Analysis Of Sir Gawains Character Essay -- Arthurian Legends English

Analysis Of Sir Gawain's Character In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the character of Sir Gawain, nephew of the famed Arthur of the Round Table, is seen as the most noble of knights who is the epitome of chivalry, yet he is also susceptible to mistakes. His courtesy, honor, honesty, and courage are subjected to various tests, posed by the wicked Morgan le Fay. Some tests prove his character and the chivalrous code true and faultless, like the time he answers a challenge although it might mean his death, or remains courteous to a lady despite temptation. Other tests prove his character and the chivalrous code faulty such as the time he breaks his promise to his host, and when he flinches from a harmless blow. The first test to his courage, courtesy, humility and loyalty toward his king, Arthur, occurs when the Green Knight suddenly appears at Camelot’s New Year's feast. He offers the Round Table a challenge: the game is for a man to strike him with his axe, and twelve months and a day later, the Green Knight will return the blow. When Arthur accepts the challenge, Gawain interferes and asks Arthur with humility and courtesy to â€Å"grant him the grace to stand by him† (SGGK l. 343-344). He confesses that â€Å"he is the weakest, and of wit feeblest, and the loss of his life would not be a great tragedy at all because his body, but for Arthur’s blood, is not worth much" (SGGK l. 354-357). He asks to be granted the privilege to claim the Green Knight's challenge because it does not befit a king. Proof of Gawain’s character is substantiated by his noble acceptance of the Green Knight’s beheading game in order to â€Å"release the king outright from his obligation†(SGGK l. 365). It shows courage and loyalty that even among famed knights suc... ...love for his life. Thus Gawain deserves less blame for his misdemeanor minor transgression. Although Gawain, like most us, is prone to evil thoughts of selfishness and dishonesty, and takes a cowardly action, "men still hold him dear" in Bercilak's castle as well as in Arthur's Camelot (SGGK l. 2465). His friends are not as disappointed with him as he is disappointed with himself. He holds himself in contempt, "rages in his heart and grieves" for the shame in his actions and the green belt that he must bear (SGGK l.251-252). He wears the girdle as a badge to remind him of his faults and to lower his pride when it becomes inflated. But he has learned from his mistakes and becomes an even better knight. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in The Norton Anthology of English Literature 7th ed. vol.1. Abrams, M. H et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. 157-210.

