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Sir Gawain's Challenges

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Sir Gawain faces numerous challenges in the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by the Pearl Poet. The challenges that Gawain faced are due to a Christmas game that is to trying to challenge King Arthur and his knights, the Green Knight. Throughout the troubles Gawain faces in the game and his stay in the Green Knight’s home, he proves himself to be a very honorable knight. Gawain didn’t have to participate in the Christmas game that the Green Knight purposed. King Arthur was the only one to accept the Knight’s challenge at first, because all of his knights were cowering from the giant green man. Gawain then proves his loyalty and bravery by taking the challenge for himself instead of having his king taking on the challenge. Gawain …show more content…

The Green Knight, without Sir Gawain’s knowledge, sends his wife to seduce Gawain and give him multiple lavish items. This giving the Green Knight a chance to sway his fate. Gawain promises to give the Green Knight anything he receives during his stay. Being the honorable knight that Gawain really is, he avoids the Green Knight’s wife’s advances. On the last day of Gawain’s stay at the Green Knight’s home, the game being only a day away, Gawain is offered something that anyone in his position would probably accept, a sash that would protect him from any harm. The right thing to do in his position would not to accept the sash, but Gawain was scared, and accepted the lady’s gift. “The knight cast about in distress, and it came to his heart. This might be a treasure indeed when the time came to take the blow he had bargained to suffer beside the Green Chapel.” (l, 227)Any person in their right mind wouldn’t want to be beheaded by a giant green man, so Sir Gawain’s acceptance of this sash is reasonable. Gawain’s fate was determined by if he stayed loyal to the Green Knight, and if he gave the Green Knight everything that he received during his stay. When the Green Knight finds out Gawain has the, he is extremely embarrassed. Gawain refusing to accept the Green Knight’s feast shows the reader Gawain’s guilt for not remaining loyal. “No, sir. I’ve reveled too well already; but fortune be with you; May He who gives all

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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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After Gawain comes clean and acknowledges his sin, the Green Knight praises him for being an honorable and chivalrous knight. He then invites Gawain to a great feast, but Gawain humbly states that he must return to his duties and continue to defend and protect King Arthur and his subjects. Sir Gawain even thanks the Green Knight and wishes him well after this frightening test of honor. He says, "I've reveled too well already; but fortune be with you; May He who gives all honors honor you well," (401-402).

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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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Even though the author of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is anonymous, the story is an embodiment of an epic heroic story. The story delivers evidence of the type of power that Kings and nobility held in the social culture. When the Green Knight challenges King Arthur, Sir Gawain steps up to represent and defend his king in spite of being weak. Sir Gawain states “I am the weakest…the loss of my life would be least of any; that I have you for uncle is my only praise…this folly befits not a king” (Greenblatt & Abrams, 2006, p. 131, 354-358). The nephew of the King’s offers his own life in order to preserve the King.

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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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Many other knights would run but Gawain understands that he has to have courage and must be honest about going to meet the green knight and fulfill his deal. One other virtue of chivalry that Gawain presents is courtesy. Gawain shows courtesy to the ladies of the castle. The pearl poet creates this scene: “His acquaintance they requested, and

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Early on in the tale, Sir Gawain shows courage when he steps up and accepts the Green Man's challenge well knowing of the chance of Death. By doing so Sir Gawain surpassed his fear of death by stepping up to do a mission none of the other knights at the round table wished to do. His reasoning for this was to take the place of his uncle, King Arthur who was originally the chosen participant after none of the other present knights volunteered. After chopping off the head of the Green Man, Sir Gawain is told that he must go to the green chapel in one year and one day to meet the Green Man. Sir Gawain fearful of death debates whether or not he will set journey to the green chapel at that time yet his courageous characteristics force him to go.

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Which led to the Green Knight explaining to Gawain that he is actually the same lord of the castle where Gawain spent his holidays. The first two blows, he claims, were in return for the way Gawain returned the kisses of his wife, following the rules of their game as an honest man should. The third blow, he says, was for Gawain’s failure to return the green girdle to him on the last day. But because Gawain’s failing was only because he wanted to save his life, and not because he's just dishonorable, the Green Knight forgives him. He leaves Gawain with only a scar and a girdle as a reminder of his very human sin.

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Throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, we see many places where redemption and self-worth are extremely important to the plot. Redemption is the act of failing and falling, but getting back up again, time after time. Gawain fails to meet this in many parts of the story, including bad bets, trying to believe he was faultless, and, most importantly, blaming others for things he himself did. While the act of redemption is very real, Sir Gawain does not showcase this. Gawain can’t seem to learn his lesson when it comes to betting.

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Sir Gawain states this because once the green knight revels himself as the king to Sir Gawain he feels ashamed that he took the green sash but indicates that it’s the king’s wife’s fault because she kept insisting that he take it. Although this is indeed true it was because the king put his wife to it to test Sir Gawain’s loyally and honesty but he still puts all the blame on the king’s wife. To summarize anyone who makes mistakes should not put the blame on someone else put rather themselves and learn from the

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Gawain is courteous to no end, even asking for permission to “abandon [his] bench and stand by [Arthur]” (Pearl Poet l. 344) so he may risk his own life instead of his kings to abide by the Green Knights game. He even humbly states that he “[is] the weakest” (l. 354) and that it would be the least lost of he was to parish which is untrue. Gawain is also extremely courteous when he is denying the wife’s attempts to seduce him saying he is “a knight unworthy” (l.1245). He plays a game of wits as he must not offend her advances but at the same time must not let the wife win the “game” because then he would have to lay with her and that would be uncourteous to his host, Lord Bertilak. The only time Gawain faults in his courteousness is when he refuses to acknowledge the agreement he made with Lord Bertilak which was “whatever [Lord Bertilak] win[s] in the wood shall at once be [Gawain’s] and whatever gain [Gawain] may get [he] shall give in exchange” (ll. 1107-08).

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When the Green Knight gives him the girdle back Gawain says "I gladly take it and be pleased to posses, not for the pure gold, nor the bright belt itself, not the beauteous pendants/When I ride in renown, and remember with shame the faults and the frailty of the flesh perverse, how it 's tenderness entices the foul taint of sin"(2439-36). It is at this point where the girdle has changed from a symbol of life to a symbol or shame and temptation. Gawain and the Green Knight say goodbye to each other and part ways. Gawain heads home ashamed of what he had done, when he gets home the court is overjoyed that he had returned and he was alive. When the court asks of the quest that he had been on he retells how it was all set up and that he now wears the green girdle out of shame because of his actions.

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You may also think that some events that happened are confusing, but if you keep reading you will see how it falls into place. Sir Gawain always tried to live by his morals of chivalry, loyalty, and honesty, but you will see in this story how times can be tempting; for instance, Sir Gawain showed his loyalty to King Arthur by standing in place of the king for the challenge of the Green Knight; Sir Gawain also restrained from sexual advances from the king’s wife; including, Sir Gawain’s honesty about the gift he received from the king’s wife. Sir Gawain accepts the challenge for King Arthur. One day King Arthur and his knights were gathered to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, when suddenly, an enormous, fully green man arrives at court named the Green Knight.

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In the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, two knights encounter each other during Christmas day, in the medieval time period. Sir Gawain was a knight of King Arthur and did not stand out very much from the rest of the knights. The Green Knight was a supernatural man who wore all green apparel and also had green skin. When the Green Knight entered King Arthur's castle, he challenges anyone to take part in what was known as the "beheadith game". Sir Gawain reluctantly accepted his challenge and with that took a lot of courage.

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