Chivalry In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

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Alex Russo Mrs. Goidosik 11 AA English, 4th Hour October 26th, 2012 Cowardly or Chivalrous? Everywhere you go, people show qualities that demonstrate themselves as a chivalrous person. A warm-hearted man with kind eyes and a bright smile will go out of his way to open a door for a little, elder woman. Additionally, a man who wanders in a grocery store finds a wallet on the floor, but returns it to its rightful owner instead of taking it for himself. These types of acts show chivalry today. Chivalry is a code of conduct that required knights to be brave, loyal, and respectful to women. The knight, Sir Gawain, from “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is a chivalrous knight. Sir Gawain shows chivalry by being loyal to his king. A mysterious knight shows up at the king’s castle and calls himself the Green Knight. The Green Knight then challenges one to play the “beheading game” which means to strike him with his axe if one will take a return blow in a year and a day. Sir Gawain then proceeded to accept the challenge for King Arthur when nobody else in the castle would. He took the King’s role in the game to protect him from the Green…show more content…
A knight must be brave and courageous. Sir Gawain’s courage was most evident when he accepted the challenge of the Green Knight. None of the other knights in the hall accepted the challenge right away—so Arthur, “waved his beard and waited for someone to rise; when no one answered, he coughed, as if embarrassed” (230). His courage was demonstrated throughout the rest of the story in the task to search for the Green Chapel, knowing he would be away from his castle and his loved ones during the holiday, and in his will to keep the promise that he made with the Green Knight. Although, some might say that Gawain was not being courageous when he flinched and turned away the first time the Green Knight brought the axe down for the first blow, after promising he would take the blow

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