In the fourth book of the Once and future king, it starts out with Agravaine and Mordred plotting to tell Arthur about Lancelot and Gueneveres affair. Arthur however already knows this, but with the new laws he would be forced to execute them. Gawaine another Orkney tries to stop them. Arthur finally confesses that Mordred is his son. He also tells Lancelot and Guenevere that he knows about there affair and wont punish them. When Arthur goes away, Agravaine and Mordred go through with there plan. They catch Lancelot in Guenevere's room and Lancelot kills Agravaine but lets Mordred go. Him being a witness causes trouble and gets everyone sentenced to death. Lancelot rescues Guenevere from being burned for adultery but kills two of the Orkney boys. Lancelot goes to France, and Arthur and Gawaine go and put his castle under siege. In his absence Mordred takes over the castle. When Arthur and Gawaine find out they return to the kingdom and fight Mordred. Arthur wants justice and peace, remembering his childhood lessons with Merlyn.
I didn't like Arthurs reaction to Lancelot and Guenevere's affair. Just like in the last book I think he should have done something about it. Although I'm glad they weren't executed. He could have executed them, or he could have just left Guenevere which I think would have been the best decision. Lancelot seemed faithful to Arthur to me until the battle in London. Then when he returned to Arthur to fight with him I realized that he was faithful still after all. Gawaine has changed as a character. He is probably my favorite out of everyone in this book. He was once the same as the others, but he has progressed and became faithful to Arthur. The other Orkney boys stayed the same and came to there end. Mordred is an awful character. He has a right to hate Arthur, but he should have forgave him for his childhood, not try to bring down his kingdom. I really enjoyed this book and I liked how the book finished. It was confusing to me though. It says that Arthur went into final battle, but I don't know if he won against Mordred or not. In Le Morte d'Arthur, Arthur dies. It's not the same in this book. I don't know why he chose to end it this way, I think it would have been better if he told who lived or died. He could have done it to keep the readers guessing, or because he didn't want to have a sad ending.
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2 comments:
Why do you think White chose to end the book the way he did, rather than revealing Arthur's death in battle? I agree with you about Arthur's reaction to the affair, but what other choice could he have made?
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