This is Not a Quest

Wolves In 5

5th Period

Final Exam Blogpost

Introduction

Once upon a time—or was it?—a knight in shimmering ideals accepted a challenge from a green-skinned decapitator with his own moral challenges. But don’t let the medieval shell fool you: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is less about chivalry and more about the collapse of stable meaning. 

We enter a story where nothing is quite as it seems: the virtuous are flawed and the monstrous are courteous. Gawain, his symbol of virtue, soon becomes a battleground where symbols (a belt, a kiss, an axe) rebel against their supposed meaning. The real question isn’t whether Gawain “wins” the game—it’s whether the game was ever real in the first place.

Summary of Element One - Fragmentation

One of the core features of postmodernism is fragmentation—the deliberate breaking down of certain narratives, identities, and perspectives. Where traditional storytelling often seeks clarity, postmodern works embrace contradiction and uncertainty. In a postmodern lens, fragmentation doesn’t just reflect chaos; it challenges the idea that coherence may have never existed in the first place. It deconstructs the possibilities of one “true” meaning, showing that identity and truth are often fractured. 

Sir Gawain’s confession—“I am faulty and false, and have been from the first”—reveals a deep fracture in his previous self-image, marking the collapse of the perfect knight into a spiraling individual. This moment illustrates the postmodern concept of fractured identity, where a character no longer lies within a fixed role. Gawain’s admission contradicts the chivalric code he was meant to embody, revealing that not everything is what it is made out to be.

This quote is parallel to my source #2 comment on the lyrics of “Semantics” and how fragmented that song was. Much like Sir Gawain, NNAMDÏ in “Semantics” confronts emotional contradictions, with lyrics that often shift in tone and meaning, such as: “I'm fin

e / I’m lying.” This line captures a moment where external expression and the internal truth meet, similarly to Gawain’s realization that his actions don’t align with what he goes by. 

Summary of Element Two - Pastiche

In postmodern literature and art, pastiche refers to the blending or remixing of multiple styles and genres—often without a clear “authentic” voice. Unlike the mocking or critiquing of sources (parody), pastiche is more about imitation. Some would say it’s like a collage of storytelling that highlights the impossibility of making something completely “original” in a world full of cultural history. Basically, pastiche reflects the idea that meaning is not fixed.

The original writing itself exhibits many elements that fall into the postmodern pastiche category. For instance, when Gawain prepares to face the Green Knight and reflects that “fortune may ever be fair, or may frown on a man,” the line underscores the blending of chivalric acceptance, with an almost inevitable uncertainty. This moment supports the fact that Gawain is not just a knight in a heroic tale; he is a fragmented figure that is caught in a reoccurring myth. 

The same postmodern element is found in my source #3 comment about Gorillaz music video “Humility”. The above line in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows the hero’s awareness that morality is not fixed. It questions the truth of knightly virtues. Similarly, Gorillaz’s “Humility” music video functions as a visual/musical pastiche. The animated character 2-D roller-skates through a sunny, California landscape, interacting with people and celebrity Jack Black playing an electric guitar. The video blends old funk, animation, internet culture, and irony all together. There’s no single genre or message—just a mixture of nostalgia, playfulness, and…well I guess humility. Both the poem and the video show that pastiche isn’t about borrowing—it’s about interconnecting fragmented influences to reflect a world that is not

fixed. 

Conclusion

In both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Gorillaz’s “Humility,” we see the staples of postmodernism—fragmentation and pastiche—working together to challenge traditional ideas about reality and meaning. In today’s modern digital world, where memes and viral videos mix genres and styles, postmodern pastiche has become even more relevant. It is a literal reflection of how the age of the internet is less about creating something from scratch, and more about remixing a personal interpretation of something from the past. The fragmented nature of the internet—and ease of information—embodies the lasting impact that postmodernism will have. In a world where everything is transforming, it’s not about finding the “truth”—it’s about embracing the layers of change.