How social order shapes individual dignity and self-worth in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and King Lear? Anonymous College

Throughout the ages, many scholars have tried to explore the idea of human dignity and self-respect. Some associate one’s self-worthiness with wealth and social status, claiming that the higher the salary, the higher the self-worth. Some believe that one’s childhood experience will directly shape the self-worth, and others believe that there is a connection between family background and self-identity. All these external factors are proven to influence one’s dignity, but there are certainly more factors that need to be mentioned. For example, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Shakespeare's King Lear provide a unique perspective on individual dignity and worth an individual’s self-image, which serves as the foundation of moral code and self-worthiness, is created by the social structure. More specifically, in the case of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the self-concept is based on the chivalric code; and the institution of monarchy gives rise of self-image in King Lear.

Like many other writers from the Medieval Period, the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight sets the story in a knightly system that is heavily regulated by the chivalric code. As demonstrated in the book, people define the code as a set of personal...