he was the son of Uther Pendragon that Kay would have probably pushed him away as a brother, and that Arthur would have been much more conceited in the way he acted.
In the Once and Future King, Arthur and Kay had a relationship that was very unique. Arthur was adopted by Sir Ector, while Kay was Ector’s biological son. The pair played, talked, acted, and argued like brothers. For instance, Arthur and Kay fight and hurt each other, because of Arthur’s refusal to say what happened the night before. Although they were destined for different fates, Kay and Arthur loved each other nonetheless. Kay knew he was destined to be of higher class than Arthur, but Kay seemed to be very involuntarily forced to be this way. I believe this was mainly due to their relationship remaining relatively equal up to this point. Agravaine, Gawaine, Gaheris, and Gareth, are brothers who’s mother binds them together. For example, the brothers go and try to find a unicorn to please their mother. Although they are brothers that love each other, Gawaine and Agravaine instigate a deadly argument. As a result, Gawaine almost kills Agravaine. These brothers could never love each other as Arthur and Kay did. T.H. White organized the book to go back and forth from England and Orkeny to build up the tension that inevitably bursts later in this novel. The two kingdoms come together after Arthur defeats the Orkney and performs incest with his half-sister.
How do you think King Arthur will meet his ultimate downfall? Will Morgause ever be punished for her deceit?
@kylethorin I believe Arthur’s relationship with Kay would drastically change, because then Arthur will know that he is destined to be a ruler over Kay.
@kantakato1 I believe that Arthur would have had a prosperous and fruitful reign, because Morgause was the reason for his downfall.
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