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Gawain
In the poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” the protagonist, Gawain, illustrates loyal nobility and honesty to himself and everyone that he comes in contact with. Gawain is a good man whose only crime is berating himself all too much. Like every human he makes mistakes and must learn from them, yet for Gawain, a flaw is not acceptable and he believes that one failure makes him a failure to humanity and G-d. ... Therefore, the many peers of Gawain find it easy to congratulate him and praise him while he remains humble and true to himself. What Gawain must learn is that in order to be truly good, he must also know the bad.
Gawain is not foolish for keeping his promise to the Green Knight, he is a brave person; however when it comes to saving his life, Gawain prefers to forget about bravery in order to survive. ... Gawain chooses to save his life, and later on that fact makes him criticize himself.
An example of the never-ending praise that Gawain receives is from the Green Knight where he states, “Not many better men have walked this earth, been worth as much- like a pearl to a pea, compared to other knights”. ... 120) Here the Green Knight is talking to Gawain explaining his valor and honor in comparison to the other Knights of the Round Table. 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. ... 58) Gawain believes it to be wrong that the King should take the challenge himself in his own walls. That example is perfect in exhibiting the truth behind the statement that Gawain, compared to the other knights is like a pearl to a pea. It is very clear that this statement by the lord is perfectly valid, even though Gawain would humbly reject such praise.
Gawain feels unworthy of the praise that he received because he had taken the belt from the woman in order to save his life, therefore breaking the agreement that he has with G-d. Because of this slight infringement in the agreement, Gawain then states that he has failed as a person. ... 60-61)
In light of this sort of imagery it is understandable how Gawain might have felt the guilt that appears to be extreme to most modern readers of the poem.
Approximate Word count = 2053
Approximate Pages = 8.2
(250 words per page double spaced)
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