What Are The Similarities Between Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Sir Gawain, the main character in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, was an honorable, practically perfect knight in the Middle Ages. Knights’ had a list they were required to follow to be defined a true knight, which is titled the Code of Chivalry. No matter which Code you read (there are several), you will find something along the lines of “Fear God and maintain His Church”, or simply “Faith” upon each list. The Code of Chivalry came from the church so this was an obvious duty. This one responsibility characterizes almost all aspects of Sir Gawain. He is dedicated to the Church, because of his commitment to his knighthood. Throughout the entire story we find symbols and correlations from the Bible that reveal Gawain’s Christian faith.
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One example of relations to the Bible is the story of David and Goliath. Benjamin D. Utter, an author who investigated the similarities between the two stories, explains it quite well and even uses Scripture to validate his point: “The most immediately obvious similarities emerge in the beheading game, in which the derision of a giant intruder threatens to disgrace king and court, and forces

He holds his responsibilities to God as his number one priority. Critic Tison Pugh explains, “Games and play--those of the Arthurian court, of the Green Knight, and of Christianity--advance the narrative so that Gawain displays his virtuous identity through his pentangle shield and armor; the godgame of the Green Knight (the beheading game and the exchange game) and the godgame of Christianity (the rules of the pentangle).” These are all hidden symbols of Gawain’s devout Christian faith. Tison Pugh also allows us to understand that the main role the Green Knight plays is to, “force Gawain to confront his personal limitations and to gain a better understanding of his place within a Christian world.” He plays this role sneakily, but Gawain remains faithful almost always. This is quite impressive due to all the temptations he faced. We realize from Tison Pugh’s exquisite commentary that the moral of this entire story is “...perfection is a rule that can never be maintained in a fallen world.” No matter how hard anyone tries, even the noblest of knights, there is no way to be completely perfect. When Gawain met the Green Knight to compete in the second portion of the challenge, where the knight would have his chance to behead Gawain, the Green Knight spares his life and only nicks his neck. When Gawain questions this odd situation, the Green Knight reveals that he was the lord from the castle, and his wife’s