The White Knight - Eric Nicol

The White Knight – Eric Nicol

Genre: Allegory

Point of view: The story is narrated in Third Person.

Setting: The story is based on the concept of the medieval role of the knights and takes place in the forest of life.

Character Analysis

Protagonist: White knight: The white knight in the story represents good, a Champion of virtue, honor, and justice. In addition, symbolizes ignorance. 

Antagonist: Black knight (Who isn’t present physically): Black knight represents evil.

Knight of Gleaming Whiteness: Same as the white knight

Conflict

Internal:

i.                    Man Vs Self: White knight Vs Himself

External:

i.                    Man vs. Man: White knight vs. knight of gleaming whiteness

ii.                  Man vs. Nature: White knight Vs. Nature: In pursuit of the black knight he spends all   his gold and is compelled to steal and keep himself healthy

iii.                Man vs. Society: White Knight vs. Society: The society’s stereotypical notions of good and evil conflict with white knights' appearance.

Theme

The story teaches and makes us ponder on ‘self-awareness’, whether actions are more important than appearance. The white knight by appearance represents the champion of virtue, honor, and justice in society and he goes in search of the black knight to slay it since that is what the white knight is expected to do. However, in the process, the white knight without realizing commits the deeds of a black knight turning himself into the black knight.

The story teaches us that appearance does not matter. It is self-awareness and good actions that make one a true White Knight. One doesn’t have to travel and be in the high post to do good deeds, good actions start when we understand and change ourselves and start making small positive differences in our own small ways.

It is one's action that matters not one appearance.

 Plot

Exposition

The knight looks into the mirror and sees himself as a white knight representing good, a champion of virtue honor, and justice. He then decides to ride into the forest and slay the black knights, who are evil.

Rising Action

He mounts his snow-white horse and rides into the forest to find the black knights. He rides further and deeper day after day but without sighting any black knights. As time passes, he spends all his gold in pursuit of evil. He is hungry and weak. His horse becomes lame. He commits bad deeds, which is unexpected for the white knight. He steals and replaces his horse. He even sleeps with the innkeeper’s daughter and leaves her later. He doesn’t realize any of it at this point and continues his journey.

Climax

One day, a knight in gleaming whiteness confronts him suddenly in the forest. He ends up killing him. However, before his last breath white knight heard him whisper in anguish: "Is evil then triumphant?"

Falling Action

Holding the dead knight in his arms, he saw that beside the bright armor of the youth his own, besmirched by the long quest, looked black in the darkness of the forest.

Denouement

He strips off his own soiled mail, turns his grimy horse free to the forest, and stands naked and alone in the quiet dusk. He then returns to his castle and starts living a simple life.

Summary

Ø  There lived a knight in a castle on the edge of the Forest of Life. The knight looked in the mirror and saw that he was a White Knight.

Ø  Since he was the White Knight, he decided to ride into the forest and slay all the Black Knights, as it was what the White Knights must do.

Ø  He mounted his snow-white horse and started his journey. Many miles he rode, day after day, deeper and further into the forest but without sighting any of the Black Knights.

Ø  He found many signs of the Black Knight's presence but as always, he just missed catching the doer of those deeds.

Ø  At last, he spent all his gold in pursuit of evil. He becomes hungry and weak. His horse becomes lame. To keep himself alive he steals and replaces his horse. He even sleeps with the innkeeper’s daughter, leaves her later, and continues his journey when he becomes strong and healthy.

Ø  He pressed on his search, yet all the knights he met in the forest were like him. They were knights of varying shades of whiteness, depending on how long they, too, had been hunting the Black Knight.

Ø   One day, a knight in gleaming whiteness confronts him suddenly in the forest. He ends up killing him. However, before his last breath white knight heard him whisper in anguish: "Is evil then triumphant?"

Ø  Holding the dead knight in his arms, he saw that beside the bright armor of the youth his own, besmirched by the long quest, looked black in the darkness of the forest.

Ø  He strips off his own soiled mail, turns his grimy horse free to the forest, and stands naked and alone in the quiet dusk. He then returns to his castle and starts living a simple life. Everyone then starts calling him a good white knight.

