also knows that (or he thinks he knows) that he has to live up to his end of the deal which to him, is getting his head cut off by the Green Knight. This is just the first example of Sir Gawains character flaw causing him problems. The next question can also be answered using Sir Gawains character flaw. When Sir Gawain got to the fortress of Sir Bertilak, they made the deal to exchange what they got at the end of the day. On the third day, when Sir Bertilaks wife gives Gawain the green girdle, Gawain doesn’t exchange it with Bertilak. The reason for this is because Bertilaks wife told Gawain that the green girdle would make him impossible to kill in battle. When Gawain heard this, he knew he had to keep it if he wanted to stand the slightest …show more content…
Nearly every character in The Scarlet Letter has a major character flaw, and the flaws that these characters have build the story. If none of the characters in this novel had flaws, then the story wouldn’t have the drama and suspense that it has currently. The character in The Scarlet letter that has the most noticeable flaw is Roger Chillingworth. Roger Chillingworth is the Husband of Hester Prynne and the physician of Arthur Dimmesdale, and Arthur Dimmesdale is the lover of Hester Prynne. This love triangle is what caused Chillingworth’s main character flaw. Even though Chillingworth admits to Hester that he shouldn’t have married her because she was too young and beautiful for him, he still holds a grudge against Dimmesdale. Chillingworth becomes very evil and obsessed with revenge; he is also described as a leech throughout the story because he leeches off of Dimmesdale’s soul. Chillingworth is jealous that Hester slept with someone else and he wants revenge on whoever did it. The problem here is that Chillingworth seems to blame Dimmesdale completely, when Hester is as equally guilty as Dimmesdale is. Chilling worth tells Hester that he will be able to tell who pearls father is by reading his heart, this also brings irony into the novel because Chillingworth is Dimmesdale’s physician and since Dimmesdale is constantly holing his chest in pain, it gives Chillingworth’s …show more content…
His flaw is his pride. If Dimmesdale didn’t have so much pride. Then he could’ve stood on the scaffold with Hester many years ago and saved everybody a lot of trouble. Though, the reason he doesn’t, is because he wants to keep his reputation, but this ends up killing him in the end. If Dimmesdale had just confessed earlier to the crime, he wouldn’t have had to deal with the pain of hiding his sin, and he could’ve lived a happy life with Hester and pearl, and the story would have had a better, more happy ending. If he had confessed 7 years earlier, pearl would’ve been able to have her father and the town would’ve known that pearl wasn’t a demon child, and she might have been accepted and befriend by the towns children. Even though it took Dimmesdale 7 years to tell the truth, he finally did, but he died because he kept his secret for too long. Although pearl didn’t get to spend much time with Dimmesdale as her father, she did get to embrace him one final time before he died, which figuratively set both of them
The fact that revenge destroys both the victim and the seeker is another theme presented in the Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale is the victim of Chillingworth’s revenge upon Hester and whoever her lover happened to be. Dimmesdale, beside his self-inflicted harm was also not helped by the fact Chillingworth enjoyed watching him waste away. However, Chillingworth is also subject to this destiny as evidence by his change in the novel. Chillingworth was considered wise and aged in the beginning of the novel, although, later he is seen as being dusky and evil.
...stops him from sleeping with Bertilak’s wife, only until his finds a way to avoid death does he goes against them. What Gawain learns from the green knight’s challenge is that instinctively he is just a human who is concerned with his own life over anything else. Chivalry does provide a valuable set of rules and ideals toward which one to strive for, but a person must remain aware of their own mortality and weaknesses. Sir Gawain’s flinching at the green knight’s swinging ax, his time in the woods using animal nature requiring him to seek shelter to survive and his finally accepting the wife’s gift of the girdle teaches him that though he may be the most chivalrous knight in the land, he is nevertheless human and capable of error.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a study of the effects of sin on the hearts and minds of the main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Sin strengthens Hester, humanizes Dimmesdale, and turns Chillingworth into a demon.
