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Comparing The Archetypal Study In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a late 14th-century middle english romance. With a hero, of the name Sir Gawain that acquires the archetypal study. The archetypal study starts with the departure, in which Sir Gawain acquires. The call to the adventure is a characteristic of the departure in which occurs in the romance. The Green Knight, is a person who disrupts the calm environment one afternoon and challenge Sir Gawain in a duel one year and a day in the future from that point in time. “The knight answered, "Nay, I ask no fight...Therefore I ask in this court but a Christmas jest, for that it is Yuletide, and New Year… (Weston)” told by the Green Knight, Sir Gawain knows the task he has to endure. Along with the call there is also the refusal of the call in which it was that at first Sir gawain did not want to endure the task that was bestowed upon him. Therefore, King Arthur accepted the task, but when done so Sir Gawain possessed the courage to accept the challenge in position of his …show more content…

The initiation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight acquire trials that the hero must encounter such as: the climate,dragons,wolves and many more trials. “Sometimes he fought with dragons and wolves; sometimes with wild men that dwelt in the rocks; another while with bulls, and bears, and wild boars, or with giants of the high moorland that drew near to him (Weston).” This aspect shows the loyalty he has in completing the task. Along with the many thresholds, there is the magical weapon that justifies the damage Sir Gawain has in his soul. The magical weapon is the green girdle that the lady gives Sir Gawain. “The lady was sorely vexed, and said, "If you refuse my ring as too costly, that you will not be so highly beholden to me, I will give you my girdle as a lesser gift." (Weston).” now, this aspect shows the honor that Sir Gawain shows towards wearing the girdle that the lady beholds to

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Much of the action in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight revolves around carious kinds of games. In a way, all these games are connected. Chivalry is defined as the medieval system, principles, and customs of knighthood. In the time Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written, chivalry was a major deal. The games may have been somehow connected with chivalry, in that the medieval system included the playing of these games.

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The main theme of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the journey to maturity of Gawain, the hero. During the passage, Gawain goes through three tests on his development. First, Gawain shows courage and resourcefulness when he volunteers to take the Green Knight’s challenge instead of Arthur doing so. Second, Gawain shows authority, self-restraint, and integrity when he denies the sexual endeavours of the lady of the house. Lastly, Gawain shows bravery when he faces death by keeping his meeting with the Green

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During Christmas time at Camelot, King Arthur and his men sat prepared for their annual feast. Suddenly, a green, protuberant knight comes into their presence. The haughty, green knight challenged and provoked the knights until one of them agreed to play his “game”. The story Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, by Michael Morpurgo, incorporated stages of the hero’s journey such as: the call to adventure, refusal to call, meet the mentor and crossing first threshold, along with archetypes such as the regular guy, the rebel and the magician.

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Swinging his blade three times, the Green Knight misses twice and creates a small cut in Sir Gawain’s neck. Then, the Green Knight takes off his helmet, revealing himself as Lord Bertilak. Lord Bertilak vindicates that the first two blows were for the first two days in which Sir Gawain reimbursed Lord Bertilak the kisses from Lady Bertilak. However, the small cut from the third blow was for receiving the green belt from Lady Bertilak and keeping it from Lord Bertilak. Admitting his sin in lying and concealing the belt, Sir Gawain wears the belt to remind him of his dishonoring of his word.

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Sir Gawain takes knighthood to a deeper level and continues to see his knightly duties and responsibilities as they blatantly are verses getting hot-headed, dramatizing a situation, and uprooting his

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“And he showed them the scar at the side of his neck, confirming his breach of faith, like a badge of blame… though this I suffered a scar to my skin… So that slanting green stripe was adopted as their sign, and each knight who held it was honored forever, all meaningful writings on romance remind us: an adventure when happened in the era of Arthur, as the chronicles of this country have stated clearly.” (187-189). Through this journey, Sir Gawain’s fall became the knights pride. They honored him for all he had done while Gawain instead soaked up all of his shame and surrounded his life around his one major flaw.

