Some readers of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight may think that the challenges Gawain faces are nothing more than tests to show off his knighthood. I believe the Green Knight's challenges do more than try to test a knight's might, but instead question the institution of chivalry and knighthood. At first the Green Knight's proposal seems to him to be nothing more than a game, but the challenges he proposes apart from the original decapitation game allude to a much more serious objective. I believe these goals are to challenge Arthur's court and their supposed authority over all that is chivalrous and masculine. With the Green Knight's decree, Gawain and the court pass the tests, but in my opinion they don't "pass" the tests and instead fail to realize that the Green Knight was exploiting their views on knighthood. Chivalry and knighthood are very similar in usage, however, they are not synonymous. Chivalry consists of the many qualities that make up the Arthurian knight and include generosity, courtesy, and valor. Knighthood includes chivalry as well as the many duties they must perform, such as fighting in battles or, in the case of Arthurian myth, helping the king rule a kingdom. These qualities are what attracts the Green Knight to Arthur's court, of which he speaks when he arrives at court: And your court and your company are considered the best, The strongest under gears of steel on steeds to ride, The most worthy of their works in all the wild world And peerless to show in passages of arms, and courtesy here is carried to its height, and so in this season I have sought thee (lines 259-264) The Green Knight notes that he has heard many things about the knights of Arthur's court and most of it was in... middle of paper... and that the Green Knight's minor blow was enough. However, what must Gawain, or any other knight, do to face some sort of defamation? Returning to the Green Knight's reasoning for not killing Gawain, it seems that as long as a knight's actions and words are of a truly chivalrous nature, a knight can do no harm. A careful reading of this text will have you analytically pointing fingers in many cases. directions. Discussion of masculinity, chivalry, and knighthood are some very common themes in this story, but issues with feminism certainly appear as well. For example, the way the Green Knight uses his wife in his plan is very questionable. Of course, any examination of this text would be done with modern biases, but it is still interesting to analyze these kinds of topics, especially when a trend can be found in modern literature..