For love of country Essay

With everything that has happened in our country in the last few years many people are becoming more patriotic. Since 9/11, our nations flag has flown high, more students are saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and many cars now carry symbols of support for our troops. However, even with this new outlook on patriotism, some people are beginning to wonder if our actions are even patriotic at all, including our servicemen and women. Is it patriotic to fight in a war that many deem unjust? Or is more patriotic to flee to another country in protest without finishing your military contract? Our troops have been in Iraq for five and a half years now and there is no sign of retreat. However, this does not give our military personnel an excuse to just give up and throw in the towel. I believe the only way for our troops to show patriotism is to stay in our country and fulfill their military contractual agreement. Since 9/11 there have been many reports of soldiers fleeing the country. According to CBS News, the estimates are between 100 and 250 to date (Soldiers). When certain soldiers were asked why they fled, the answer was always the same. They just couldnt take it. If this was the case, then why did they join in the first place, especially if they joined after the attacks? Everyone in the country knew we were going to war, and everyone knows why our military exists. How patriotic is it to join the service only to flee your family, friends, and, most importantly, your country when things get a little rough? Fleeing like a dog with its tail in between its legs only shames yourself, and, in some measures, America for producing such a fine citizen. Many people deem the war at hand unjust, and some would go to the extent that war itself is unjust. It claims the lives of many of our best citizens, creates inflation, and causes civil unrest and arguments between our government officials. Although some claim this war is unjustified, it is necessary. Do we want our country to be full of tyranny, ran by money-hungry, power-tripping dictators who dont care about our well being, but only about the amount of money in their bank account? Our men and women serving this country are doing the best they can to preserve the freedoms our forefathers worked so hard to win ten scores ago (Wiesel). Our country  is so great that people can flee this country without being shot for it. So why go? Is it just because you dont agree with the war? Running off is a great demonstration of protest against the war, that is, if you are talking with the other handful of individuals that ran off with you. In the larger scheme of things all you are doing is b eing pointed and laughed at. An outstanding portrayal of patriotism is in our own Pat Tillman. He gave up a $3.6 million contract to go and fight for our country (Reid). Selflessly, he gave up everything he had, and eventually his life, to go and support America when she needed it the most. Some may think his death was just another wasted life, but the majority of Americans look upon him as a hero (Sudborough). It is not because of all the sacrifices he made, or because he played for the NFL, but that because of him, along with many others, I am able to write this essay today for a class that I am taking at the college of my choice so I can grow up to do what I want to do. Not everyone has the opportunities that Americans have, and it is due in full respect to our military, or at least the ones that stay and fight for our country. The biggest argument of all is that this war is for our government, not for our freedom or America (Zinn). This is true to an extent, but if you think about it our country is our government and vice versa. Without our country there would obviously not be an American government, but without our government there is no America. Our government is what protects our freedoms, and it is that freedom that we fight so passionately for. It is easy to argue for both sides of this argument. Both fleeing the country and fighting in a war take guts, but you must ask yourself which is more patriotic. Leaving the country you love, or fighting to your death to make sure that your children and grandchildren can enjoy the same freedoms you did growing up? There is only one answer to this question. You fight until the end, whether it is your end or the wars end. If someone has a hard time understanding the answer to this question they should ask his or herself, Am I really proud to be an American?Works CitedSoldiers Against Iraq Desert to Canada. CBS Sunday Morning. 28 Jan. 2007. Zinn, Howard, Dying for the Government, America Now, ed. Robert Atwan(Boston: Bedford, 2005) 158-161Wiesel, Elie, The America I Love, America Now, ed. Robert Atwan(Boston: Bedford, 2005) 164-167Reid, Matt, The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man, America Now, ed. RobertAtwan (Boston: Bedford, 2005) 172-174Sudborough, Gary, Pat Tillman: Hero or Wasted Life, American Now, ed. RobertAtwan (Boston: Bedford, 2005) 174-177

