Comparison between a mythical story and a short story - Essay Example

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” and “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty might seem more of a topic of contrast than comparison at first glance. However, when looked at twice the comparisons are easy to make. Both stories are about journeys. Each story has a central protagonist that faces challenges on their journeys or quests. Wild animals and hunting are depicted in both stories. Gawain and Phoenix, the lead characters in each story, are conflicted by personal demons. Each story will be examined and then compared.

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is about Gawain, a knight in King Arthur’s court. He challenges any knight to hit him once if he could return the blow with in a year. Gawain takes up the challenge. He chops off the head of the Green Knight, but the Green Knight picks up his head and rides away. Gawain has one year and one day to make it to the Green Chapel in order to fulfill his agreement. The trip was treacherous and far. Finally, he comes to a castle, where the Lord is Bertilak de Hautdesert.

Gawain and Bertilak make a deal. Everything Gawain earns in a day he will exchange with Bertilak for everything he captured hunting. In three days, Gawain gains kisses and a girdle from Lady Bertilak. He gives Lord Bertilak the kisses, but keeps the girdle due to its magical powers. Gawain goes and meets the Green Knight. He only gets nicked on the neck due to the girdle. After the blow, the Green Knight reveals he is Lord Bertilak. The whole quest was set up by Arthur’s sister. Gawain felt that he failed in his mission for not keeping his word and keeping the girdle.

In “A Worn Path”, Phoenix starts out on a day’s journey. She is an lder black woman. Phoenix is described as small, frail, and almost blind. Her troubles are the wooded area that she is traveling. Thorn bushes grab her dress, but she patiently frees herself without ripping her dress. A scarecrow frightens her, but she keeps going. When a dog knocks her down, she waits for a hunter to help her up. She finally reaches the town. The town is her destination. She goes into a clinic. At first she does not remember why she came to this place.

However, the nurse reminds her about her grandson that is sick. She feels ashamed that she forgot about him. After getting his medicine, Phoenix turns to make the long trip home. She said “I not going to forget him again, no, the whole enduring time” (Welty). Both Gawain and Phoenix went on journeys. They both felt disappointed in themselves; Gawain for not keeping his word, Phoenix for forgetting her grandson. The major conflict was the journey itself. Both were motivated by a sense of self determination and pride.

The conclusion of both stories are the characters reached their goals, but not without human frailty. Another similarity is both stories blur reality and appearance. The scarecrow looking like a man to Phoenix and Lord Bertilak appearing as the Green Knight to Gawain are examples of reality blurring into reality. Even though Gawain was knight in the Middle Ages and Phoenix was an old black woman in the late 19th century both made a journey with a purpose. Both stories also talk about boars, foxes, and other animals (Burnley 2).

These are the similarities. A Marxist would think that both Gawain and Phoenix are equal. They both went and succeeded while failing in their tasks. Gawain’s green girdle explained by "this is the bond of the blame that I bear in my neck, this is the harm and the loss I have suffered, the cowardice and covetousness in which I was caught, the token of my covenant in which I was taken. And I must needs wear it so long as I live, for none may hide his harm, but undone it may not be, for if it hath clung to thee once, it may never be severed” (Weston).

Phoenix with the statement “‘I never did go to school—I was too old at the Surrender,' she said in a soft voice.’I'm an old woman without an education. It was my memory fail me’ (Welty). A feminist would point out that despite being frail Phoenix accomplished everything Gawain did. They both reached the end, but not without some loss of personal pride. Psychoanalysis and symbolically both stories show that life is a journey, not just a objective. Each trip could symbolize life. This is moral of both stories.

When comparing these stories, the theme that the journey is more important than the outcome. How the journey is completed becomes more important than the outcome of the journey. This is the main theme between the two stories. The goal is not important, but how the goal is accomplished matters the most. Bibliography Burnley, J.D. "The Hunting Scenes in 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' ". The Yearbook of English Studies. (1973) Vol. 3, pp. 1–9 Welty, Eudora. “A Worn Path.” Feb. 1941. The Atlantic Monthly.

Accessed 17 June 2011 from http://www.theatlantic.com/past/issues/41feb/wornpath.htm Weston, Jessie L. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” Accessed 17 June 2011 from http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/sggk.htm