1. Gawain starts out at the beginning of his journey from Camelot. He travels through the wilderness and is away from all things living. His journey is into the unknown. He is unaware of what is going to happen on his journey. He gets to the castle of temptation. Where he undergoes a challenge. He dies when the Green Knight nicks him with his axe. This is when Gawain realizes that he has lied and done wrong to the King who voluntary let him stay at the castle. Sir Gawain is reborn when he starts his journey back to Camelot. It is kind of like Sir Gawain went in a circle on his journey. He starts at Camelot, goes through the wilderness, gets to the castle, meets the Green Knight, and travels back through the wilderness, back to Camelot.
2. The physical death is when Gawain gets hit by the axe. Sir Gawain realizes that he has been hit and is still alive. Sir Gawain dies spiritually when he realizes the whole thing was a game. He realizes, as a Knight he should have been more honest.
3. This story is mostly written in Sir Gawain's point of view. We follow Sir Gawain through all of his struggles. We see into all the faults of Sir Gawain. Through the story we follow Sir Gawain and see how he struggles with the temptations of the Lady. Sir Gawain is to conform to the Lady and do what she is asking, but he knows that is wrong for she is married. We get to see the thoughts and feelings of Sir Gawain. We know that he is tempted to sleep with the Lady but we also know he knows it is wrong.
4. I feel, for the time being, Sir Gawain is ruined as a Knight. I think that eventually he will slowly get over the fact that he was dishonest. Sir Gawain is continuously reminded of his fault by the girdle. For right now Gawain is going to go back to Camelot and see if he can't mend what he has done. The Green Knight forgave him for his dishonor but now Sir Gawain needs to learn to forgive himself for that. This is something Sir Gawain is going to have to learn to deal with. Eventually, I believe, he will get over it and return to the knight he once was.
5. The King is being used by Morgan le Fay. The King then, to fulfill his responsibilities, uses the Lady to try and have Gawain falter. They were testing the abilities of Sir Gawain to help see if he is a great knight. The Lady, using her wiles, got Gawain to give up on his faith and become dishonest. Then Sir Gawain has to pay for his mistake. I feel the most likely response to this question is the Lady. I feel that if the Lady wanted to, she could have decided not to go through with the plan. She is the most important role in the game because without her Sir Gawain would not have faltered.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
1. The hunting scenes are very closely connected to the bedroom scenes. The hunting and bedroom scenes reinforce the themes of games and the role of woman. Every-time the hunting becomes more difficult, so does seducing Gawain. The animals represent the difficulty levels of trapping Gawain.
The first hunt is a young female deer. The King is very sure that he is going to trap the young deer for he feels it is an easy hunt. The Lady, the same. She is in Gawain's room, thinking that it will be so easy to persuade him with her wiles. She thinks that she is so effective in her tactics that she is sure that she will get him.
The second hunt is a little harder. The King is chasing a boar. This boar is a little more wise then the deer. The hunters are more threatened by the boar. He is trying to fight back because he feels intimidated by the hunters. Like the boar, Gawain starts to fight back, but still allows the woman to persuade him a little more than the day before.
The third hunt was a fox. The fox is much harder to kill. It is extremely fast and its a lot smaller than the boar. With its fast speed and its small body it is harder to aim and hit. The Lady continues to try and convince Gawain. Although she gets further with him, he is still very hard to trap. She gets him, just as the King got the fox, with the girdle. He takes the girdle to protect him, for he is scared. She gives him the girdle knowing he won't tell the King and therefore, the plan is working to a little extent.
2. I feel as though Gawain, though trying to avoid temptation, fails to an extent. Gawain is thrown into hard circumstances. Although he wants to have the woman and is being seduced by her, he made a promise to the King. He is trying, in his actions, not to dishonor his trust of the King, nor hurt the Lady. Gawain feels he has lost all his honor. He feels as though he failed to be a good knight.