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Despite the awareness that he must ultimately meet the superhuman warrior again, Gawain does not indicate any signs of losing his will to live on and continues serving King Arthur. When the time to depart comes, Gawain again proves his loyalty and reverence for his lord by politely asking him for permission to leave and fulfill the promise given to the Green Knight: “Now liege-lord of my life, for leave I beg you. You know the quest and the compact... I must set forth to my fate without fail in the morning” (Tolkien 38). On the way to the Green Chapel, Gawain fights off the attacks of both various wild animals (wolves, boars) and supernatural creatures (wood trolls), which validates his excellent athletic

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Sir Gawain shows loyalty and humility when he makes the decision of honoring the promise he made with the Green Knight. This humility drives him to set off to pursue the Green Knight to honor the pact they agreed on. On his arrival at the Green chapel, he calls the Green Knight who emerges to greet him and to fulfill the terms of the contract (Cathell). Sir Gawain presents his neck voluntarily to the Green Knight who feigns two blows (Cooke 4). This is a commitment and a sign of piety that Gawain manifests.

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Gawain, who had struck a deal with the lord to surrender all things he received during his stay in the lord’s dwelling, fails to do so in the name of self-preservation. The lord’s wife gifts Sir Gawain a green sash rumored to protect its possessor from physical harm. Gawain, recalling his inevitable meeting with the Green Knight, decides to contradict his agreement with the lord and “hid[es] it away from all hands and eyes” (Line 1875). His decision blatantly violated the chivalrous code, “failing a moral test in agreeing to hide the girdle from the husband, with whom he has the prior arrangement to exchange winnings” (West 9).

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The original author of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is anonymous. Sir gawain and the green knight teaches the audience to not lose their faith or to be intimidated by temptation. This book was written during the 1350 A.D. and the 1400 A.D. The animal characters in this book represent torture that sir gawain experienced while resisting Morgana.

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Tempted by the chance of protecting himself from the Green Knight, Gawain takes the girdle and does not give it back to Lord Bertilak that night. In her inquiry to deprive Gawain of his honor, Lady Bertilak uses what he desires against him. Regardless that she has been instructed to do this by her own husband, she still is able to influence Gawain and cause some discomfort.

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Gawain returns to King Arthur’s court all ashamed and sad that he’s failed a test of honor by withholding the green girdle from Sir Bertilak out of a desire to preserve his own life. He feels like he’s failed in his duty as a knight and let everyone down. Perhaps, more importantly, he’s learned that he’s not perfect and never will be. He explains to the whole court that he plans to wear the girdle forever as a reminder of his failing, because "a man may hide his misdeed, but never erase it, for where once it takes root the stain can never be lifted". But instead of being properly sobered, the whole court laughs at Gawain’s words and agrees that everyone in court will wear a similar girdle for Gawain’s

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However, Gawain failed the final test when Lady Bertilak offered him the green girdle, claiming it would protect him. The Green Knight forgives Sir Gawain because he made the decision out of love for his own life and cleanses him of his

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The lady tries to convince Gawain to take the girdle by hinting at its magical powers , stating that he “could not be slain through any strategy on earth” (1854) if he wears it . Gawain takes the girdle not out of lust , but because he fears death and that makes him start to believe in its magical powers “It [the girdle] certainly would be splendid to forestall being slain” (1858) . It is a way in which he tries to overcome fear and prepare himself for the appointment with the Green Knight. If we look at it from this perspective , the girdle can also symbolize that Gawain wants to be assured that he lives. The moment he takes the girdle is of great importance : whether he hides or declares the girdle and gives it to the Lord , he violates someone’s trust .

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In this fictional world, nature and magic seem to go hand in hand, clearly seen by the Green Knight’s wildness attachment. The story of Sir Gawain and Green Knight shows the contrast between humanity and nature and the necessity of separating from materialistic tendencies. In Lyanda Lynn Haupt’s book “Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit”, she sheds light on how to be fully immersed in nature, one must be detached from human tendencies (Haupt 74). As seen in the poem, Gawain doesn’t return the green girdle and is punished by nature “the Green Knight” but in the movie, once he lets it go he is able to live. Morgan’s care for the environment could have been another reason to send the Green Knight to steer her son to the right path.

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