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When someone is given a position of power, they are expected to use it wisely and to demonstrate the ideals of the group they represent. Unfortunately, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain fails to do so. Throughout the poem, Gawain acts impulsively and disregards the rules that he does not want to follow, and focuses only on those that fit with how he wishes to act. Gawain puts aside all concern for others in order to complete his challenge. However, the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight uses Gawain’s failure to complete his quest to demonstrate the importance differences between following explicit and implicit rules.
Gawain fails his test before he even began by choosing to behead the Green Knight rather than striking a nonlethal
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blow. In the first part of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain “[b]rought [the axe] down deftly upon the bare neck” of the Green Knight (423). The choice to start the game with a lethal blow shows that he has little care for his chivalric code. Though the Green Knight never specifies that Gawain should not hit him fatally, the agreement states that they will meet in a year and Gawain will receive the same blow, which is not be possible if the Green Knight dies. Gawain’s first instinct is to kill the Green Knight in order to avoid the outcome of the challenge, which is an act of cowardice that the chivalric code does not agree with. Beyond being a cowardly move, Victoria Weiss states that Gawain’s “action demonstrates a lack of concern for human life” (Source D). By attempting to kill the Green Knight, Gawain shows how much disregard he has for the lives of others. The Green Knight is not an enemy of King Arthur nor is he actively attacking the court, however Gawain responds to the challenge as if he is. Rather than cutting off a limb or attacking him nonlethally, Gawain uses the attack that should guarantee the death of any human on the receiving end of it. Gawain clearly does not have respect for the lives of those around him, and he is needlessly violent when confronted by the Green Knight. Gawain accepts the green girdle in order to protect his own life, and, in doing this, breaks his agreement with both Lord Bertilak and the Green Knight. When Lady Bertilak gives Gawain the girdle and asks him to keep it a secret, “[Gawain] agrees / That not a soul save themselves shall see it thenceforth” (1863-1864). Despite the fact that it was never clearly stated that Gawain could not attempt to protect himself, accepting the green girdle would make it impossible for the Green Knight to strike the same blow against Gawain. Therefore, because Gawain believed that the girdle would make him invincible, Gawain was not successful in his quest. Similarly, in an outside criticism of the poem, Victoria Weiss states that “Gawain commits his greatest sin by accepting the green girdle and failing to give it to Bertilak” (Source D). By not telling Lord Bertilak that he had received the green girdle, Gawain explicitly breaks their agreement. In this instance, Gawain views his own life as having more significance than his duty to fairly conclude his test. Gawain decides that he would much rather continue to live than follow the chivalric code, which states that one should finish any task that they begin. As a mystical and mysterious outsider, the Green Knight does not face the expectation to follow every implied rule of the agreement; however, Sir Gawain fails as a knight when he forgoes these non-explicit rules.
If the Green Knight is considered to be a fairy, as Diane Purkiss proposes, then it should be considered that “there are exceedingly strict rules of behavior, but these apply not to the fairies themselves but to human beings,” (Source F). Using this logic, the Green Knight should not be held up to the same moral standards as Gawain. However, Gawain and the Green Knight seem to have traded their traditional roles, as Gawain acts deceitfully in order to complete the quest and the Green Knight acts according to all rules, obvious and assumed. Gawain is expected to act respectfully, bearing a shield decorated with the pentangle which represents the “five fives”: fingers, senses, wounds of Christ, joys of Mary, and the five virtues (640-654). Given the five meanings of the pentangle Gawain wields, one would expect Gawain to exactly follow every rule given to him and to never be led astray. This, however, is not the case which can be seen when Gawain cuts off the head of the Green Knight and when he accepts the green girdle. Gawain’s inability to understand and follow the implicit guidelines of the Green Knight’s challenge show that he not only fails the challenge, but also his knightly
duty. Gawain fails his quest due to his inability to follow all of the rules, both given by the Green Knight and implied. When he beheads the Green Knight, he exhibits cowardice and a disregard for human life. Gawain clearly does not believe the life of the Green Knight to be of equal worth as Gawain’s, since he then goes on to protect himself by accepting the green girdle. Throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is held to higher standards than the Green Knight due to his status as a member of Arthur’s court, but he fails to live up to them which causes the Green Knight to have the moral high ground. Gawain’s failure to complete the test was, in large part, because he views his life as more important than the Green Knight’s.
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...
In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Poet Pearl, Sir Gawain, knight of the Round Table, acts chivalrously, yet his intents are insincere and selfish. It is the advent season in Middle Age Camelot, ruled by King Arthur when Poet Pearl begins the story. In this era citizens valued morals and expected them to be demonstrated, especially by the highly respected Knights of the Round Table. As one of Arthur’s knights, Sir Gawain commits to behaving perfectly chivalrous; however, Gawain falls short of this promise. Yes, he acts properly, but he is not genuine. The way one behaves is not enough to categorize him as moral; one must also be sincere in thought. Gawain desires to be valued as
Despite being a knight, Sir Gawain sinned. He was greedy. He accepted a woman’s girdle because it would literally save his neck in the covenant he had with the Green Giant. The woman’s girdle was magical and saved people from every thrust or strike they would endure. Sir Gawain learned his lesson through all the guilt he feels when he was caught. Moreover, when Sir Gawain says, “Dread of the death blow and cowardly doubts meant I gave into greed, and in doing so forgot the freedom and fidelity every knight knows to follow,” (“Sir Gawain” 235). Even though Sir Gawain was a noble knight he still sinned against the knightly code and also against the Ten Commandments.
