1.The journey from lefe to death and back again is seen in Gawain's journey to the castle. If you apply the Christian concept of death and going on to the promised reward with God, you can see how the castle and Gawain's time there would seem like he had died and gone to heaven. The way that the castle appears as a kind of oasis out of the miserable decay of human society makes it seem as though Gawain has crossed over some kind of line between worlds ("in the midst of the woods, he saw a moated castle" ln. 763). This is also reinforced by the fact that the only place where people know about the Green Knight is at the castle. The journey back to life, miserable as it may be, is seen after Gawain's failure in the contest with the Green Knight. He returns to the real world where he isn't as happy as he was in the castle with the lady and Bertilak. The people at Camelot can't understand how he has failed and learned because they weren't there when it happened. The author uses this to suggest that the only ones who can at least partially understand out struggles and failures are the ones who we meet in death.
2. Gawain is reborn physically as he escapes death at the hand of the Green Knight, as well as returning to Camelot. He is reborn spiritually after his failure to have faith in God. The author uses the physical rebirth to parallel the spiritual one as well as comment on it. The way he learns from his failure against the Green Knight is commented on by the way the people of Camelot seem to put it off. I think the author is suggesting that everyone gets so absorbed in their own life and entertainment that they don't take the time to understand the way others are learning and growing from their experiences.
3. If you look at the tone of the story as humerous, then you will probably come to the conclusion that the point of view taken by the end of the story is that of someone in Camelot. The people at Camelot are very fun-loving and youthful in spirit ("all in their Brotherhood should wear a baldric...be honored evermore" ln. 2516). It would make sense that it would be someone out of Camelot telling the story because of the way the tone makes Gawain's quest seem more like a game, something that can be failed and still laughed about.
4.I believe Gawain is ruined as a knight because he doesn't seem to be able to let go of his failure and this way of thinking will only bring himself down. He seems to want to cast his own blame off on other people ("Adam in Paradise...Bathsheba" ln. 2416) as well as raise himself up on a pedestal as being very faithful. He has lost everything in this one moment, so he has no real reason to continue trying to be perfect. There is no longer the motivation to be the most perfect knight to drive him to be a good one, so he will probably wind up becoming the opposite of what he has been striving to be for all these years.
5. I think the one in control of the events in this story is the old crone. You can see in the passage where we first meet her how she seems to have the controlling aspect over the lady ("led her by the left hand" ln. 947). It is even admitted by Bertilak at the end of the book that Morgana was the one who told him to go to Camelot and challenge the knights to a contest. It is suggested by the author that Bertilak goes along with this because he just wants to be involved in the fun. It seems like the Green Knight would fit in better in Camelot than Gawian because of his love of fun as well as his nobility and skill in battle.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Fit 3 Q. 2-5
2. Gawain does a very good job in this section of holding up his honor at the same time as not offending the hospitality of the people in the castle. The fact that the author makes him seem so perfect in this section makes me, as a reader, not like him very well. In his perfectness, he is harder to relate to and he seems less human. It's possible that the author sets it up this way for the reader to better understand the reaction of King Arthur and the Knights to Gawain at the end of the story ("the lords and ladies of the Round Table...should wear a baldric" ln. 2516). Gawain seems to behave very well with the lady in his bedroom, especially considering that he is trapped. There is the suggestion, however that he isn't as perfect in his keeping the lady there as he would like to think ("kisses his lips...all was bliss between them" ln. 1758). The lady and himself may know that he is upholding his honor, but to anyone else, they don't have any way of knowing what is going on behind closed doors. While the reader knows that he is being very honorable, the people of the castle might start to get ideas because of the lady spending so much time in Gawain's room.
3. The climax of the book is when the Green Knight's axe nicks Gawain's neck. It is at this point where we see Gawain completely lose his faith in God. The author could be using this to suggest that Gawain is not really as faithful as he pretends to be. Perhaps he is using his religion in order to make him one of the best knights at the Round Table. Perhaps that is why his failure is so important to him because in his mind, he has failed at being the best and one of the other knights will take his place of perfectness due to his mistake. This point in the story brings into play a competetive spirit that we perhaps haven't seen in Gawain previously.
4.The green girdle is symbolic of Gawain's failure, both to the reader and to Gawain himself. It's possible the author is using this to hilight the difference between Gawain and all of the other characters in the book. To them, everything is a game so whether you win or lose, it doesn't really matter all that much. Gawain, on the other hand, takes it way to seriously and the reminder of the girdle only tosses his failure back in his face. We see just a hint of his failure in spirit when he takes the girdle from the lady ("he cannot be cut down by any man nor slain" ln. 1853). The author's suggestion that he takes the girdle because of its supposed ability to save him from death shows us that Gawain has already failed before he is even aware of it.
