His acceptance of the beheading game when no other knight would allows the reader to assume that Gawain represents the most noble of Arthur's court. Lastly, even the... ... middle of paper ... ...mocks Arthur's court and his so-called honor, and is in concordance with Morgan le Fay's plan to make a fool out of Arthur and his knights. Although Gawain's actions are not chivalrous and makes the court appear foolish, he learns a lesson from his actions. He realizes the disgrace in his actions, calling his own heart "cowardly and covetous" (2374). By taking responsibility for his actions, Gawain allows the reader to forgive him.
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. We see that Bertilak perceives Gawain’s fault, his love of life, and irrespective of it, loves Gawain. Despite having sinned, Bertilak sees in Gawain a first-rate knight, far superior to his peers in Camelot, who, faced with the spectre of death, grew silent with cowardice, as the honor of the King lay unguarded.
This statement that the lord made is perfectly valid, yet Gawain again defers this praise and believes himself to be unworthy. In the entire court of King Arthur, Gawain was the only knight who was brave enough to take the challenge presented by the Green Knight. Also, he displayed his incredible loyalty to King Arthur when he was refusing to let King Arthur take the challenge without embarrassing him in front of all the guests. "Permit me to rise without discourtesy, and without displeasing your queen. Let me come to council you, here in your noble court" (p.58).
He displays his devotion in nobility and is defended many others by his acts of humility. Sir Gawain successfully accomplished in his responsibility in being an ideal knight by showing his true courage. It is hard to say anyone has ever been a completely "ideal" knight or even any person rather, no one is perfect, but he definitely encompasses many of the attributes ... ... middle of paper ... ...nd game playing. Sir Gawain and the temptress results in him losing his moral innocence, consequently he then expresses that he failed himself personally and in his knighthood. He stops viewing himself as a great chivalric knight.
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.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – A Test of Chivalry Essay with Outline Loyalty, courage, honor, purity, and courtesy are all attributes of a knight that displays chivalry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly a story of the test of these attributes. In order to have a true test of these attributes, there must first be a knight worthy of being tested, meaning that the knight must possess chivalric attributes to begin with. Sir Gawain is self admittedly not the best knight around. He says "I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; / and the loss of my life [will] be least of any" (Sir Gawain, l. 354-355).
His proposition reduces "the noblest knights known under Christ” (Part 1) “to cowering, quaking men.”(Part 1) In spite how the court reacted to the Green Knight's challenge, Arthur still insists, "No guest here is aghast of your great words" (Part 1). By verbally accepting the Green Knight's challenge, Sir Gawain supports Arthur's playful - if not outright dishonest - words, thereby managing to maintain the integrity of King Arthur's court. He also unknowingly passes his first and most obvious test. It is in the castle that Sir Gawain's ability t... ... middle of paper ... ... host. However, because he does not realize that he is being tested, Sir Gawain fails the test.
He trusts that a great execution on the front line will deify him as a legend among men who, in light of the training impacts of religion and instruction, infrequently separate themselves so drastically. Incidentally, in the wake of escaping from fight, Henry feels little blame about conjuring his own particular ... ... middle of paper ... ...s not trick his route to the respect that he so urgently aches for when the novel opens; rather, he wins it. This denotes a gigantic development in Henry's character. He figures out how to think about his slip-ups, for example, his prior retreat, without protectiveness or swagger, and relinquishes the trust of stormy gallantry for a quieter, yet all the more fulfilling, understanding of what it intends to take care of business. Over the long haul, Henry gets additionally brave, and before the end of the novel, he has turned into a more developed and prepared man who has confronted some of the most negative of situations.
Being in power yields the assumption that everything is possible. In Creon’s case, he states that “never, if I can help it, shall evil triumph over good.” Creon’s pride in his position as King skewed his perception of what is just. He opens his Kingship commenting on this very feature of kingship, that “no other touchstone can test the heart of a man” like that of utmost power. Ironically, Creon reaches this touchstone, only to fail, causing many tragic deaths....
Their voices were as silent as if they had fallen asleep.” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, ... ... middle of paper ... ...d failing that I have succumbed to out of the cowardice and greed that I displayed there.” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 2006, p. 78) Sir Gawain was more of a knight than the others in the court because he showed honesty within brokenness, not fake and “picture perfect”. The character of Sir Gawain is altered and strengthened. He broke the mold of what it was to be a knight for King Arthur and set an example of what it genuinely meant: to be honest and brave, to be confident in who he served and why he served, but not prideful, and to be willing to fight faithfully and strive for excellence on behalf of the King and the pride he took in his court. Sir Gawain embraces opportunities that not only enforces an examination of character and realization of differences wanted and unwanted, but also awareness of humiliation and the desire to be ultimately faithful.