Anonymously composed during the Medieval era, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an Arthurian legend that follows the heroic exploits of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table member, Sir Gawain.
The poem centers around the Green Knight's challenge to the king, which Gawain takes on instead. Gawain must attempt to kill the Green Knight, but if he fails, the Green Knight can try again in a year. Despite trying his best, Gawain cannot beat the Green Knight and sets off to find him. During his journey, he comes across a castle where he agrees with its King that they will exchange gifts each day of Gawain's three-night stay there.
During his entire agreement, Gawain remains loyal until the very end. He has a green belt that he believes offers protection, so he keeps it a
...nd wears it to avoid death. When he meets the knight and expects to be struck by his axe, Gawain successfully avoids injury during the first two attempts. However, on the third try, he is surprised when he sustains a minor wound.
The Green Knight reveals himself to be the king and blames Gawain for getting cut due to not presenting him with the green girdle on the third day. To symbolize his wrongdoing, Gawain pledges to wear the girdle. Upon returning to Camelot, the other knights also sport a green sash in solidarity with Gawain. The green sash serves as a reminder of Gawain's sin, as he admits, "As a token of my trespass I shall turn to it often when I ride in renown, ruefully recalling the failure and the frailty of the flesh so perverse."
According to the quote
(98), Gawain will wear the sash as a constant reminder of his sin of hiding the green girdle from the king. It is symbolic of his troth-breach and he must wear it as he cannot undo his mistake. As Gawain explains, while his neck wound will heal, the sash will remain with him for life symbolizing his desire to learn from his mistakes. The King and courtiers forgive Gawain for his sin upon his return, surprising everyone. In order to make Gawain feel better about his mistake, they all start wearing green sashes.
The Table's lords and ladies laughed heartily, agreeing that each brave brotherhood member should wear a green baldric, akin to Sir Gawain's, obliquely around themselves. The band's hue should be bright green. "(101)" In response to Gawain's confession, the king and courtiers passionately join in, donning sashes like Gawain's "for the love of that knight." "(101)" Gawain is burdened with regret over his wrongdoing.
Expressing the truth caused tremendous agony, and it ignited a burning in his face. Gawain was filled with grief and regret as he revealed the truth, causing him shame and distress. His suffering was acknowledged by the other knights who could understand his pain. To aid Gawain in his self-forgiveness, they also donned sashes as a symbol of their shared human fallibility. It is recognized that errors are made by all.
Reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight took me back to a memory of a time when a friend helped me overcome my fear. As a child, I would climb trees with my brother and two cousins. One day, we stumbled upon a taller tree that frightened me.
After being laughed at by my brother and older cousin for my inability to climb a tree, I felt embarrassed and ran inside the house in distress. However, my younger cousin followed me and revealed that he also could not climb the tree.
Similar to how the other knights helped Gawain by wearing the green sash, my cousin made me feel better about my shortcomings. Despite being teased by older children, he supported me and we laughed together as they failed to climb a tree. This experience taught me that mistakes happen, as with Gawain, and sometimes we may not succeed at something like I did. However, we need to move past it and continue working towards self-improvement.
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