Reflection “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight”

In the poem Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, one of the topics presented is

the optimistic attitude facing arduous situations. From the beginning of part I when

the Green Knight challenges Sir Gawain and his uncle, Gawain shows his modesty

and ambition. He offered himself to go instead of his uncle into the challenge the

knight offered them. He knows that his life is in danger and understands that the

possibilities of dying are numerous, but he is aware that it is the correct decision to

make. Gawain expresses his mentality towards this position openly in these lines of

the second part of the poem:

He said, “Why should I tarry?”

And smiled with tranquil eye;

“In destinies sad or merry,

True men can but try.” (Lines: 561-5)

In these lines Gawain expresses his positive perspective of the choice he made.

His words not only transmit optimism but also strength and confidence. This vision of

adversity is the one that made him achieve his attainments with honor and integrity.

These words make me reflect because I see myself identified in some way with this

character. Personally, I have always tried to view with a similar objectivity changes

and challenges in my life. I was born in Spain but when I was sixteen years old, my

father had a professional offer in Puerto Rico. He decided with my mother to accept

the offer and for us to move to Puerto Rico. In theory, it was an easy and logical

decision to make. We would move and continue living our lives on the other side of

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 the ocean. We would have plenty of opportunities to grow and open our minds. At the

beginning everything sounded great. We would be able to do things that were

unimaginable before, even studying in a university in the United States. But as a

teenager who lived in the same small city at the north of Spain since birth, did not

help as much. After receiving the news and feeling devastated for some days, I

realized that having that negative mentality would not help me at all. I decided to

change my perspective on this issue and began to see this change as a real opportunity

of growth and development and not as a barrier to do so.

This is the similarity I observed between Gawain’s way of thinking and the

way I faced this big change in my life. This change helped me take advantage of

opportunities and not to fear the unknown. As my mother would have said: “There is

not comfort in the growth zone or growth in the comfort zone.” If Sir Gawain stayed

in Camelot with his uncle in his comfort zone, he would not have experienced and

learned from his adventure. In the same way if I have stayed in Logroño, my native

city, I would have probably never had the chance to experience everything I

experienced. Thanks to this mature vision of the situation I am now studying at Saint

Joseph’s University, and I am growing every day with the help of all the people I have

had the pleasure to meet here. Gawain perceives this challenge as a more religious

way, as we can see in this quote from part IV:

“By God,” said Gawain then,

“I shall not give way to weeping;

God’s will be done, amen!

I commend me to His keeping.” (Lines: 2156-9)

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 As he explains in these lines, one can be crying and miserable knowing that

something bad could happen. On the other hand, with this approach to the situation

everything is seen in a different perspective. In the same way I could have been

depressed and not talking to anyone in my house. But I chose to smile and get to

know a new culture and a new way of living that changed me completely and allowed

me to grow enormously. I have learned from this personal experience, and now I

reaffirm it after reading this poem, that everything happens for a reason, and we do

not have to fear the unknown but trust in God and in his will.

In this poem, the unknown seems like an issue specifically when Gawain is

getting ready to leave in search of the green knight. It was in that exact moment

before leaving that he realizes what he was waiting for since almost one year is

actually happening. That moment that was so far away is now taking place . The

moment of truth arrives and the fear to the unknown knocks at the door . What

happened to Sir Gawain also happened to me almost exactly, but with only one

difference. Instead of having one year to prepare myself, I had one month to accept

the truth. My fear to the unknown began right when the airplane from Spain to Puerto

Rico took off. I felt something similar as if I was standing right in front of a cliff . I

did not know what was going to happen but at the same time I had the adrenalin of

knowing that change was about to start. It is difficult to stay with a positive mentality

in these situations, but there are some situations where smiling is not a choice .

This positive perspective relates directly to the end of the poem when Sir

Gawain returns from his adventure and everyone sees him as a hero for the first time.

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 This is obviously because he overcomes the adventure and returns alive. I think that

his optimism before leaving, and his positive view of his challenges also contribute

greatly to the way people see him. I believe that the way a person faces difficulties

says a lot about him or herself. It is a sign that the person is open-minded, willing to

grow and improve, willing to learn new things, and experience new environments. I

believe that optimism is a sign of maturity and integrity. The fact that all the people

adapt the green girdle as a sign of strength, honesty, and reliability, support my point

of view on how the posture of someone towards situations says a lot about the person.

Sir Gawain shows that he is someone reliable and strong so he gives the value that

turns a simple piece of silk into a symbol of stability and integrity. That is the power

of optimism.

Reading this poem helped me confirm that smiling and facing difficulties with

optimism lead you not only to personal integrity and happiness, but will also make

people more comfortable near you. No one likes to be with person that is always

annoyed or depressed. On the other hand, a person that is optimistic and strong

enough to see the positive side of every situation is like a magnet to the people around

them. It is too easy to fear the unknown. Let us try something a little bit more

difficult; let us try to see something positive out of every situation. We can always

learn from our mistakes. There is always something we can use to grow and improve

from every situation.

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