5."The rooster had not roused, cackled and crowed three times" (ln. 1412: allusion to Peter denying Jesus(Luke 20:60&61). The author uses foreshadow the failure of Gawain in his service to God and comment on Gawain's refusal to forgive himself. According to the Bible, when God forgives you, you also have to be willing to forgive yourself. Gawain's failure to do this suggests that he failing even further. There is a contrast between the characters of Gawain and Peter. When Peter realizes that he has denied Jesus, he "went out, and wept bitterly," but then he is able to get over it and go on with his service to God. The fact that Gawain isn't able to do this suggests that he is more earthly oriented than he would like to think.
"Mary reward you, madam" (ln. 1263): allusion to the Virgin Mary. Mary is supposed to symbolize being pure sexually and I think Gawain is using this reference to not only warn the lady off, but also to remind himself of what his duties are to both himself and his knighthood. He prides himself in being perfect, but the author uses this allusion to show the reader one of his times of struggle. He is trying to remind himself of his vow of chastity, but at the same time he is having difficulty sticking to it, due to the presence of the lady in his room. By showing the reader Gawain's struggle so close to the recieving of the green girdle, the author is emphasizing his failure.
3. The climax of the book is when the Green Knight's axe nicks Gawain's neck. It is at this point where we see Gawain completely lose his faith in God. The author could be using this to suggest that Gawain is not really as faithful as he pretends to be. Perhaps he is using his religion in order to make him one of the best knights at the Round Table. Perhaps that is why his failure is so important to him because in his mind, he has failed at being the best and one of the other knights will take his place of perfectness due to his mistake. This point in the story brings into play a competetive spirit that we perhaps haven't seen in Gawain previously.
4.The green girdle is symbolic of Gawain's failure, both to the reader and to Gawain himself. It's possible the author is using this to hilight the difference between Gawain and all of the other characters in the book. To them, everything is a game so whether you win or lose, it doesn't really matter all that much. Gawain, on the other hand, takes it way to seriously and the reminder of the girdle only tosses his failure back in his face. We see just a hint of his failure in spirit when he takes the girdle from the lady ("he cannot be cut down by any man nor slain" ln. 1853). The author's suggestion that he takes the girdle because of its supposed ability to save him from death shows us that Gawain has already failed before he is even aware of it.
5."The rooster had not roused, cackled and crowed three times" (ln. 1412: allusion to Peter denying Jesus(Luke 20:60&61). The author uses foreshadow the failure of Gawain in his service to God and comment on Gawain's refusal to forgive himself. According to the Bible, when God forgives you, you also have to be willing to forgive yourself. Gawain's failure to do this suggests that he failing even further. There is a contrast between the characters of Gawain and Peter. When Peter realizes that he has denied Jesus, he "went out, and wept bitterly," but then he is able to get over it and go on with his service to God. The fact that Gawain isn't able to do this suggests that he is more earthly oriented than he would like to think.
"Mary reward you, madam" (ln. 1263): allusion to the Virgin Mary. Mary is supposed to symbolize being pure sexually and I think Gawain is using this reference to not only warn the lady off, but also to remind himself of what his duties are to both himself and his knighthood. He prides himself in being perfect, but the author uses this allusion to show the reader one of his times of struggle. He is trying to remind himself of his vow of chastity, but at the same time he is having difficulty sticking to it, due to the presence of the lady in his room. By showing the reader Gawain's struggle so close to the recieving of the green girdle, the author is emphasizing his failure.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Fit 3 Q. 1
The parallelism between the bedroom scenes and the hunt not only reveal the connotation of violence between the two, but also reinforce the theme of games. The physical hunt of Bertilak and his men and its connection to the lady with Gawain helps the reader to better understand the tactics she is using, as well as giving us an idea of how Gawain might be reacting. The scene with the deer helps the reader to better understand the extent to which Gawain is feeling trapped with the lady in his bedroom ("were blocked by the beaters, with bellows and cries" ln. 1153). There is nothing he can do to stop her from coming in and attempting to seduce him because of his status as a guest, and it can be argued because of his attraction to her. In the second hunt, Gawain is more mentally prepared for when the lady enters his bedchamber. The author helps us to see this by giving a detailed desription of the damage that the boar causes to the hunters before he is actually caught ("he charged at the men that checked his way" ln. 1438). Finally, we see through the cunning of the fox how the virtue of patience serves Gawain very well. The fact that he finally outwaits the lady is not really reflected in the fact that the fox does eventually get caught. The catching of the fox is shown when Gawain accepts the silk girdle. This shows us that, mentally and spiritually, he is putting most of his trust in the bond that we see between him and not only the lady but also the people of the castle. The loudness with which the king and his men hunt ("they blew their bugles loudly...the hounds bayed, making great furore" ln. 1141) suggests that the author is wanting to make known Gawain's failings in taking the girdle from the lady. He may not fail in the bedroom, but he does fail in his quest to be perfect. While it makes him more human, it somehow makes the reader like him less.
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