Honor In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Sir Gawain’s display of valor begins when he accepts the challenge of the Green Knight. As King Arthur steps forward to accept the challenge brought forth by the Green Knight, Sir Gawain intervenes telling King Arthur that because his loss would be too great and he himself volunteers in Arthur’s place. Sir Gawain

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the code of chivalry affects Gawain's actions throughout the story. The code of chivalry that Gawain tries to follow is one of loyalty, courtesy, and courage. He shows his loyalty to Arthur at the beginning of the story, when the Green Knight challenges “any in [the] house”(286) to accept his game, everyone remains silent. He goes on to insult and laugh at Arthur and everyone else, which results in Arthur having to accept the challenge and “lay hold of [the Green Knight’s]

Sir Gawain showcases courage as he treads on the unknown path despite being warned by four shepherds. Sir Gawain also could not have fulfilled his desires with the knight’s daughter because of the eminent death from the enchanted sword and showed honourable traits by maintaining self-control. However, the disclosure of such information to his land would cause him dishonor and shame and in this case death if he were to do the opposite. He faced mortal danger but was valiant

This tradition is carried down through generations and becomes a symbol of honor. Like most medieval romance heroes, Gawain’s adventure ends up teaching him a lot about himself – in this case, that he’s not perfect, no matter what anybody says and how hard he might try to be. Both are Civilized and Wild. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, give importance between civilization and the natural world outside of it, Gawain is the most closely connected to civilization.

Consider how the theme of courage is treated in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a story that celebrates courage in a positive light in the majority of situations but we see that courage can have a negative impact on some of the characters in the story and it questions knighthood. Courage is an honourable term defined “The ability to do something that frightens one; bravery:” (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/courage) and for Gawain to be called this term defines him as a knight. His actions throughout the story makes it difficult to analyse how courage is treated in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Indeed, though they put on a heroic front, Beowulf, Sir Gawain, and Brutus are internally broken and sensitive. Extraordinary men such as themselves suffer from the ordinary problems of self confidence and struggle to overcome their insecurities. They, like all humans, strive for perfection, but, in pursuing this perfection, fall far from it. Thus, these trials and uncertainties allow these noble heroes to relate to the common man. However, despite these setbacks, each of these three protagonists are able to use their weaknesses to their advantage.

He then is shown respect from his peers. He did a task and received love as a form of return. This is the basis of philia. He is loved by his peers and has their respect. His society revolves around respect and

The first character I will be analyzing is Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain is one of the main characters within this story. In the beginning of the story, we see that Sir Gawain is full of optimism, eagerness, and loyalty to protect his king and his kingdom from the Green Knight. Sir Gawain is seen as the embodiment of chivalry. An example of chivalrous manners can be found such as in his speech to Arthur when he accepts the Green Knight 's challenge.

Knights, lords, ladies, magical creatures, nobility, and honor all encompass medieval literature. Sir Gawain and The Green Knight also contain many of these elements. In this ancient medieval tale, Sir Gawain, the noble knight and nephew of King Arthur, must endure extreme obstacles to reach his destiny. Gawain is portrayed as a man with virtuous character; seen by the reader with his acts of loyalty and courage, honesty, and self-control. In the midst of immoral situations and temptations, Sir Gawain clings to his moral values, remaining a virtuous and honorable knight.

Essay: Consider how the Theme of courage is treated in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It has to be said that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is arguably one of the greatest middle English poems of the 14th Century. The author of the text, whom, amazingly is still unknown tells the reader, through the medium of poem the courage of the Great Sir Gawain as he bravely challenges the Green Knight. The poem also shows the courage of others. In Medieval times and especially medieval writings, there was a great engrossment with courage.

Whether it’s done intentionally or not, every work of literature addresses the human condition in some form or another. And the human condition is a complicated matter. It is humanity’s ceaseless internal struggle between what is good and what is evil and the nagging question as to which side humanity is defined by; which side is the mistake and which is the truth. For we are capable of both great evil and great good. According to George Bernard Shaw, a Native American elder once told him, “Inside of me there are two dogs.

Faith as part of the code of chivalry can be seen as a major idea throughout “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” and is explained in more detail in the writing “Grace Versus Merit in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” In “Grace Versus Merit in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” the author is explaining how faith is a huge part of the story of Sir Gawain. He states that the poem “is deeply imbued with Christian moral values…” (Champion 413). Champion goes on to give some examples of how the writer of the poem “‘was thoroughly familiar with the trends of religious concepts’”

Even though the author of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is anonymous, the story is an embodiment of an epic heroic story. The story delivers evidence of the type of power that Kings and nobility held in the social culture. When the Green Knight challenges King Arthur, Sir Gawain steps up to represent and defend his king in spite of being weak. Sir Gawain states “I am the weakest…the loss of my life would be least of any; that I have you for uncle is my only praise…this folly befits not a king” (Greenblatt & Abrams, 2006, p. 131, 354-358). The nephew of the King’s offers his own life in order to preserve the King.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain is described as a perfect embodiment of Solomon’s Pentangle. Before Sir Gawain rides off to receive the Green Knight’s blow, he has the Pentangle painted onto his shield. All five points of the pentangle on Sir GAwain’s shield symbolize a virtue of a perfect knight. They are the Five sense/ witts, the five fingers, the five wounds of Christ, the five joys of Mary, and the 5 virtues. The five virtues are generosity, sociability, courtesy, compassion/piety and purity.

The heroic knight in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight manifests many of the characteristics of the chivalric knight and hero. Among them, he proves to have modesty, honesty, commitment, courage, and an even temperament. As the Green Giant said,“You're the finest man that will ever walked this earth./So Gawain indeed stands out above all other knights" (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 335-336). Also, Sir Gawain engages in the activities/plot type that define him as a hero: the call, the journey, the helpers, the final ordeals, and then the life-renewing goal. Although he was almost the ideal model to fit the hero role, Sir Gawain does accomplish a single error while staying in the lord’s household.