The lord planned to go hunting and invited Sir Gawain to eschange what he recieved in the castle for what the Lord recieved in the woods. For the first two days, the Lord gave Sir gawain venision, bear and a goose. And for every day, Sir Gawain recieved kisses from the Lady, so in return he must kiss the Lord. But on the third day, Sir Gawainj recieved three kisses and a green silk gridle. This gridle was magical according to the Lady. She said ""My knight, you must face many foes. This is a magic girdle; it has the power to protect whoever wears it against any weapon." Sir Gawains desire to live was overpowering so he accepted the gift. He failed to give the Lord this gift, but instead he gave him three kisses. Days passed and eventually Sir Gawain had to face the Green Knight. As scared as Sir Gawain was, he was determined to commit to his word so he allowed the Green Knight to swing his axe with the intent to decapitate him. Oddly enough, the Knight swung his axe three times and only cut Sir Gawains neck slightly.
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...
He could have figured out a way to prepare for what was to come, rather he took the path of deception when he decided not to be honest with his host, who as far as he knew was genuinely being a friend to him. In keeping the girdle to save himself from what he thought was certain death, Sir Gawain decided to deceive his host and not keep to the deal they had made. I believe that after Sir Gawain deceived his host, even if he felt a twinge of guilt, that … made it easier to deceive the Green Knight. He entered the Green Knight’s chapel, prepared to take his blow knowing that he was not forthcoming about having protection against said blow. While Sir Gawain kept his word and showed up to face the Green Knight, the choices he made along the way presented him in a less than honorable light. Although he told the truth to the Green Knight and then again to his court, accepting responsibility for his shortcomings, this did not absolve him of wrong doing nor does it erase the stain of deception that he would now wear for the rest of his days. So, with that, long live Sir
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain humbly approaches the King and courageously says, “For I find it not fit… when such a boon is begged… though you be tempted… to take in on yourself while so bold men about upon benches sit” (122-125) “And for that this folly befits a king, and ‘tis I that have asked it, it ought to be mine” (132-133). He, the weakest Knight, sees the injustice of someone challenging the King and instead of acting passively he willingly sacrifices himself for the King’s sake, which shows his loyalty, courage and integrity. However, Sir Gawain becomes a hypocrite even though the Green Knight says, “Friend mine, it seems your word holds good” (333-334) because the Green Knight’s wife “made trial of a man most faultless by far” (452) and he did not remain loyal and honest. The opportunity of remaining secure and safe presents itself and selfishly he chooses this course of action; consequently, he “lacked… a little in loyalty there” (456). In the end, the Green Knight reprimands him for his dishonesty and lack of integrity and in return Sir Gawain, shamefully responds “I confess, knight, in this place, most dire is my misdeed; let me gain back your good grace…” (Line 474-476) so even though he was not noble and loyal throughout the entire course he remains sincere in his apology. His loyalty to the King in the
Reverend Dimmsdale and Roger Chillingsworth in “The Scarlet Letter” were two very different characters with different agendas and end goals. Dimmsdale thought that Chillingsworth was there to help him, but in reality Chillingsworth was there only to further his own agenda in finding Hester’s secret lover. Reverend Dimmsdale and Roger Chillingsworth’s relationship in “The Scarlet Letter” was a parasitic one because Chillingsworth was always mentally torturing Dimmsdale, Chillingsworth would follow Dimmsdale, and at the end of the story Chillingsworth dies because he could not torture Dimmsdale anymore. Chillingsworth came to the town for one thing, to find out who Hester’s secret lover and adulterer was. This agenda was further pushed along when Chillingsworth moved in with Dimmsdale.
