The Once and Future King Lesson Plan

What effect does Kay's entrance have in chapter 17, when Merlyn, Archimedes, and Wart are discussing birds?

The author has Kay come in to brashly and proudly announce that he has just killed a thrush. The effect here is a jarring contrast to the discussion about bird life during this chapter, where the three characters involved have considered in detail qualities they admire about living birds. In fact, Archimedes makes a point when talking about pigeons to 'leave out' whether or not he likes to eat them. Students should think about the point White might be trying to make with this contrast. It could be that he's comparing Kay's eagerness to always hunt with Wart's more...