Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Symbolism Essay

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is different from other pieces written because it starts out mentioning the historic events that happened before it. This is to give you an idea of where in the timeline Arthur and Camelot are. In the story of Sir Gawain our champion experiences different trials and each one is a test to see if he is a true knight. The major theme of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the passage to maturity for our hero, Sir Gawain.

One tale tells of Sir Gawain and the challenge he takes on in playing the Green Knight’s game while struggling to maintain his honor. In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,”

In the Pearl poet’s Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, an epic talk emerges to reveal a man’s journey of honesty, morals, and honor. Sir Gawain accepts a challenge in place of his uncle King Arthur, with hidden tests and viable consequences. As Gawain begins his journey, he proudly upholds his knightly honor and seeks out his own death; however, Gawain gives into his human emotion and is soon distracted from his chivalrous motives. As a result of this distraction, Gawain is marked with a scar to show his dishonest and cowardly deception. This scar is a visible reminder to Sir Gawain that honor and prestige cannot always protect against the desires of the flesh. Gawain pays for his sins at the Green Knights axe (Stone 136). This sin

The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight includes certain symbols such as the weather or a simple quest of a knight that are interpreted differently after reading and understanding the teachings presented. It is not the average narrative of a knight set on a quest, but much more on the self-knowledge of the human in the armor suit.

In Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, Gawain undergoes several different changes in his ideas as well as his attitudes. By ultimately sacrificing himself and accepting the challenge of taking on the Green Knight, Gawain undergoes a certain quest in which he will head back to the Knights of the Round Table to explain not only his story, but the ideas that the Green Knight has taught as well. Throughout the story, the reader is able to gain clues as to why Gawain decided to sacrifice himself and undergo a quest to gain self-knowledge. In Sir Gawain & The Green Knight, Gawain follows a quest, receives a challenge, goes out on a journey to face that challenge, and then reports back to the Knights at the Round Table to on his quest.

"The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell" is a medieval romance poem written by an anonymous author. Sir Gawain is one of the major characters in the poem. He is a very likable personality. Sir Gawain represents an ideal knight of the fourteenth century. Throughout the story, we see Sir Gawain portrayed as a very courteous and noble knight, always trying to help King Arthur. The characteristics of Sir Gawain like kindness, generosity and firmness are revealed from his actions.

From the first time I read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I have been troubled by the question of whether or not Sir Gawain was right or wrong in lying in order to keep the girdle and save his life. He was torn between honesty and his own life. The question he was forced to ask himself was "what did he value more: his honesty or his life? Many scholars have struggled with this question for centuries, as well as the questions of why Gawain made the decision that he did, how guilty he "really" felt for his actions, and what the poet is trying to tell the reader through Gawain's ordeal.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,a religious english piece of literature about honor and keeping true to ones beliefs,is a grim story in which a mysterious green knight challenges the court of king arthur to a game. The game is one of death in which the challenger has to cut of the head of the knight with an axe and one year and one day later the green knight shall do the same to anyone who steps up and accepts the challenge. At his own demise Sir Gawain,the noble knight,accepts the challenge and drive an axe through the green knights neck,severing his head from his body. To everyone’s amazement,the green knight does not die,but instead retrieves his head from the ground and proceeds to leave the court. Sir gawain was stunned at the survival of the green knight but agrees still to meet him after the one year and one day mark has passed.

Symbolism is used to show ideas and the importance of things in the story to make the story more meaningful. At times, symbolism changes its meanings from one thing to another as the story progresses. This is shown in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a poem written by Pearl Poet and translated by J.R.R. Tolkien. In the story, Gawain is on a trip to find the Green Knight to fulfill his challenge. Before meeting the Green Knight, he stays at the castle and is persuaded by the host’s lady to take a green girdle. This green girdle is the perfect example of the change in symbolism. When Gawain first receives the girdle, the girdle symbolized his sin but as the story progresses, the girdle represents his cowardliness until King Arthur changes the girdle to be a symbol of honor.

Sir Gawain and Green Knight takes up the idea of an aristocratic society, strongly adhering the principles of the code of chivalry. However, throughout the story we find out that even though the people are very brave, orderly, and chivalrous like the main character, Sir Gawain they can face temptations and are put into question due to human nature to either follow these values or to go against these values. This is displayed in every part of the story.

The unknown author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight brings to life the character of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s court who saves the life of his king by accepting the challenge of the Green Knight. Throughout his adventures in the story, Gawain discovers, develops, and demonstrates his own chivalric qualities. He makes a few mistakes along the way, but strives to settle for nothing less than perfection in loyalty, courage and courtesy. The chivalric code that Gawain strives to live up to is one of loyalty (to his king, Arthur; to his lady, Guinevere; and to God), courage, and courtesy, a code of behavior expected of knights in the Middle Ages. These aspects of the code of chivalry stemmed primarily from “traditional warrior values

The story of “ Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” portrays a man who takes on a duel with a powerful green knight and has to be a man among men to achieve his task. In this story the author is using Sir Gawain as a picture of what he thinks a good leader and future king should look like. He demonstrates this by putting him in situations when he can use servant leadership and courage, he gives Sir Gawain determination and trustworthiness, and finally he gives him humility and makes him the type of man people follow after.

In the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain must venture off to the Green Chapel to own up to his end of the deal that came with the Green Knight's challenge. Sir Gawain faces multiple challenges along the way which helps develop the theme of the story. Gawain’s apotheosis reflects the wisdom gained from some of life’s more brutal initiations.

Sir gawain and the Green Knight is the Medieval Story of a Knight who takes on the challenge of a Green Knight and goes on a journey to try and preserve the reputation of the kingdom of Camelot. The knight, Sir Gawain, must maintain his chivalrous and noble attributes that he learns taking part in the knights of the round table, while at the same time avoiding temptations thrown at him throughout his quest. He must accept the flirtatious gestures of the wife of a host who has taken him in, “while at the same time having to resist seductions that invite one to stray off the path.”(Campbell 24). The path being the challenge of maintaining character of a noble knight. Gawain’s quest reveals some significant changes that occur in the hero’s character.

In most respects, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is purely a fantasy story, but when creating Sir Gawain's character, the author employed realism. Sir Gawain is noble and very worthy of his position in King Arthur's court, but he is not perfect. Rather than discrediting him in the eyes of the reader, these flaws make him a more realistic character allowing him to develop. Though imperfect, Gawain is an ideal knight, a man whose bravery, purity, and honesty give him strength