Loyalty In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Which led to the Green Knight explaining to Gawain that he is actually the same lord of the castle where Gawain spent his holidays. The first two blows, he claims, were in return for the way Gawain returned the kisses of his wife, following the rules of their game as an honest man should. The third blow, he says, was for Gawain’s failure to return the green girdle to him on the last day. But because Gawain’s failing was only because he wanted to save his life, and not because he's just dishonorable, the Green Knight forgives him. He leaves Gawain with only a scar and a girdle as a reminder of his very human sin.

Gawain volunteered himself because he believed that he was the weakest the knights from Arthur’s round table we are shown just how honorable Gawain was to King Arthur when he said, “Were I not your nephew my life would mean nothing; to be born of your blood is my body’s only claim.” (356-357) Beowulf and Sir Gawain are seen by audiences as both tremendously heroic. Beowulf might have been the strongest man, but Gawain was honorable and moral, much like a true hero should

Beowulf has comitatus and is a boastful man. He swore allegiance to King Hrothgar that he would kill the monster Grendle (lines 194-198). And so he did with the honor of the king. Beowulf never disrespected the king, always good to him. “Hail, Hrothgar!”

He encourages his men to be men of strength because of the great danger and although they must wake up early it will make them healthy. King Henry is optimistic and persuades his men to do the same. By King Henry constantly looking at the glass halfway full it will lead his men to positive and thinking and being confident enough to defeat France. The only way a small army of men can defeat a great army is with positivity and confidence, because of King Henry’s faith in God he instilled confidence in his men that gave them courage to beat

In the medieval romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain strives to live by the chivalric code, but instead of living like a “knight” he comes short of the knight modern readers think of. The reader may think Sir Gawain is being knightly, but in reality he is failing to meet the extraordinarily lofty standards of the chivalric code by his actions in the beheading and exchange games. The scene that best illuminates Gawain's flaws of following the chivalric code is when he takes the place of King Arthur to participate in the beheading game with the Green Knight. The game is where an opponent gets to strike the Green Knight, and then a year later the Green Knight gets to strike back.

The opening scene in the story shows the Green Knight disrupting the acts of communion between King Arthur and his knights. These acts of communion symbolize the togetherness, community, and even touch the basis of loyalty, which is supported by the selfless act of Sir Gawain putting his life in danger for his king. The Green Knight’s disrupting the acts of life-giving by, indecently, threatening to take the king’s life in a challenge. “And so all I ask of this court is a Christmas game.”(L. 63).

In A Knight's Tale William Thatcher is a brave knight that is impersonating royalty in order to fulfill his dreams, but only as someone else and can never be a knight with his true identity. Making his form of enslavement being someone he is not just to achieve his dreams. The virtues of William that helps him overcome his enslavement of being trap as someone else are that he is noble and caring. He show show his nobleness by helping his friends get food by completing in the competition putting his health on the side so they will not starve.

Gawain and the Green Knight tells Gawain, “ ‘You are surely not Gawain the brave, thus to fear even the whistle of the blade! When you struck off my head in King Arthur’s hall I never flinched from your blow!’ “ (113). Gawain assures the Green Knight he will not flinch again and the Green Knight swings again, but still does not hit Gawain. The next time, the Green Knight hits Gawain and makes a deep cut in his neck, but does not cut his head off.

Beowulf’s ability to accept Unferth’s apology instead of holding a grudge shows he is forgiving and humble about others. Thorin does a similar thing but in reverse. In The Hobbit, Thorin demonstrates his ability to apologize to others after Bilbo bravely saves Thorin from being killed from his battle with Azog. When they are finally safe from danger, Thorin, realizing his misjudgments, immediately apologizes to Bilbo, stating he was wrong for saying and thinking such negative things about him. Thorin is willing to admit his wrongs and correct them, which is incredibly noble and heroic for a dwarf as Gandalf tells Bilbo they are very prideful and stubborn.

He is the archetypal hero. And not only does he fight for good, but he represents it as well. For Beowulf to signify good there must be a contrasting evil to complete the balance. Beowulf, who comes to help the Danes fight the dreaded Grendal. Beowulf is a classic epic hero and is honored by being passed down in the story.

The Green Knight and Grendel are two characters that represent the face of evil and horror. Grendel is the typical monster. He is massive and malicious. On the other hand, the Green Knight is innovative and capable of living decapitated. Both being similar in the fact that they are meant to portray the same type of character (antagonist), they are different in the way they challenge the protagonists and how they grow as characters.

Ambition When someone has ambition it can be the motivation behind their rise. While they can achieve great things along the way, their downfall can come just as quickly. Ambition can cause someone to make terrible decisions and the consequences of those actions contribute to their fall. Many poems, stories and plays written during the time of Middle English, poets would often compose their writing around a few select themes.

After receiving The Medal of Honor, Douglas MacArthur said “ Duty, Honor, Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.” When thinking about honor many may think that honesty is the most important characteristic to obtain. When being honest, people are held to not lie, cheat, or steal. Not only is a honorable person honest, they are fair, and also highly respected.

Sir Gawain succeeded in upholding his virtues and the Chivalric Code countless times throughout the story. One of the earliest signs of chivalry Sir Gawain shows can be seen at King Arthur’s court, where the Green Knight first appeared before the Knights and challenged them to a game. Sir Gawain shows courage by bravely accepting the challenge, but he also shows humility by praising the other knights and degrading himself by saying, “I am the weakest, I know, and the feeblest of wit, and to tell the truth, there would be the least loss in my life.” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl Poet, pg. 8)

Beowulf, written during the eight century, is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem. The story revolves around the strongest warrior at the time, Beowulf, who accomplishes heroic feats to gain glory and fame. In the medieval romance “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” the story dramatizes a knight’s traits of honesty and loyalty. The stories share many similarities such as questing, protecting self-honor, and achieving glorious deeds on behalf of his king.