Sacrifice in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
There are many different types of heroism that exist among the heroes of past and present. Heroism usually is thought of as battling and triumphing over an obstacle, or conquest of a fair-maiden’s love. But notice what this passage from the Mahabharata says about “The True Hero.”
Heroes of many kinds are proclaimed: hear from me, then, their goals. Rewards are assigned to the families of heroes and also to the hero himself. Heroes of sacrifice, heroes of self-control; others who are heroes of truth; heroes of battle are also proclaimed, and men who are heroes of giving. Others are heroes of intellect, and heroes of patience are others; and also heroes of honesty, and men who live in tranquility . . . There are forest-dwelling heroes, and householder heroes, and heroes in the honoring of guests. (Mahabharata XIII.74.22-27)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight encompasses every point brought out in the Mahabharata about what a hero truly is.
Sacrifice is a quality that many persons choose to ignore. But Sir Gawain, throughout the book, magnified this virtue to its extent, even to the brink of death. When the Green Knight challenged the knights of King Arthur for a game, and King Arthur volunteered, it was Sir Gawain who stepped in. Sir Gawain was quick to explain to Arthur, “When a challenge like this rings through your hall/To take it yourself . . . For battle. Think of your bold knights,/My life the least, my death no loss. . .” (58). Of course all of King Arthur’s knights were valuable to the kingdom, so the phrase of “my death no loss,” merely meant that the kingdom of King Arthur would continue without Sir Gawain, but it would not continue with the death King Arthur.
Sacrifice continued to play a part even to the halfway point of the book and beyond. Such as that of sacrificing the pleasures of a woman which quite possibly was the greatest of all sacrifices, one that we know Sir Lancelot would have failed at miserably. This sacrifice would indeed save Sir Gawain’s life at the end of the story. Throughout the three days spent in Bercilak’s castle, Morgana tried to seduce him, but each and every time he refused (86-90).
From line 1830-1865 (104) we read of one moment that Sir Gawain’s virtuous ways faltered.
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain shows qualities of a chivalrous knight. He demonstrates that by showing generosity, courtesy, and loyalty during his travels. A mysterious knight shows up at the king’s castle and calls himself the Green Knight. The Green Knight then challenges one to play a game which he challenges the king to strike him with his axe if he will take a return hit in a year and a day. Sir Gawain steps forward to accept the challenge for his uncle King Arthur when nobody else in the castle would. He took the King’s role in the game to protect him from the Green Knight. He must learn to accept his responsibility as a knight, in accepting his fate.He demonstrates goodness at the hand of the Green Knight. He shows courage by accepting what is to come upon him during his voyage. His journey to find the Green Knight is filled with temptations.In the conversation with him and the “Lady”, Sir Gawain showed a Chivalrous code by keeping his loyalty to the king by not kissing his wife. The lady states “if I should exchange at my cho...
George Washington. Aragorn. Beowulf. Captain America. Martin Luther. Han Solo. Wright Brothers. History, books, and movies are full of these types of characters. Whether they led our country to victory or saved a galaxy far far away, these people can be defined as heroes. A hero could be defined as someone who is cunning, shows justice and mercy, and has the courage to take on many challenges. In J. R. R. Tolkien’s renowned book The Hobbit, he fills the pages with many heroes. There is Thorin, King under the mountain, who has come to reclaim his home. There is Bard, a bowman, who kills the chiefest and greatest dragon Smaug. There are the mighty eagles, who rescue the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf moments before their death. And there is also
Upon hearing this, Gawain initially hesitates to accept the challenge but ultimately ends up sacrificing himself in place of Arthur. This hesitance
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Seventh Edition. Volume 1. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. 114-209.
Sir Gawain is presented as a noble knight who is the epitome of chivalry; he is loyal, honest and above all, courteous. He is the perfect knight; he is so recognised by the various characters in the story and, for all his modesty, implicitly in his view of himself. To the others his greatest qualities are his knightly courtesy and his success in battle. To Gawain these are important, but he seems to set an even higher value on his courage and integrity, the two central pillars of his manhood.
The Green Knight begins to mock the court; and then boldly, King Arthur accepts his challenge. Sir Gawain realizes that this should not be the king’s responsibility for there are others present worthy of the challenge including him. Symbolically, this scene can be seen as a Christian standing up for what he believes in. Gawain says, “I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest;/ And the loss of my life would be least of any; (354-355). Here, Gawain humbles himself before his lord, just as a Christian should in prayer to God.
