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The Sword In The Stone: Kay Gets What He Deserves
At the end of The Sword in the Stone, it is true that Kay does receive the
`rough end' of the deal because he, being the son of a noble and a knight,
and the Wart, comparatively nothing but a squire to Kay became the King of
England when Kay thought himself more qualified and better for the
postition. However, throughout the Boy's childhood, Kay maintained the
dominant position in their relationship. I think that it is only fair that
in the end, justice is served and theWart gets to rule over Kay.
When the boys were young, Kay maintained a dominant position over the Wart,
constantly reminding and humiliating him by saying that he "was not a
proper son" and "Kay seemed to regard this as making him inferior in some
way". Because Kay constantly reminded the Wart that he "was not a proper
son" and said that he was inferior, upsetting the Wart, he learned to
simply give in to Kay and always let him get his own way. After this
constant torment and opportunities only available to Kay, I think that it
is only deserving that, in the end, the Wart becomes more powerful and
important than Kay, Sir Ector and the other people who had always `ruled'
him.
I think that the Wart was a better person to Kay and although he may not
have been superior to Kay, he certainly had a better personality and was
kinder than Kay. With Merlyn's `education', the Wart learned not only how
to lead well, but also to be a better person, and Merlyn taught him much
about how to treat other people with respect and to relate better with them.
When the Wart meets Robin Wood and Maid Marion, he learns through Marion
that women are no different to men and should be treated equally. He is
also taught the pointlessness of violence when he requests a joust between
Sir Grummore and King Pellinore. Before the joust, Wart thinks that it is
noble and brave to fight, but after seeing the Grummore-Pellinore joust, he
thinks differently about it. He sees that there is nothing noble or brave
about fighting to the death with a friend or fellow knight.
Although Kay did get the `rough end' of the deal in the end, I think that
he deserved it, after all the things he did to the Wart during their
childhood. He held the dominant position for half of the boys' lives, and
now the Wart holds the same position (in their relationship) for the later
parts of their lives.
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