Although not the focus, Ponocrates is a vital part to this satirical story; Ponocrates is able to instill into Gargantua, “...whose previous lifestyle had been one of complete disorder, now "ne perdoit heure quelconques du jour’” (Berrong 24). Before explaining the quote, the quote in French roughly translates to, “Never waste an hour of the day.” Basically, before studying under Ponocrates, Gargantua wasn’t as smart as he would become; however, thanks to the help of Ponocrates, Gargantua begins to become a more intelligent person, an individual who “never wastes an hour of the day.” The reason I touch upon this particular quote is because it shows us the values Gargantua’s tutor, Ponocrates, is attempting to instill in Gargantua. These simple acts go on to inform and shape his actions, which wouldn’t have happened if Grangousier, Gargantua’s father, hadn’t hired Ponocrates after his previous attempts at finding a tutor. Works Cited: Berrong, Richard M. “An Exposition of Disorder: From ‘Pantagruel’ to ‘Gargantua.’” Studies in Philology, vol. 79, no. 1, 1982, pp. 12–29. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4174105. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

It’s quite evident that the story of Gargantua is quite absurd and extensively crude; however, by doing so, it allows the thought provoking moments to stick out and gain more weight behind the words. According to The Unquenchable Thirst to Understand: Francois Rabelais’ Satire of Medieval and Renaissance Learning In Gargantua and Pantagruel, “Through the monstrous and grotesque comedy of Gargantua and Pantagruel, Rabelais is able to ridicule the institutions of his world without necessarily being offensive. Rabelais entices the readers to laugh at the events and human thoughts of his generation” (Merritt). Simple moments such as pissing to get rid of worries allows us to find comedy within the struggle of humans. Works Cited:Merritt, Yvonne. “The Unquenchable Thirst to Understand: Francois Rabelais’ Satire of Medieval and Renaissance Learning In Gargantua and Pantagruel.” Ampersand, spring 1999, itech.fgcu.edu/&/issues/vol2/issue2/rabelais.htm.

Despite people thinking that Dante Alighieri wrote, “The Divine Comedy,” in order to put real-world figures he didn’t like in Hell, but as we learned this isn’t quite the case. This quote shows us the primary reason Alighieri used real-world figures in his writing was to lend an olive branch to himself and the people of the world to change their ways while acknowledging the good and bad they’ve done. The article Dante’s Philosophical Hierarchy supports this by shedding light on Alighieri’s view of virtuous pagans and saying that their souls, “..are rewarded for their virtue but punished for their lack of imagination and hope” (Weinrib 88). The quote from the article allows us to see that Alighieri made an effort to give his respects to people of virtue, but he couldn’t allow them a place outside of heaven due to certain beliefs of theirs. By allowing himself to paint the people he respects in a positive light while condemning them, it gives us the impression that Alighieri isn’t only writing this story to take complete moral high ground, but to educate us that even those we respect aren’t completely perfect and to think how we ourselves can improve.

Weinrib, Jacob E. “Dante’s Philosophical Hierarchy.” Aporia, vol. 15, BYU Department of Philosophy, Provo, UT, 2005, pp. 85–100, https://aporia.byu.edu/pdfs/weinrib-dantes_philosophical_hierarchy.pdf. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

Because of Sir Gawain following through and enforcing the agreement set between him and the Green Knight, it conveys the extent to which Gawain remains loyal to his agreements, which has long term effects on the idea of romance in the story. According to The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the loyalty of Gawain is the driving factor because if Gawain hadn’t remained, “...loyal to Arthur and Bercilak, had he not been a man of his word, the structure of the romance would have collapsed; indeed, there would have been no romance” (Markman 578). The quote shows us how important the idea of sticking to our word is. Whether it’s answering to the requests of seniors or to the people, if we don’t keep our promises, concepts such as love wouldn’t exist. In addition, we’re also shown why the entirety of this story cannot be centered around romance because love, as with many things, takes many steps to achieve. So having this quote to further emphasize the importance of loyalty and love working together is critical.

Markman, Alan M. “The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” PMLA, vol. 72, no. 4, 1957, pp. 574–86. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/460169. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

This set of lines from the text is about how Myrrhine denies Cinesas of sex, leaving him sexually unsatisfied. These lines show us the extent to which Cinesas and the other men were affected by Myrrhine’s act of sexual teasing and eventual denial. The reason for spotlighting this portion of the text is because it shows readers a direct example of Lysistrata’s plan and how it works, eventually leading to the war’s end. And because Lysistrata’s plan of a sex strike ended up working, it portrays women as being capable of making a change through aspects only women can embody. This idea is supported by The Female Gender as Political “Other”: An Ideological Reading of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, which states, “by assuming this gender role, there is an attempt to overturn the patriarchal order of the Athenian social structure” (Taiwo). Because women like Lysistrata decided to embrace their gender role in society, they made tangible changes, possibly inspiring other women to do the same.

Reference:

Taiwo, Emmanuel Folorunso. "THE FEMALE GENDER AS POLITICAL “OTHER”: AN IDEOLOGICAL READING OF ARISTOPHANES’ LYSISTRATA." Ibadan Journal of Humanistic Studies 22 (2012): 235-248.

In the text, Krishna says that all that exists occurs in him across a period called Kalpa. According to Buddhist Cosmology, Kalpas is when, “the world comes into being, exists, is destroyed, and a period of emptiness ensues. Then it all starts again” (Boeree). Using the word Kalpa to describe the life cycle feeds into Krishna’s bigger picture that everyone, no matter how small their actions may seem, has their dharma to fulfill to achieve good karma. Although Arjuna is a fraction of the Kalpa, his dharma is just as important as anyone else’s, motivating him to fulfill his dharma.

Reference:

Boeree, George. “Buddhist Cosmology.” Buddhist Cosmology, Shippensburg University, webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhacosmo.html. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024.