In “The Scarlet Letter,” the main character Hester get punished for adultery. In the beginning, she thought that her husband has died so she fell in love with Dimmesdale. However, her husband did not die and came back. Her husband, Chillingworth, later finds out that Hester has a secret lover. Therefore tried to find out who he is. At first Chillingworth does not reveal himself as Hester’s husband because she was being punished for adultery and he did not want to be ashamed. Later he tries to find out Hester’s secret lover by asking her but she will not tell him which makes him for desperate and angry. When he finds out that the secret lover is Dimmesdale, he finds out a secret about Dimmesdale.
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.
When he meets the Green Knight in the Green Chapel, the Green Knight only distributes a small nick in Gawain 's neck with his axe. He does this because Gawain completes all of the challenges that were faced before him with honor and honesty, except when he accepted the girdle from the wife of the castle. Sir Gawain is disappointed in himself, even though to the Green Knight, Gawain passed all of the tests with flying colors. Gawain even goes as far as to say "Now I am false and unworthy, and have always dreaded treachery and deceit: may misfortune and grief befall both!" (2384-2384). Gawain has no pride in anything he has done throughout the tests from the Green Knight. The Green Knight makes him take the girdle back to Camelot as a symbol of how well he did, even though Gawain does not see it as that. He heads back to Camelot with only a nick in his neck and the green girdle. Everyone of the castle sees the nick in his neck and the girdle and congratulates him. They all respect him for what he has done. However, Gawain wants no praise whatsoever from his peers. He is extremely humble about the situation and does not boast at all because to him the scar on his neck and the girdle represent his failure in completing all of the tasks perfectly. The people of Camelot are so proud of Gawain and all start wearing green girdles in honor of Gawain 's brave act. Gawain stays humble throughout all of
Roger Chillingworth utilizes his deceptiveness in a number of occasions throughout the novel. For example, in chapter three, Roger Chillingworth innocently approaches Hester Prynne, acting as if he has never once seen her. Roger Chillingworth even interrogates a local townsman about Hester Prynne and her committed sins. This shows that Roger Chillingworth purposely intends to concept a deceptive knowledge of his character in order to disconcert one who may read The Scarlet Letter. Although Roger Chllingworth is the foremost antagonist of the novel, his deceptiveness empowers him to withhold an excessive amount of moral ambiguity. With this moral ambiguity, Roger Chillingworth is able to surreptitiously accomplish a various amount of things, including the death of Arthur Dimmesdale himself.
Gawain’s acceptance of Lady Bertilak’s girdle causes him to progressively lose himself internally in order to save his physical life. Gawain appears to be the perfect image of a knight, who exhibits himself as worthy and noble when he accepts the Green Knight’s challenge. Known to be “honored all over the world,” his remarkable valor and devout behavior define his character. He loses his honorable reputation, though, when he disrespects the honor of King Bertilak. Disgracing his knightly code, Gawain fails to exchange all of his gifts with the king and lies, without hesitation, to the king when he claims that “what [he] owed [King Bertilak] [he has] paid [King Bertilak]” (1941). Gawain directly lies to him without hesitation, proving that his conscience does not seem to be effecting his actions. Lying is a common action, but generally, it causes us to feel remorseful and guilty over our wrongs. Gawain breaks the code of chivalry that requires a knight to be loyal and honest, but he is not regretful due to his apparent selfish nature (“Code of Chivalry, 2 and 15”). He makes a deal with the king to “[trade] profit for profit,” yet he dishonestly “[hides] [Lady Bertilak’s] love gift” rather than honoring the king’s wishes (1677, 1874). Gawain makes a promise that he fails to fulfill. The girdle drives him to destruction because it pulls him away from what he knows to be good and
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...
The Scarlet Letter illustrates that the illumination of self-deception gapes open after one like the very jaws of hell. This is apparent through all the main characters of the novel. Although Hawthorne's work has several imperfect people as the main characters, including Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth, the worst sinner is Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth commits the greater sin because of his failure to forgive; he has an insatiable appetite for revenge; he receives extreme pleasure in torturing Dimmesdale. Hester Prynne, however, has committed sins of almost the same magnitude.