Sir Gawain's Character

King Arthur loved Sir Gawain because his loyalty of commitment to his superior shows a great deal of respect, exhibiting his nobility once more. As I have previously stated, “Arthur loved this knight, always the first to come forward, ever ready to put his courage to the test; and his heart sank” (Hastings 2). In addition, Sir Gawain’s commitment allows King Arthur to know that his loyal knight is dedicated to serving him and that he will support him no matter what the cause may be, just as a true noble knight should be. Because Sir Gawain is ready to volunteer to save the honour of his king and his title, shows loyalty once more as he is the one eager to represent the king with whatever quest he may have. Another example would be when Sir Gawain displays his strong desire to represent the king as he enthusiastically shouts “Sire, I beg you, let me defend you! Grant me the quest that I may be the one to save the honour of my King!” (Hastings 2). Of course, Sir Gawain desired to be the king’s representative as he would die to portray his loyalty. That is to say he would literally die to portray his loyalty as his courage has no limits so for this; he is truly a noble knight. For these reasons, Sir Gawain is a favourite for his courage and loyalty demonstrates his nobility through his unique character, begging the king for quests and giving King Arthur a sense

Gawain’s first portrayal of being a true knight comes when the Green Knight makes his appearance in Camelot. The Green Knight first speaks to King Arthur and proposes that they play a “game.” Arthur will strike the Green Knight with his axe, and in return the Green Knight will return the strike in a year and a day. King Arthur agrees to this game and its terms, but as he steps up to accept the challenge, Gawain comes forward and offers to participate in the “game” in place of King Arthur. Sir Gawain says to King Arthur, “I implore with prayer plain that this match should now be mine” (341-342). Gawain goes on to strike the Green Knight, cutting off his head. However, the strike does not kill the Green Knight; he picks up his head from the ground and repeats to Sir Gawain that he will return the blow in a year and a day. In this moment, Gawain’s bravery is clearly showcased. First, he takes a challenge in place of his king, which he did not have to do.

As one can observe in Part One of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain demonstrates traits of the Code of Chivalry. In a moment of confusion, Sir Gawain rises up to show he is a loyal, pious, and self deprecating Knight of the Round Table. To began, the reader is introduced to Sir Gawain and recognizes his loyalty when he says, “Would you grant me the grace… to begone from this bench and stand by you there” (Borroff l. 118). Furthermore, Sir Gawain takes King Arthur’s life out of harm’s way by replacing him in the deadly dare that is presented in front of Camelot because he values King Arthur’s life over his own. Furthermore, not only is Sir Gawain loyal to King Arthur, but he is also loyal to God. In the same fashion, Sir Gawain reveals he is pious before he pursues the dare. Immediately

The code of chivalry is a complex moral code followed by men and women in the medieval period. The first major element in the code is loyalty to your God and king. Loyalty to God plays a monumental role in the medieval period. The first knights were known as crusaders who fought in religious wars to protect the christian kingdom. Your king is the person closest to God and you must show him loyalty to prove yourself within his kingdom. Gawain did not fail this aspect but also did not exemplify it. Gawain was loyal to King Arthur. In Fit 1, he says “This fight to me. May it be mine” (Stone 33). Gawain offers himself up to battle the Green Knight instead of King Arthur. He offers himself as a sign of loyalty to Arthurs. Sir Gawain knows that he has nothing to lose since he is only a meesly knight but if King Arthur took the challenage and died, Camelot would be without and king and left in chaos.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain courageously steps up to play the green knight’s game. The green knight clearly lays out the terms of the game to Sir Gawain: Sir Gawain can give the green knight any blow with any weapon and a year later the green knight will return the same blow. A year passes and Sir Gawain boldly puts on his armor and embarks on his journey to receive his return blow. After traveling for months, Sir Gawain stumbles upon a castle where he is graciously welcomed. The significant change in clothing of Sir Gawain from armor to soft clothing suggests a failure to the expectations placed upon him by his pentangle and allegiance to Camelot.

Tricked by the Green Knight and Morgan le Faye, Gawain, driven by his sense of duty and honor, must sacrifice his own life for those ideals. I believe that though Gawain is a bit foolish in his quest to lose his head, he did make the correct decision in protecting Arthur. Like King Beowulf, the loss of Arthur would have been very detrimental to the society at the time. Gawain sacrifices himself in order to preserve Order.

     The moral code of the knights of the Round Table which was renewed at the feast of Pentecost every year was to: “only fight in just cause, at all times to be merciful, at a all times to put the service of ladies foremost.'; (Malory, p.344.) Sir Gawain’s strength was increased for three hours every morning but after noon would decrease. Once when in battle with Sir Launcelot to avenge the death of his two brothers by Sir Launcelot, Sir Launcelot realizes Sir Gawain’s strength is less so he says to him “Sir Gawain, I have endured many blows from you but I see that you have weakened'; and then turns to King Arthur and says, “My liege, your expedition can find no honorable conclusion, so I pray you withdraw and spare your noble knights'; (Malory, p.373.) showing mercy and fair play.

First off in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is a legitimate knight. He serves the court of King Arthur and is among the famous Knights of the Round Table. When the Green Knight breaks into the castle and demands that King Arthur play the ‘Beheading Game’ with him, Arthur voluntarily comes up and gets ready to do so. But then in an action comparable to a model knight, Sir Gawain volunteers to behead the Green Knight in Arthur’s place. This leads to the Green Knight picking his severed head up and telling Sir Gawain to meet him at the Green Chapel in a year and a day.

Even though Gawain describes himself as the weakest knight in terms of physical and mental ability. In my opinion, he is one of the humble and ambitious knight in the Round table. He knowns reputation is something extremely hard to build. In order to, protect the honor and image of the Arthurian court, he accepts the challenge without knowing the supernatural abilities of the green knight. Even after knowing the fact, he keeps his and the court's honor by setting off for the search of the green chapel.

You really have to look back to grasp what exactly Gawain was putting at risk when he stood up to the challenge to save King Arthur. Not only was his pride and reputation at stake here, but his life as well. And he was the only one of Arthur's court who stood up. He could have just as easily been content to let Arthur have his go, but he showed such vidality and courage by coming forward. ( King Arthur had to since he was the King and had to stand up for his court or be put to shame.)

At the beginning of the story, a challenge was offered to his uncle, King Arthur, that seemed to suspicious for his own good. The challenge was that the king would be able to strike the green knight once today, and that in a year and one day the green knight would repay him with a blow. So rather than allowing the King to risk his crown, Gawain took his uncle’s place instantly displaying his humility and sacrifice. As the year drew to a near, Gawain remembered his promise and went searching for the green knight. Now Gawain could have forgotten his promise, but instead his honor was great and therefore began his journey.

How much do you cherish your life? Are you willing to put someone you honor before yourself? Well, that is what Sir Gawain did. Sir Gawain loved his life, but he honored King Arthur. In addition, to his honor for his mighty king he showed acts of loyalty.

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.

A student waits patiently at his desk. His math teacher is handing back the quizzes the class took last Tuesday. He gives the student his quiz, and it turns out he bombed it. Did he fail the class? Is that the end of his academic career? No, it is not. He can always do extra credit, study harder, and redeem himself. Sir Gawain did not learn the concept of redemption until he was a fully grown and respected knight. In that case, his life was on the line, not his math grade. If someone can redeem themselves, their self worth is increased, regardless of what their mistake was.