“ The imperfections of a man, his frailties, his faults, are just as important as his virtues. You can’t separate them, they’re wedded.” Henry Miller. In the medieval romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the ideal medieval society glorified perfection. A man who did not go by the code of chivalry was not considered a perfect man with morals. In a world full of temptations men fall short, due to their worldly desires that bring men down when they least expect it. The author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, implements heavy biblical symbolism throughout the medieval romance that conveys a message regarding the theme that mankind cannot achieve perfection.
“And held in the other hand an ax, immense and unwieldy, a pitiless battleblade terrible to tell of” ( The Gawain Poet 29-30.233). The Green Knight’s ax symbolizes the grace that God showed throughout the romance towards Arthur and his noble knights, especially King Arthur’s knight Sir Gawain. God shows grace to King Arthur and his knights by giving them life. The Green Knight could have challenged the men to a duel or fought to the death but instead challenged their courage and nobility. “ That he dares to stoutly exchange one stroke for another… And I will abide the first blow, bare-neck as I sit” ( The Gawain Poet 67,70.233). The Green Knight was testing the men seeing if all the gossip about how great King Arthur and his men were was true but, no knight took the challenge until King Arthur stepped up. That’s when Sir Gawain politely asked the king if he could take his place. Sir Gawain taking on the Green Knight allowed the rest of the knights and king to live, since the Green Knight would only be returning the favor tho Gawain . The grace God showed, the gift of life...
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...s what the value to life meant to him but also because Gawain then admitted to what he did wrong and learned from his mistake. The nick on the neck shows that although God wants mankind to be obedient he understands that mistakes happen and that sometimes that nick on the neck is what humans need in order to realize what they did was wrong.
The theme that mankind cannot achieve perfection conveys heavy biblical symbolism in, From Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The more mankind stay away from the idea of perfection, the less people will get judge based on standards they cannot achieve themselves. So people should go out there and own their imperfections and stop hiding them from the world, just think if God loves people for who they are and their imperfections, the world will too.
Works Cited
http://www.b-g.k12.ky.us/userfiles/1049/sir%20gawain%20text-0.pdf
Though God does grant forgiveness, it must be earned at a price. The Lord opens people’s eyes to the severity of one’s sins, which often leaves a person feeling ashamed. Despite having committed a grave sin against the Christian honor, Sir Gawain was forgiven by the Green Knight. He has “confessed . . ., admitted [his] fault, and done honest penance on the edge of [the Green Knight’s] blade” (Winny 4.2391-2392). No one has to continue to live with the guilt, but should at least understand their sin. Sir Gawain realizes that he surrendered to cowardice and learned “to give way to covetousness” (Winny 4.2380). The Green Knight fulfills his role as God by bringing to attention the weakness Sir Gawain possesses as a knight and as a human. The Gawain poet describes the significance of “God’s grace for the forgiveness of sin and the granting of salvation” through the Green Knight’s godly role (Champion
The green girdle is more than just a symbol of Gawain’s dishonesty to Bercilak. A. The girdle is also symbolic of Gawain’s faith in a worldly object. B. Gawain fails in this test of his attributes by relying on the girdle to save his life. VI.
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.
In the final scenes of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain’s encounter with Sir Bertilak allows Gawain to perceive his own flaws, manifested in his acceptance of the Green Girdle. The court’s reaction to his personal guilt highlights the disconnect between him and the other knights of the Round Table. Gawain’s behavior throughout the poem has been most noteworthy; his understanding of his sin, one that many of us would dismiss since it was propelled by his love of life, enhances his stature as a paragon of chivalry.
...Gawain’s time in the wilderness, living nature, and his acceptance of the lady’s offering of the green girdle teach him that though he may be the most chivalrous knight in the land, he is nevertheless human and capable of error.
...h century or today, is human and subject to failings, as well. Gawain learned his lesson from the Green Knight and communicated it to Arthur's court. I believe that the author hopes that his audience will take the message to heart, as well.
Symbolism is used throughout literature to give deeper meaning to a variety of literary works. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight symbolism is seen through the actions of Sir Gawain against the trials he faces. The poem is first set during Christmas time at Camelot, showing that they were Christian for they were celebrating Christmas. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows the struggle between a good Christian man against the temptations of this world. Symbolically, one can see Sir Gawain holding true to Christian values: first, by standing up for what he believes in; second, by staying true to a future mate; and thirdly by repenting from sins due to a broken promise.
