The Once and Future King

In the novel, The One and Future King by T.H. White, King Arthur sends all of his knights on a rigorous journey in search of the Holy Grail. Of all the knights that set out on this quest only about half of them return, and only four of the knights are able to actually see the Grail. These four knights that are allowed to see the Grail are Sir Lancelot, Sir Percivale, Sir Bors, and Sir Galahad, with Sir Lancelot not actually being part of the actual finding of the Grail. Although these three knights may not have been King Arthur’s greatest knights, what sets them apart from all other knights that had failed before them was, their purity and their ability to live their lives close to God. By allowing these three knights to find the Grail, White shows a sort of compassion for these three knights in the novel, and shows us that these knights may not have appeared as normal it was only because they were so close to God that it was impossible for them to behave normally.
Of the three knights that found the grail themselves, the one who appeared as the closest to god and the leader of the group was Galahad. Galahad’s life was rough due to the fact that even though he had done nothing wrong he was always perceived as someone who was stuck-up and arrogant, when in reality he was only so close to god that he appears this way. It is as Lancelot says on page 461 when he is comparing Galahad to the Archangel Michael, “Do you think if the Archangel Michael were to come here this minute, he would say: ‘What charming weather we are having today! Won’t you have a glass of whisky?’ ” This quote is important in the fact that not only is it comparing Sir Galahad to the Archangel Michael, but also it shows a connection between Lancelot’s feelings toward Galahad and T.H. White’s feelings towards him. White’s development of the characterization of Galahad leads to a deep connection and understanding in the novel of how Galahad’s holiness causes him to be perceived as abnormal. Another...