The strength of Pantagruel’s feelings of friendship and loyalty towards Panurge seen in this section of the text are compared to Aeneas and Achates. This comparison is interesting as Pantagruel does not even know Panurge’s name and knows only of his talent for languages and their discourse, but Aeneas and Achates’ relationship had been forged under much more intense circumstances. Considering that Panurge’s character is described as a seedy cheat and a noble who lost his fortune, Pantagruel’s almost immediate trust in him successfully shows the audience how much they both desire a friendship of a high caliber. Rather than this interactions being seen as one between an educated, spirited giant, Pantagruel, and a possibly scheming lout and gambler, Panurge, it becomes the beginning of their companionship.

Works Cited:

Francois Rabelais. “Gargantua and Pantagruel.” Introduction to World Literature Anthology, edited by Farrah Cato and Christian Beck, UCF Pressbooks, 2022.

Robb, Ashley. From Popular Culture to Enlightenment: Rabelais’ Pantagruel and Gargantua as Instruction Manuals. Graduate College of Bowling Green State University, 2012.

This selected sentence is about how Gargantua as a baby would cease his tantrums and his crying out should he be given a drink. And due to his being known for only calming down if he is given a drink, this is what continued to be done over and over again every time Gargantua would be upset. By constantly giving into his whims and grievances, the reader is shown a glimpse of Gargantua’s tendency to be impulsive and these descriptions are all made in the vein of exaggerated, obscene humor. Besides the strange instance of his birth, this propensity for him to be uninhibited and unrestrained is passed on to his son, Pantagruel later in the volumes.
 And it is also ironic that while Gargantua was known for drink, Pantagruel was born during a drought and named after it.

Works Cited:


Francois Rabelais. “Gargantua and Pantagruel.” Introduction to World Literature Anthology, edited by Farrah Cato and Christian Beck, UCF Pressbooks, 2022.

Robb, Ashley. From Popular Culture to Enlightenment: Rabelais’ Pantagruel and Gargantua as Instruction Manuals. Graduate College of Bowling Green State University, 2012.

Despite the compliment-filled flirtation between the host's wife and Gawain seen in this section of the text, this is not merely a romantic scene between the two characters. This scene is important as it shows that the depth of their apparent connection and temptation is almost a game and struggle, as both of them attempt to seduce the other more and more actively. The tension and seemingly light-hearted interactions actually become a pressing matter when it comes to Gawain's inability to successfully follow the host's rules and when the wife even holds him "captive" to obtain the pleasure that she seeks. After looking over the scholarly source cited below by Jordan Stinnett for an honors thesis, it is interesting to see how viewing the Lady's seduction as feminist manipulation and a reclaiming of power that traditionally belongs to male characters.

Works Cited:

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” Introduction to World Literature Anthology, edited by Farrah Cato and Christian Beck, UCF Pressbooks, 2022.

Stinnett, Jordan. The Performativity of Temptation: An Analysis of Sexual Agency and Seduction in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. University of North Carolina, 2018.

This selected sentence is about how upon Gawain's admittance into the castle, the folks who are hosting and tending to him are impressed by his reputation. And due to his being known for being "cunning" when it comes to having charm and his ability to romance a lady, the people showed their excitement at being in the presence of a knight who is so knowledgeable about manners and customs of higher society. This very propensity for him demonstrating his sexual power and flirtation is a main pillar observed in the tests that are later given to him as he moves to challenge the Green Knight. The effect of temptation and the wrongfulness of his charms is seen in his actions towards the wife of Bertilak as the story continues.

Works Cited:

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” Introduction to World Literature Anthology, edited by Farrah Cato and Christian Beck, UCF Pressbooks, 2022.

Stinnett, Jordan. The Performativity of Temptation: An Analysis of Sexual Agency and Seduction in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. University of North Carolina, 2018.

In response to a fable that the old men stated about a boy named "Melanion" fleeing for fear of the marriage-bed and never returning, the women in the play refute the fable with one of their own: "But though he reared this hate for men, He loved the women even then" (1017-1018). This comedic play by Aristophanes was completed in a time after the Athenians were defeated in Sicily (413 BCE) in which the society in Ancient Greece had recently experienced the troubles of fighting and battles. By using the women in the play staging an organized strike against the men, Aristophanes used the "irony" of women having power over important matters, that were usually left to the men, to comment on his disapproval of the effects of wartime and to plead for peace. The importance of the part of the text selected is how it conveyed an imbalance between the women and the men in the name of peace rather than war as: "he loved the women even then" is to show how even the women can see the through the foolishness and eagerness of war.

Aristophanes | Biography, Plays, & Facts. (2023, January 30). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aristophanes/Peace

This section in the text highlights a critical idea about the importance of following one's duty while also following one of the "two paths" that Krishna then explains to Arjuna. In a commentary article written by an organization called "The Contemplative Life," it summarizes Krishna's later explanation to Arjuna as one that ultimately leads him to choose Karma Yoga, the path of selfless service. The part of the text annotated here shows a crucial stopping point in which the audience is able to see once more the internal struggles that Arjuna faces while in the midst of going into battle with his cousins. He asks Krishna, in a pleading tone, to tell him what to do so as to put an end to his mental sparring match as he says "Dost thou impel me to this dreadful fight" (417) .

Coleman, A. (2022, December 4). The Bhagavad Gita | Karma Yoga. The Contemplative Life. https://www.thecontemplativelife.org/blog/bhagavad-gita-karma-yoga