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Moral code in sir gawain and the green knight
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Moral code in sir gawain and the green knight
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The Force of Nature in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
It is common to think that civilization has tamed the natural world and that we are the stronger force. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight effectively challenge this assumption. My position is that the natural world in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a relentless challenging force. To clarify this statement I will first explain how the Green Knight symbolizes the natural world. Subsequently, I will explain the two rounds of tests put forth by the Green Knight and his wife, and the effect these conflicts have on Sir Gawain and his code of ethics.
The antagonist Green Knight is a personification of the natural world. Every inch of the Green Knight is green. Green skin is odd on its own, but the depth of the green is astonishing to the knights a: “...man and his mount could both be colored The green of sprouting grass, and even greener.” (Harrison 11) The color green itself has a connotation of nature, by making him overpoweringly green the author effectively illustrates the knight as a force of nature. Furthermore, he is described as being chaotic and greater than any man. Similarly, nature is unpredictable and can overpower everyone. Accordingly, this is displayed not only by the Green Knight's appearance, but by him bravely challenging the round table and surviving a beheading. He is not limited by human limitations and
By this, the Green Knight is successful in showing the delusions of Authors men that they are greater than the natural world. In this paper, I clarified that the Green Knight symbolized the natural world. A world that continuously tested Sir Gawain, both mentally and physically. I explained the Green Knights eventual success in breaking the noblest knight’s morals. For these reasons, it is clear that the natural world in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is depicted as a dominating and deceitful
The culture of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight forms the foundation of the Cohen’s category crisis thesis. Due to the fact that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight can not solely fit into one category within culture and society, it is evident that “The Monster Is the Harbinger of Category Crisis” is not the only one of Cohen’s seven these the poem could have related to. The stereotypical ideas of monstrous actions has evolved into new understanding by connecting the poem to Cohen’s thesis, comparing and contrasting the Green Knight and Sir Bertilak while relating aspects of old ideas to help dissect and form this poem into a new light. As states in Monster Theory by Jeffery Jerome Cohen, “We live in an age that has rightly given up on Unified Theory, an age when we realize that history (like “individuality, “subjectivity”, “gender,” and “culture) is composed of a multitude of fragments, rather than of smooth epistemological wholes. “ In order to create and form a new idea from the poem in connection to Cohen’s thesis the past, current cultural, society roles, and environment must be included. Cohen stated, “Some fragments will be collected here and bound temporarily together to form a loosely integrated net—or, better, an unassimilated hybrid, a monstrous body.” Fragments of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight were taken and connected to numerous factors of the evolution of history,
Of all the themes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the one which stood out the most to me was that of deception. With the Green Knight, the “evil” and Sir Gawain, the “good”, we see both forces partake in deceptive practices to achieve the desired outcome they sought. Throughout the poem, Sir Gawain’s moral compass was constantly being tested with deception being used to gage his level of loyalty, morality, and chivalry. The “game” that the Green Knight was hell bent on playing was not an honest one. He utilized a host of deceptions to gain the results that he sought after—there was little to no room for error with him. First, he presented a challenge in which he alone knew that he would not perish. When he asked for a volunteer to strike him with the ax, the Green Knight
Anonymous. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Sixth Edition. Volume 1. Ed. M.H.Abrams. New York: W.W.Norton and Company, Inc., 1993.
The tales of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Lanval offer their readers insight into a common knightly quandary. Gawain and Lanval are both faced with challenges that threaten their ability to protect, uphold, and affirm their very knightliness. The two knights repeatedly see several knightly traits--- each invaluable to the essence of a knight--- brought into conflict. While the knights are glorified in their respective texts, they are faced with impossible dilemmas; in each story, both reader and knight are confronted with the reality that knightly perfection is unattainable: concessions must be made--- bits and pieces of their honor must be sacrificed.
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.
Though often extensive detail may be condemned as mere flowery language, in understanding Sir Gawain and the Green Knight one must make special emphasis on it. In color and imagery itself, the unknown author paints the very fibers of this work, allowing Sir Gawain to discern the nuances of ritualistic chivalry and truth. His quest after the Green Knight is as simple as ones quest toward himself. Through acute awareness of the physical world he encounters Gawain comes to an understanding of the world beyond chivalry, a connection to G-d, the source of truth. He learns, chivalry, like a machine, will always function properly, but in order to derive meaning from its product he must allow nature to affect him.
“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” Element of Literature, Sixth Course. Austin: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, 1997. 161-172. Print.
New York: Garland Publishing, 1988. Stephen Manning, “A Psychological Interpretation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” in Critical Studies of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, eds.
Thesis Statement: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows the struggle between a good Christian man against the temptations of this world.
Web. 30 Sept. 2009. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume A. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt.
Markman, Alan M. "The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Modern Language Association 72.4 (1957): 574-86. JSTOR. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
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.
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.
It is common to think that civilization has tamed the natural world and that we are the stronger force. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight effectively challenges this assumption. My position is that the natural world in Gawain and the Green Knight is a chaotic challenging force. To clarify this statement I will first explain how the Green Knight symbolizes the natural world. Following this, I explain the Green Knights tests.
The narrative artistry of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight can be attributed to the fundamental elements of chivalric life and the exploration of classic mythological elements that allows the narrative to bridge the gap between Christianity and Paganism, and allow its readers to find their own spiritual interpretation with in the text.