The White Knight

The White Knight, Eric
Nicol
The White Knight is an allegorical
story based on the concept of the
medieval role of the white knights,
who represent evil.
The story deals with the themes of
self-realisation and the concept of
good and bad.
A knight in this story looks at his
reflection in the mirror and sees a
white knight. Since he feels he is the
white knight, he believes it is his
duty to protect virtue, honour and
justice. He dedicated his life to
searching for the evil black knight.
In pursuit of the black knight, he
commits many crimes; thus
displaying all the negative qualities
of the black knight on himself. He is
able to realise his errors only after
having killed a white knight, who
questions him in agony: ‘Is evil then
triumphant?’
From then on, he transforms into a
truly good person and the people
call him The Good White Knight. He
realises that appearance does not
make a person. He discovers for
himself the true understanding of
right and wrong.
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What is an allegory?
An allegory is a simple story such as
a fable or parable that serves to
teach a moral lesson. It can be read
on two levels: literal, the other
symbolic. The symbolic meaning is
different from the surface or literal
meaning.