Sir Gawain: Triumph or Failure? 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. The story is concerned with the conflict between his conception of himself and the reality. When Arthur's court was challenged by the Green Knight, Gawain alone offered to take the cup from Arthur's hands. He showed pride and courage greater than all - by coming forward. The poem is filled with opportunities in which Gawain inevitably was forced to face difficult decisions. During his travels he had every opportunity to turn around, especially when the rain and cold and desolation became fierce. Gawain, however, continued on his way. Three times did the lady tempt him and twice he managed to neither offend her with discourteousness nor accept her amorous advances and defile his chastity. "In destinies sad or merry, True men can but try." Tests and decisions are as numerous in any man's life as are the beats of his heart. The consequences follow him forever - he is judged by them and they affect his entire existence. However, judgement should not be passed on a man's single decisions individually, but only by observing how he has chosen to live his life. The circumstances under which each choice has been made should be considered as well. From the start Gawain was facing not only the ruination of his pride, his good name, and his spirit, but also almost certain death. 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.
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
Hippocrates. On Regimen in Acute Diseases. Trans. Adams, Francis. Ca 400 BC. MS. The Internet Classics Archive: 441 Searchable Works of Classical Literature. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.
VII. Gawain is placed in many different situations in which he must demonstrate that he does, in fact, possess the attributes of a worthy knight.
In this passage taken from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Lines 1623-1718, the reader sees how Sir Gawain is the hero of the poem, through the tests of the host. Sir Gawain is speaking to the host of the castle where he is staying for a few days before journeying on to the Green Chapel. The host has just returned from hunting and killing some boar. While the host is out hunting for the boar, we learn that Sir Gawain is developing a love interest in a special lady friend, the wife of the host, who makes several attempts to seduce him. Before this hunt, Gawain and the host make a promise to each other that they will exchange whatever they may win that day for the other's winnings. The host gives Sir Gawain the boar in exchange for two kisses. Then the host says to Sir Gawain "Now we are even" (Norton, 236, line 1641.) There is a vivid description of the meal that follows, as well as the singing of Christmas songs. Then Gawain tells the host that he should be on his way to the Green Chapel to face the Green Knight. The host comments on the fact that he has tested Gawain twice and is quite impressed with his performance. The host then tells Gawain about the third test. In the test, the winner will take all, and the loser takes nothing. Gawain thinks this is all just a game and doesn't realize that it is actually a test. Sir Gawain later decides that he will stay, after learning from the host that the Green Chapel is not too far away from the castle. He has some more drinks with the host. After this, he goes to bed and gets the best night's rest, and is up early the next morning. That morning, the host hunts for some fox as Gawain lies in bed. The passage ends with a description of how the host an...
Sir Gawain is the nephew of the most famous King Arthur. Gawain being in line of the throne knew he must show his bravery and man up in front of his fellow knights. The Green Knight stormed into the king’s courts riding on a mystical horse. He taunted the men asking for the bravest knight in the kingdom to stand up and take his outrageous challenge. As the men sat quietly not knowing what to do, Sir Gawain decides t...
In day-to-day life, people face a vast array of decisions. Some of these decisions are transient, such as what clothes to wear. Other decisions we make may have lasting impacts not only to the person making the decision, but others that surround that person. An example would be drinking and driving. Moral code often dictates what you should do in situations, but it is up to each individual to live up to that moral code and choose to make virtuous decisions. As I face the challenge of leading a virtuous life, I am drawn back to the time of Sir Arthur and the Round Table. More specifically, I am intrigued by Sir Gawain. In the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I admire how Sir Gawain attempts to be virtuous, yet also empathize when he falls short of maintaining these virtues. Although Sir Gawain fails to maintain his virtues throughout the story, his continuous attempts to return to virtuous decisions makes him a virtuous person.
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain continuously proves his knightly virtues and code of honor. Chivalry includes bravery, honor, and courtesy. He proves that he is in fact a 'real'; Knight. He shows his bravery by shying away from nothing and no one. He proves his honor and courtesy to everyone he meets by showing respect to all whether he receives it back or not.
It is important to keep in mind that the Hippocratic Corpus is not the text of a single author, but rather a compilation of writings by many authors with similar characteristics with Hippocrates of Cos. Possibly, many treaties were lost in the fire that destroyed the Great Library of Alexandria, but a librarian saved and compiled approximately 60 of the medical writings, publishing them as the Hippocratic Corpus. Identify which texts were actually written by Hippocrates is still an ongoing work for historians, but the influence of the physician of Cos is clearly observed in the text of the Corpus.
During the 1960’s a revolution and change in lifestyle occurred for the youths of america which rapidly spread around the world. It was situated around the ideals of freedom, peace, love, living your life happily and in the way you want to rather than conforming to the ideals of others. Some might say that this significant cultural change has shaped the way in which some generations think and feel about life today, however, it could also be argued that the beliefs, and life style of hippies are not realistic, neither acceptable in the world we live in today.
The movement that began during the counterculture era in the 1960s, also known as the youth movement, rebelled against the conformity of American life. The main goal the hippie movement was trying to accomplish was being able change views and ideas politically, socially, and culturally. However, they mainly aimed at changing cultural points and everyday values. The movement started after the assassination of President Kennedy, led into protesting against the Vietnam War, civil rights movement, usage of psychoactive drugs, sexual liberation, a new taste in music, such as the rock genre from bands like The Beatles, and more.
The article “From counterculture to Sixties Culture” clearly demonstrates that the hippie movement was not just founded on pure rebellion from what their parents had prescribed. The article reveals that the 60s culture was a product of many factors including the youths reaction to the Vietnam War, the outpouring of self expression on college campuses around the continent, the constantly dynamic civil rights, and especially the rejection of the counterculture by the mainstream society.
Even though little is known about the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it is considered to be one of the greatest romances of all time. The poem tells the story of one of Arthur's noblest and most courageous knights, Sir Gawain, who is in search of the Green Chapel: "Sir Gawain ingeniously combines two plots, common in folklore and romance, although not found together elsewhere: the beheading contest, in which two parties agree to an exchange of blows with a sword or an ax, and the temptation, an attempted seduction of the hero by a lady" (Norton 200). The poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight deals with important themes and ideas such as nobleness, chivalry, knighthood, Christian ideals, truth, temptation, and hunting among others. The poem is also a "study [of] how successfully Gawain, as a man wholly dedicated to Christian ideals, maintains those ideals when he is subjected to unusual pressures" (Norton 200). The poet effectively uses literary devices such as alliteration, rhyme, irony, metaphor, symbolism, and imagery to reinforce his ideas and themes.
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American society and culture experienced an awakening during the 1960s as a result of the diverse civil rights, economic, and political issues it was faced with. At the center of this revolution was the American hippie, the most peculiar and highly influential figure of the time period. Hippies were vital to the American counterculture, fueling a movement to expand awareness and stretch accepted values. The hippies’ solutions to the problems of institutionalized American society were to either participate in mass protests with their alternative lifestyles and radical beliefs or drop out of society completely.
The character, Sir Gawain is an interesting character. He has many different qualities both good and bad. Though he has bad qualities, his intentions behind them are completely innocent. His good qualities far outweigh his bad ones. He makes many decisions though not always the best ones. These decisions have lasting effects on other characters from the story. The ethics of sir Gawain are a main theme throughout the story. Sir Gawain has some interesting motives to his actions that are a focus in the beginning of the story. Throughout the entire story, Sir Gawain is growing as a character. Gawain has many appealing qualities, interesting ethics and motives, and some of his decisions are questionable, but all the while he is growing