`` Nature `` By Ralph Waldo Emerson - 920 Words

â€Å"Nature† is an essay written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and published by James Munroe and Company in 1836. [1] â€Å"Nature† has a total of 41 pages. The essay consists of eight parts: Nature, Commodity, Beauty, Language, Discipline, Idealism, Spirit and Prospects. Each part takes a different perspective on the relationship between humans and nature. In this essay, Emerson emphasizes the foundation of transcendentalism, â€Å"a religious and philosophical movement that developed during the late 1820s and 30s in the Eastern region of the United States as protest against the general state of spirituality and, in particular, the state of intellectualism.† [2] â€Å"Transcendentalism suggests that the divine, or God, suffuses nature, and suggests that reality can be understood by studying nature.† [3] â€Å"Transcendentalism is closely related to Unitarianism, the dominant religious movement in Boston at the early nineteenth century. Transcendentalism evolv ed as an organic consequence of the Unitarian emphasis on free conscience and the value of intellectual reason.† [4] Emerson divides nature into four stages: commodity, beauty, language, and discipline. These define the ways by which humans use nature for their basic needs. The historical significance of â€Å"Nature† was that transcendentalism club led the celebration of the American experiment as one of the individualism and self-reliance. [5] Emerson’s purpose in the essay â€Å"Nature† is to lay out and attempt to solve an abstract problem: that humans doShow MoreRelatedNature Ralph Waldo Emerson Analysis1200 Words   |  5 PagesTo fully understand and appreciate â€Å"Nature† by Ralph Waldo Emerson, as well as his other works and those that followed him, it is important to grasp his devout belief in the concept of transcendentalism. Emerson believed that to truly enjoy a well-rounded, bountiful life one must be not only aware but in tune with nature and realize that it is as important (if not more) than natural education. The idea of pushing back against the societal normal which was standard education and following what wasRead MoreRalph Waldo Emerson s Nature1364 Words   |  6 PagesRalph Waldo Emerson s Nature This paper discusses four literary elements in Ralph Waldo Emerson s work, entitled Nature. It is an essay that attempts to make people establish a deeper bond with nature and accept it for what it is. Men continually becomes busy with daily lives because of modern advancements and increasing number of endeavors. In the process, they tend to ignore nature and forget giving back to it by being ungrateful of its generosity. Various perspectives were discussed inRead MoreCritical Analysis of Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay781 Words   |  4 Pagesof the struggle that nature endures to blossom into something that we can find divine. Nor do we think about the hours and passion that a writer may have put into that piece of literature we pick up and read. We are expectant creatures who complain when it’s too hot outside, not even thinking that, that warmth is keeping us alive, or we get mad when it rains too much, not appreciating it for keeping nature flourishing. Ralph Waldo Emerson talks of humans’ disdain for nature and how detached we haveRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Ralph Waldo Emerson s Nature 942 Words   |  4 Pagesknowledgeable understanding of the comparison. Ralph Waldo Emerson uses numerous analogies throughout many of his writings to create a smooth assessment of the subject stipulated. The analogies used throughout Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writing entitled â€Å"Nature† gives the reader more knowledge of the topics, a comparable similarity of the given topics and how the given topics interact together to further explicate the comparison. Gathering knowledge throughout reading â€Å"Nature† gives the reader a more visual perspectiveRead MoreNature And Wilderness By John De Crevecoeur And Ralph Waldo Emerson859 Words   |  4 PagesNature and wilderness were very important ideas to some extant for St. John de Crevecoeur and Ralph Waldo Emerson, each had their own opinions and ideas that contrasted against each other and were somewhat similar to each other. Emerson who valued it and looked at the nature as something to proud of had used it many times in his works as examples and that we are part of nature as well and make whatever choices from it as it can from us. While Crevecoeur believes that in every land it has its ownRead MoreRalph Waldo Emerson And His Ideas1369 Words   |  6 PagesRalph Waldo Emerson ingrained into America his acts of individualism, independence, and the general appreciation of nature. Though his ideas were sometimes controversial, he influenced many young minds with this teachings. Ralph Waldo Emerson was constantly thinking of new ideas while he was redefining his view of the world. Emerson had a natural eloquence in expressing his ideas in his poems, essays, and lectures; and he is one of the most quoted authors in American history. Ralph Waldo EmersonRead MoreRalph Waldo Emersons Concord Hymn819 Words   |  3 PagesIn Concord Hymn, Ralph Waldo Emerson says, â€Å"Spirit, that made those heroes dare To die, and leave their children free, Bid Time and Nature gently spare The shaft we raise to them and thee.† (Emerson n.p.) This quote perfectly explains Emerson because he loved to refer to nature and spirit in many of his famous writings. Emerson is part of the well-known literacy movement known as transcendentalism. This is when authors often referenced nature and focused on intuition and imagination. This movementRead More Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay1084 Words   |  5 Pages Ralph Waldo Emerson Properly Acknowledged by nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ralph Waldo Emerson certainly took his place in the history of American Literature . He lived in a time when romanticism was becoming a way of thinking and beginning to bloom in America, the time period known as The Romantic Age. Romantic thinking stressed on human imagination and emotion rather than on basic facts and reason. Ralph Waldo Emerson not only provided plenty of that, but he also nourished it and inspiredRead MoreRalph Waldo Emerson Essay examples1043 Words   |  5 Pagesone man named of Ralph Waldo Emerson distinguished himself as singular above all. 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Influenced by western Culture Ralph Waldo Emerson