Instead of continuing his faith in God, Gawain places his faith in a worldly object––one that he suspects might prove to be more sufficient than a spiritual being. He wears the girdle “determined to save his neck when he [bends] it towards death.” Mistakenly, Gawain turns his back on God and relies solely on the girdle, illustrating that the amount he values his life is greater than the amount he values his faith in God. The girdle causes his faith to deteriorate, and he strays from the primary source of all of his past success––God. It is often hard to believe and remain faithful in the things that we are unable to physically see; in order to be truly successful, though, maintaining a strong and steadfast faith in the things we believe in will, in the end, be the most rewarding. Gawain is unsuccessful in loving God unconditionally; due to his fear of losing his life, he is not willing to do anything that will put him in harm’s way––not even for God (“Code of Chivalry, 1”). He gives up his faith which provides a clear depiction of his weakness and inability to stand up for his beliefs. The girdle tempts him to take a wrong turn down the path of life, and it guides him away from God. Gawain, as human as the rest of us, is easily distracted by the things of the world; he lets worldly pleasures stand in the way of the important things in life. The things that jerk us away
Sir Gawain was heroic in seeking out the Green Knight to finish the challenge that was brought to King Arthur’s men. “Said Gawain, ‘Strike once more; /I shall neither flinch nor flee; /But if my head falls to the floor /There is no mending me!’” (lns. 2280-2283) There was no physical power that forced Sir Gawain to keep true to his word. Gawain sought out the Green Knight, just as he had promised, and was now about to receive the blow that would send him to his death. This quote shows that Sir Gawain was ready to be dealt his fate, and that he knew there was no way for him to survive as the Green Knight had done earlier in the poem. This shows a very human side to Sir Gawain as he appears somewhat afraid of death, but ready to face it nonetheless. It is this willingness and readiness to accept death at the hand of the Green Knight that makes Sir Gawain a...
...ain as an imperfect hero makes him an interesting character and allows the reader to see his human qualities emerge in a moralistic story. The tension between two sides of a character trait is represented through contrast with the perfection of the pentangle symbol. God and material possession, fidelity and seduction, and knight and human are all parallel to the two interconnecting triangles depicted in the pentangle. It is impossible to have one without the other. The interconnectedness of our senses, our bodies, our spirituality, our love and emotions, and our personality create a pentangle, binded by a circle: life. The pentangle perhaps places too high an expectation on perfection and does not allow room for human flaws. Such flaws lead to the downfall of Sir Gawain because he was unable to live up to the expectations of the symbol displayed on his shield.
The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight revolves around the knights and their chivalry as well as their romance through courtly love. The era in which this story takes place is male-dominated, where the men are supposed to be brave and honorable. On the other hand, the knight is also to court a lady and to follow her commands. Sir Gawain comes to conflict when he finds himself needing to balance the two by being honorable to chivalry as well as respectful to courtly love.
The reason behind the five also alludes to his Christian beliefs that goes back to the five wounds of Christ while he 's being crucified. These things make up who Gawain is, but in the narrative it also shows Gawain as only being human. He 's not perfect which differs from many other passages from this time. In most stories before, the characters are made out to be strong and fearless which differs from Gawain, who fears the Green Knight and is scared that he 's destined to die. Gawain is written to be relatable. Gawain is a prime example of what it means to be human. A person can be good, but never perfect. It shows in the story when Gawain goes to Bertilak 's castle, he 's being tested by the Green Knight to see just how noble of a person he is. Through the series of tribulations put on by the Green Knight and the wife, the audience can see that Gawain is a man with human tendencies. Once the hunt for Gawain begins, the readers can see him contradicting himself and his virtues. Once the wife begins to push for a kiss, he first denies her because he must remain chaste, but she 's pushing for it so he can 't be rude. He breaks one virtue to fulfill another. On the third day,
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight fit in with the concept of a romance; it has all the elements that would make one consider the text as so. The tale holds adventure, magic, a quest and an unexpected reality check that even those who are considered “perfect” are also just humans. The author used this story as a way of revealing faults in some of the aspects of knighthood through the use of intertwining chivalric duty with natural human acts; thus showing to be perfectly chivalrous would be inhuman.
The world around us has different views of what humans must look like or be. All of us have different sized feet, hairstyles, and clothes. Truly this idea of perfection can lead to terrible choices and horrible outcomes. Nathaniel Hawthorne two short stories “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini 's Daughter” Hawthorne gives us a better understanding of perfection as two men try to make their life perfect and everything around them perfect. As we read “The Birthmark”, Aylmer tries during the whole story to perfect his wife who is already a beautiful creation and cannot recognize what he has. In the story “Rappaccini’s Daughter” Rappaccini developed a poison that gives his daughter powers in order to protect the beauty that she has in the story and
Perfection is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “being entirely without flaws; something that cannot be improved.” In today’s society many people, particularly young women desire to be perfect in their outward appearance. They want the perfect hair, the perfect skin, the perfect body, which so many think would be the perfect life. However, perfection of this kind is very difficult to achieve, yet so many people still want this perfect self-image. This desire for perfection has caused self-hatred within many and this pandemic of perfection is rapidly spreading amongst individuals. The song “Pretty Hurts” by Beyoncé Knowles clearly shows how perfection is truly a disease of a nation. People are faced with the pressure to be perfect in their daily lives, but why? Many individuals feel the need to be perfect because of parental influence, social acceptance and self-conflict.