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
According to the story, Gawain had to face many obstacles one in particular was the Green Knight’s challenges. This was a test for any brave man that could face off with the Green Knight. They would have to use an ax and hit the knight
To establish the knight as worthy, the author first shows Gawain’s loyalty to his king. The Green Knight challenges anyone in the hall to the beheading game and no one takes him up on it. Arthur, angered by the Green Knight’s taunting, is about to accept the challenge himself when Gawain steps in saying "would you grant me this grace" (Sir Gawain, l. 343), and takes the ax from Arthur. This is a very convenient way for the author to introduce Gawain and also to show Gawain’s loyalty to Arthur, but it seems almost too convenient. There i...
As a result, he learns an essential, inescapable fact about himself and human nature - there is no shame in being imperfect. The true test of Gawain's bravery was to bare his neck to the Green Knight and finish their trading of blows. Even with his 'magic' girdle, Gawain flinched the first time. The second and third times he was able to hold steady and accept fate. After the ordeal the Green Knight ridiculed him for his weakness and fear.
Yet, Gawain did err in accepting the girdle; that much cannot be denied. We, the reader, can forgive him since he repents fully, even going so far as to impose penance (of wearing the girdle eternally as a mark of his fall) on himself. It takes a mild rebuke by the Green Knight to crack Gawain’s façade of confident valor. His conscience compels him to break down when confronted by his host as to his indiscretion. However, this happened only when the host had revealed himself to be the same as the Green Knight. We realize that Gawain had previously perceived in Sir Bertilak an equal in knighthood; thus his ease in deceiving him in the exchange of winnings game. When Gawain realizes he was the subject of a test, he sees Bertilak/Green Knight in a different light. The Green Knight now becomes Gawain’s confessor and in doing so assumes a fatherly role.
...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.
In The Green Knight, Sir Gawain is presented with a strange challenge. The Green Knight challenged Sir Gawain to strike his head with an axe as long as Sir Gawain allows the Green Knight to return the damage in 12 months and 1 day. In my oppinion, Sir Gawain
Sir Gawain stands up for he believes that his uncle should not take on the Green Knight while so many others, as mentioned earlier, are able. Gawain is successful by not only standing for what he believes in but also in defeating the Green Knight. The Green Knight plays the role of the tempter in this scene. He first tempts the court, but is defeated. Sir Gawain overcomes his first
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...
It does this conceptually, by emphasizing human nature over chivalry, and it does this narratively through Gawain’s failure as a knight, and the Green Knight’s illegitimacy as a true villain. In traditional romance of this time, the protagonist could not have faltered in chivalry; Gawain’s “lapses of courage and honour… are highly untypical of the knightly conduct we find illustrated with such stultifying sameness in medieval story” (Shedd 245). But this occurs because the Green Knight is not the true villain; the real conflict is Gawain’s struggle against his own human nature. While the Green Knight appears to be a classic antagonist in the first part of the poem, he proves himself merciful and forgiving in the final part, stating that he does not blame Gawain because it was only because “[he] loved [his] own life” that he failed the final test (95). Rather than merely taking Sir Gawain’s head, the Green Knight gave him the opportunity to prove himself as “faultless” (95), or above his human nature, to “[purge] the debt” (96). Just as Shedd argues, the shift from external to internal conflict in the poem sets Sir Gawain and the Green Knight apart from other works of medieval romance.
This may seem to be the case at the beginning, but by the end of this literary work, Gawain begins to evolve as a character. Near the end of the story Gawain has gone from flat and unchanging, to a growing and round solar hero who learns from his poor choices. When it came time for Gawain and the Green Knight to reverse their roles and perform the rest of the game, the magic girdle that Gawain received worked as it was supposed to, in that Gawain would be wounded but not fatally wounded. This is when Gawain experiences the most growth as a character. He experiences growth through realization of his poor choices and that everything was all a plot to make an “All high and mighty, do no evil Knight of the Round Table” a fraud and make him lose favor in the eyes of the common people. It was a trick formed to make the commoners see that even the most righteous people in the kingdom could be
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight has prompted scholars to examine and diversely interpret the medieval narrative. One of the underlying questions that has been proposed embodies the analysis of the relationship between Christian and Pagan ideals and how knightly chivalry is influenced by religion during the Arthurian Romance period. It is no mistake that the two varied religious ideals are intertwined throughout the poem due to the nature of classical antiquity. Amidst the overlap between superstitious rituals and Orthodox- Christian beliefs it is clear that Sir Gawain has a sense of personal integrity guided by a moral compass.