Robert F. Kennedy's chilling account of his experiences with his brother, President John F. Kennedy over thirteen days in October of 1962 give an idea to the reader of just how alarmingly close our country came to nuclear war. Kennedy sums up the Cuban Missile Crisis as "a confrontation between two atomic nations...which brought the world to the abyss of nuclear destruction and the end of mankind."1 The author's purpose for writing this memoir seems to be to give readers an idea of the danger confronted during the Cuban Missile Crisis and to reflect on the lessons we should learn from it as a country, and for future members of government.
Initially, Gawain’s strongest trait is humility, Beowulf’s is pride. In the beginning of Gawain and the Green Knight, a mysterious warrior enters King Arthur’s court to extend a challenge. Although he knows others in the court would handle the challenge better than him, out of respect, when King Arthur attempts to accept the challenge Gawain comes forth and suggests he takes his place. Gawain presents himself as “the weakest of them, I know, and the dullest-minded/ so my death would be least loss, if truth should be told/ only because you are my uncle am I to be praised/ no virtue I know in myself but your blood” (Broadview Analogy 269). Instead of bragging about his bravery, Gawain acts modestly and states that his death would be of little loss during this challenge. He is not self-absorbed and gives off the impression that the only reason he is a knight is because of his relation with King Arthur. By stating this, he gives off the impression that his self confidence is quite weak; this is astonishing for a character of this era. Although King Arthur has at least one of his knights to be proud of, it seems as though
The character, Sir Gawain is an interesting character. He has many different qualities both good and bad. Though he has bad qualities, his intentions behind them are completely innocent. His good qualities far outweigh his bad ones. He makes many decisions though not always the best ones. These decisions have lasting effects on other characters from the story. The ethics of sir Gawain are a main theme throughout the story. Sir Gawain has some interesting motives to his actions that are a focus in the beginning of the story. Throughout the entire story, Sir Gawain is growing as a character. Gawain has many appealing qualities, interesting ethics and motives, and some of his decisions are questionable, but all the while he is growing
...ves him self to be the least worthy of life and praise. He tells King Arthur, “Think of your bold knights, bursting to fight, as ready and willing as men can be…And I am the slightest, the dullest of them all; My life the least, my death no loss,” (Raffel 58). Sir Gawain is very humble before his King. He offers his life in place of King Arthur’s.
Beowulf and Sir Gawain have many aspects, such as their motives, good deeds, and correcting of wrongs, in common. Many, however, seem to differ because of the type of person they are, want to be, and their drive in life. Beowulf is more self-centered yet helps those who support him while Sir Gawain protects others while having to fix the wrongs in himself. Throughout history and literature, whether ancient, classic, or modern, the idea of a perfect hero is so remote, due to their individualities as a person.
Based only on their Japanese ancestry over 120,000 people (half of them children), were incarcerated in these camps. Many of these families had to sell their house, cars and other belongings for the fraction of the price. Despite the fact that there was no proof of espionage or sabotage on the part of the Japanese Americans, “Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt, head of the Western Defense Command declared, he had no confidence in the loyalty of the Japanese living on the West Coast: A Jap is a Jap is a Jap.” (Takaki, p., 343) Because of their false beliefs, the U.S. built internment camps for Japanese Americans. 150,000 Japanese lived in Hawaii at the time. When their removal came into question, General Delos Emmons rejected these anti-Japanese pleas, knowing there was no evidence of espionage. Ironically the Japan...
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major event in U.S History that almost led to nuclear destruction. It was over a period of thirteen days in which diplomats from the U.S and the Soviet Union were trying to reach a peaceful resolution so that they wouldn’t have to engage in physical warfare. The crisis was the hallmark of the Cold War era which lasted from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s. The Cold War was a power struggle between the U.S and Soviet Union in which the two nations had a massive arms race to become the strongest military force. The U.S considered Communism to be an opposing political entity, and therefore branded them as enemies. Khrushchev’s antagonistic view of Americans also played a big role in the conflict. The Cold War tensions, coupled with a political shift in Cuba eventually lead to the military struggle known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the point of most tension and near collapse causing the Cold War to almost shift from a passive and underground struggle to a violent and catastrophic one.
Nathan, James A. "Chapter 9: The Kennedy-Khrushchev Letters: An Overview." The Cuban Missile Crisis Revisited. New York: St. Martin's, 1992. 281.
You also don’t have to kill anyone, conquer foreign land, or risk your life to be a hero. Anyone who influences anyone else by saving or helping save his or her lives is a hero. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. changed the lives of millions of people by bringing justice to minorities. Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest heroes, led a nonviolent revolution to free his country.