Literary Devices

1.      Symbolism

Sl. No	Symbols	Possible Meaning of Symbol
1	White Knight	Good, ignorant
2	Black Knight	Evil
3	Forest of life	Civilization
4	Inn Keeper’s daughter	People with the stereotypical notion
5	Mirror	More than just the appearance it reflects our deeds
6	Shining armour	Brave, strong, gallant
7	The boy who was buried	Buried his fallacy that destroying evil would make the world better.
8	Nakedness	Self-realization, starting afresh or newly born again
9	Knight of gleaming whiteness	Youth, recklessness

 

2.      Irony

The White Knight who represents good turns evil himself in pursuit of the Black Knight, however, he later realizes this and turns into the good white knight.

 

 

Sample Invitation Letter

                                                                Sample Invitation Letter

Chumey Central School
Chumey; Bumthang.

30^th March 2018

The Chairman
Chumey Gewog Center
Chumey; Bumthang

Sub: Requesting to grace Annual Sports Day as Chief Guest

Respected Sir, Madam, Dasho, ……..

I, the school Games and Sports Captain, of Chumey Central School am pleased and privileged to inform Sir, Madam, Dasho, etc. on behalf of the school administration that on the 31^st of May, the school will be organizing Annual Sports Day.

For this very purpose, I would like to invite Dasho to grace the event as the Chief Guest. The school would be honored if Sir or….would accept and make your honorable presence for the event. The event is organized to encourage students and help them realize the importance of sports in life. Further, the motive is to give awareness to students as well as to the people living in the community, on how sports can help maintain our health. 

We thank you in anticipation that you will make your presence and help us in imparting the message we want to convey through this event. The event will be conducted on the 31^st of May at the School Football Ground. We kindly would like to request sir/dasho to make your presence at 9:00 a.m.

 

Thanking you.

Yours sincerely,

 

Sign
Name
Title in bracket

 

 

Sample Business Letter

                                                                Sample Business Letter

Chumey Central School
Chumey; Bumthang.

30^th March 2018

The Manager 

U.T Enterprise
Chamkhar; Bumthang.

Sub: Placing an order of the items required for School Sports Day

Dear Sir/Madam,

I, the school Games and Sports Captain, of Chumey Central School am pleased to inform you that this year the school has decided to procure items needed for the conduct of School Sports Day from your store.  Please note the items required.

 

Sl. No	Items/Particulars	Quantity	Remarks
1	Speaker	2 nos.	Musical Amplifier with speaker
2	Microphone	2 nos.

We anticipate you will deliver the items a week before the event which is on 31^st of May. We expect you to deliver swiftly and you can expect the same regarding the payment from us. Once the delivery is made, the payment will be made in cash, after the committee’s approval on the day of delivery. Please contact on school number if you have any queries and for the delivery of the item.

Thanking you.

Yours faithfully,

 

Sign
Name
Title in bracket

 

 

He-y, Come On Ou-t! Shinichi Hoshi

 

He-y, Come On Ou-t! – Shinichi Hoshi

Background Information

Shinichi Hoshi was born on September 6, 1926, in Tokyo, Japan. The story was published in the year 1989. The story has social criticism with an ecological message. 

 Genre: Contemporary Fantasy and Satire

Point of View: The story is narrated in the Third Person Omniscient point of view

Setting: The story takes place in a Japanese Village in the 20^th Century.

 Characters

Protagonist: No obvious protagonist

Antagonist: All the characters in the story who irresponsibly pollute the environment

 

Character Analysis

Concessionaire – Flat and static

Traits: Money minded, cunning

 Scientists: Static and Flat

Traits: Stubborn, proud, and egoistic

 Workman – flat and static

Traits: Ignorant and innocent

 Mayor – flat and static

Traits: Simple-minded and ignorant

 Reporters- flat and static

Traits: curious, careless, and nosy

 Youngman- flat and static

Traits: Curious, irresponsible, and carefree

 Old man- flat and static

Traits: superstitious but wise

 

Plot

Exposition

The typhoon ends and villagers find a mysterious hole right below where the shrine once was.

