“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” follows the classic tale of a knight accepting a challenge and the journey that the challenge takes him on. While on this challenge Sir Gawain is tested and finds about the price of pride and sin. Throughout the story there are repeated references to the color green and the girdle that he uses to hide from his fate. The color and the girdle are symbolic, with the green representing man’s connection to nature and his primal instincts, and the girdle representing man’s sin, as well as his desire to redeem himself of that sin. The color green is mentioned throughout the course of the story. When the mysterious knight interrupts Arthur’s feast on New Year’s Eve, “he was clad all in green…hose had he of the same green…and all his vesture was verily green” (“Sir Gawain”). When this is combined with the fact that he carries a holly branch in one hand and an axe in the other, this large green knight is closer to an element of nature than a regular man. Green also comes into the story in the later meeting place. The Green Knight tells Sir Gawain to meet him in the Green Chapel. The chapel is described as being in the wild, “all overgrown with grass,” clearly another connection to nature, and the fact that the grass is taking over can be seen as symbolic as Gawain’s survival instinct increasing (“Sir Gawain”). The more he is in this setting, the stronger his desire to escape becomes and he has to use all of his courage to stay and search out the Green Knight (Goldhurst, 1958). Even Lady Bertilak’s girdle is green, tying it into the Green Knight and reminding Sir Gawain of his fate. When Lady Bertilak first tries to offer it to Gawain, he does not want it and considers it to be an improper gift. However, after she mentions that the green girdle gives a magical level of protection to its wearer, Gawain’s natural desire for survival comes