3. The climax of the story, as far as Fit 3 goes, is when Gawain does not tell the King about the girdle. This is the first time in the story that Gawain breaks his word. Throughout all the times when he is with the Lady, he keeps his promise to the King. He gives the King exactly what the Lady gave to him, until he is given the girdle that is supposed to keep him alive.
4. The girdle could represent sin and dishonesty. Also it represents Christianity vs. Paganism. When Gawain accepts the girdle he is told that it is going to save whoever wears it. Gawain takes it to protect him from the Green Knight. Instead of taking his shield, which has the Virgin Mary and the pentangle on it, he takes the girdle. At this point he has fallen away from Christ and Christianity. He has chosen to rely on the girdle, that the woman has given him. The woman was dishonest when she gave Gawain the girdle.
5. Sir Gawain knows that it is wrong to be with another mans wife. Sir Gawain tries to maintain some sort of order when it comes to going to far with the Lady. It is part of the Christian religion to be with one man or one woman (of the opposite sex) for the rest of your life. Sir Gawain knows that the Lady is married and knows of it to be wrong if he were to do anything with her. Sir Gawain makes a point to let the woman know they wouldn't do anything but kiss.
Another is, of course, the girdle. Gawain, is now relying on the girdle to protect him, and no longer waiting for God to help him. He has taken his religion and passed it for something material. Gawain, now trusts in the material gift of the Lady.
The first hunt is a young female deer. The King is very sure that he is going to trap the young deer for he feels it is an easy hunt. The Lady, the same. She is in Gawain's room, thinking that it will be so easy to persuade him with her wiles. She thinks that she is so effective in her tactics that she is sure that she will get him.
The second hunt is a little harder. The King is chasing a boar. This boar is a little more wise then the deer. The hunters are more threatened by the boar. He is trying to fight back because he feels intimidated by the hunters. Like the boar, Gawain starts to fight back, but still allows the woman to persuade him a little more than the day before.
The third hunt was a fox. The fox is much harder to kill. It is extremely fast and its a lot smaller than the boar. With its fast speed and its small body it is harder to aim and hit. The Lady continues to try and convince Gawain. Although she gets further with him, he is still very hard to trap. She gets him, just as the King got the fox, with the girdle. He takes the girdle to protect him, for he is scared. She gives him the girdle knowing he won't tell the King and therefore, the plan is working to a little extent.
2. I feel as though Gawain, though trying to avoid temptation, fails to an extent. Gawain is thrown into hard circumstances. Although he wants to have the woman and is being seduced by her, he made a promise to the King. He is trying, in his actions, not to dishonor his trust of the King, nor hurt the Lady. Gawain feels he has lost all his honor. He feels as though he failed to be a good knight.
3. The climax of the story, as far as Fit 3 goes, is when Gawain does not tell the King about the girdle. This is the first time in the story that Gawain breaks his word. Throughout all the times when he is with the Lady, he keeps his promise to the King. He gives the King exactly what the Lady gave to him, until he is given the girdle that is supposed to keep him alive.
4. The girdle could represent sin and dishonesty. Also it represents Christianity vs. Paganism. When Gawain accepts the girdle he is told that it is going to save whoever wears it. Gawain takes it to protect him from the Green Knight. Instead of taking his shield, which has the Virgin Mary and the pentangle on it, he takes the girdle. At this point he has fallen away from Christ and Christianity. He has chosen to rely on the girdle, that the woman has given him. The woman was dishonest when she gave Gawain the girdle.
5. Sir Gawain knows that it is wrong to be with another mans wife. Sir Gawain tries to maintain some sort of order when it comes to going to far with the Lady. It is part of the Christian religion to be with one man or one woman (of the opposite sex) for the rest of your life. Sir Gawain knows that the Lady is married and knows of it to be wrong if he were to do anything with her. Sir Gawain makes a point to let the woman know they wouldn't do anything but kiss.
Another is, of course, the girdle. Gawain, is now relying on the girdle to protect him, and no longer waiting for God to help him. He has taken his religion and passed it for something material. Gawain, now trusts in the material gift of the Lady.
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