What is Sir Gawain’s true personality like? Sir Gawain has two sides to his
personality. The first side to Sir Gawain’s personality is the way in which
everyone else expects him to be. Sir Gawain has a certain honor to uphold as the
noblest knight of the Round Table. Sir Gawain is expected to be chilvarous by
being courageous, loyal, honest, courteous, the best at everything in which he
attempts, and have a strong will to resist temptations of evil nature. Everyone
believes Sir Gawain to be the perfect epitome of the knights. The way that Sir
Gawain shows his courage and nobility is by accepting the challenge given to the
knights of the Round Table by the Green Knight. Gawain accepts this challenge to
release King Arthur. King Arthur was faced with the challenge and humility
because there was no response to the challenge from the knights before Sir
Gawain accepted. Sir Gawain also shows his loyalty and honesty by upholding his
end of the challenge and making the journey to find the Green Knight and take
his return blow of death from the axe. The second side to Sir Gawain’s
personality is the way that he is actually proven to be. When Sir Gawain is
tested by fate he reveals that he is just as human as anyone else and
shouldn’t be put on such a high pedestal of heroics. Sir Gawain isn’t as
honest and courageous as everyone believes him to be. Sir Gawain proves himself
to be imperfect. The way that Sir Gawain shows his imperfections is when he
succumbs to Bercilak’s wife’s advances. Sir Gawain accepts the green girdle
from her and doesn’t tell Bercilak. Sir Gawain is breaking a pact between him
and Bercilak and lies to him by omitting the gift from his gains won on that
day. Sir Gawain shows another flaw when he shrinks away from the Green
Knight’s first attempted stroke from the axe. Sir Gawain feigns a cheerful
face but deep down he is full of fear that wasn’t expected from such a noble
knight. In conclusion, Sir Gawain is not the perfect knight even though he
strives his best to be. Through the Green Knight’s tests, Sir Gawain is proven
to be just as human as anyone else is. The other knights of the Round Table
forgive him for not being absolutely perfect and learn from his mistakes and how
he upholds his chilvaric code. Even though Sir Gawain is proven to be human, he
is still in the end a courageous and noble knight. Baldesar Castiglione: The
Book of the Courtier Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince Does everyone’s ideal
leader have the same qualities and talents? How do Baldesar Castiglione’s
courtier compare to Niccolo Machiavelli’s prince? The courtier and the prince
have many similar qualities, but they also have some different qualities that
set them apart. The courtier and the prince are similar in their roles of
leadership. They should both be strong leaders with good reputations. Both
should have virtuous qualities and seem compassionate and not cruel. Both should
also be very intelligent in the qualifications of their positions and how to
stay in control of their people. The prince should have a stronger military
background and greater control over others than the courtier who doesn’t
control as many people. The prince and the courtier are very different in their
aspect of how others perceive them and the way that they actually are. The
prince should have virtuous qualities, but only to use them to his betterment.
This keeps the prince from being marked as virtuous which can only bring him
blame or shame. The prince should be thought compassionate and not cruel to gain
respect and be feared to stay in control of his people. On the other hand, the
courtier should show compassion for others and be bold, strong, and loyal to
whomever he serves. The courtier should be bold and stern among the enemy but
gentle, modest, and reserved with his kinsmen. The courtier’s day is expected
to have all of the hours filled with honorable and pleasant exercises designed
for the body and the mind. These exercises are for the courtier to stay in
control and have the respect of his people. The prince uses wit and trickery to
stay in control of his people. In conclusion, both the prince and the courtier
should seem to have the same qualities and talents to everyone else. The prince
uses his trickery to stay in control, but the courtier uses his born talent and
hard work from his exercises to stay in control. Each man is an ideal leader,
but the courtier is a more down to earth leader. The courtier’s qualities are
like an updated version of the typical Renaissance man. The courtier’s
qualities are easier to achieve, because they are more like natural human
traits. The courtier’s qualifications are not as far-fetched as the
prince’s.