Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a thrilling tale full of deception and triumph, but I don’t exactly think Gawain fits the mold of a hero that our class has made. Our definition we ended up deciding on was “A hero is someone who puts him/herself in harm’s way for the benefit of others because it’s the right thing to do (not for personal glory). A hero does something to inspire. A hero will not be afraid to walk on the path less traveled and will bring about change irrespective of the circumstances.” On the surface, it seems like Gawain fulfills this throughout his journey. He volunteers to take King Arthur’s spot when they first encounter the Green Knight and is willing to meet his fate, much to the dismay of Camelot. For me, that’s as far as his heroism goes. For starters, he tries to cheat the Green Knight’s game by decapitating him so he can’t strike back. A great message to send to our kids; when the going gets tough, find the easiest loophole and get out of any consequences. On his journey to find the Green Knight, he comes to the castle of a kind lord who is willing to give him a place to stay, a charitable action. How does Gawain return this generous favor? By getting in bed with his wife multiple times and hides the fact from him. I couldn’t really say these acts are inspiring nor can I say that banging his wife is putting himself in harm’s way for the benefit of others.