Rising Action

Different people start to investigate the hole. When nothing was known about the hole mayor and villagers gave the hole to the concessionaire.

 Climax

Village and city start developing. The construction worker while taking his break hears someone shout and later fails to notice a pebble skim past him.

 Falling Action and Denouement

The story ends abruptly leaving the reader to guess and figure out the ending.

 

Summary

·         The landslide in a typhoon sweeps away a shrine creating a mysterious hole.

·         The villagers discuss over to repair and start rebuilding the shrine. While villagers exchanged their views, one of them noticed the hole.

·         A young man leans and shouts “He-y, come on Ou-t!” into the hole thinking it might be a foxhole.

·         When no one answers, he throws in a pebble, despite the warning of the old man.

·         The story of the bottomless hole spreads and attracts the attention of different stakeholders: scientists, media, concessionaires, etc.

·         These people try different methods to measure the depth of the hole and understand the phenomenon of the hole itself but fail.

·         Scientist cannot comprehend the hole and the depth and simply says to fill it up.

·         A man (concessionaire) then comes forward and puts forward a proposal. He would fill the hole for them and build a new shrine attached to a meeting hall closer to their village. Villagers agree and the mayor gives his permission.

·         The concessionaire gains control of the hole and asks his cohorts to conduct a campaign in the city about a hole-tilling company.

·         The campaign is successful and then the dumping of dangerous nuclear waste and all unwanted waste begins inclusive of old classified documents, corpses, weapons, etc.

·         The hole shows no sign of filling up. The area grows and develops. The city becomes clean with all waste disappearing into the hole.

·         People find an easy solution for unwanted waste and they keep expanding their city.

·         One day, a worker taking a break atop the high steel frame of a new building under construction hears a voice, “He-y, come on Ou-t!” followed by a pebble that he fails to notice.

The story ends there, leaving the reader to imagine the chaos and destruction that will follow as the other contents of the hole make their way back to the people. 

 

Literary Devices

Symbolism

Sl. No	Symbol	Possible meaning of the symbol
1	Hole	Earth, city people contribute more towards the pollution than the people in the village
2	Typhoon	It could symbolize the early warning of environmental destruction
3	Shrine	The shrine symbolizes people’s faith in God, which is diminishing as time passes. (they are not sure when was it constructed, and where exactly it was located)
4	Pebble	Unforeseen danger, a small thing can trigger a bigger problem
5	Old man	superstitious, however wise
6	Young People	Curious, irresponsible, and carefree
7	Reporter	Opportunist, nosy, careless, hasty
8	Echo	Unseen danger
9	Concessionaire	Opportunist, careless, and inconsiderate people who are always after making a profit at any cost
10	Village People	Oblivious and Uneducated, who are easily pleased and fooled by cunning people
11	Scientists	People filled with ego and pride
12	Government Authorities	Corrupted officials in any office
13	Classified Documents/counterfeit bills	Unnecessary bureaucracy and corruption in the government
14	Diaries/old Photographs	Unfaithful nature, secretive nature of people
15	Worker atop the building	Innocent younger generations who face the consequences of their ancestor’s deeds

 

Satire

The story satirizes the concept of human being destroying the environment without realizing the eventual consequences.

Situational Irony

The people think they have found an easy solution for the dangerous waste. They keep discarding the waste into the hole without realizing the eventual consequences.

 

Statement from text to support the Irony

i.                    The government stated: “There would be absolutely no above-ground contamination for several thousand years”

ii.                  “The hole gave peace of mind to the dwellers of the city.”

Dramatic Irony

City dwellers and villagers fail to notice the pebble skim past from the sky. They fail to notice what goes around comes around.

Foreshadowing

The young man shouts and throws a pebble into the hole, at which the old man says, that might bring a curse upon them. This foreshadows the impending danger that falls upon them at the end.

 Conflict

External: Man Vs Nature

Ø  Characters in the story try to figure out the depth and the hole itself

Ø  In the end, characters will have to deal with the garbage they threw into the hole.

Theme

We should never try to get rid of our problems in the easiest way because they come right back. We should face the problem and try to solve it instead of running away from it. The best proverb to describe the theme would be “What goes around comes around”