Ned Stark: The Honorable Lord of Winterfell

Myles Davis

UNIV 375 400

Sept 21, 2020

Ned Stark: The Honorable Lord of Winterfell

To be an honorable person is best described as someone that will always take the high road never going low.  Someone that will always seek out the truth even when everyone else is telling him lies.  Someone that fights for the good and innocent even when they are surrounded by evil and the guilty.  To be an honorable person you would have to be like Ned Stark, a man so honorable that he was killed trying to do what he thought was right for his kingdom.  A man who wanted to stop at nothing to uncover the truth about the death of a dearly beloved friend.  Despite what most people believe I think that Ned Stark was a very honorable man and maybe one of the most honorable in the show.

Eddard stark, or Ned was the previous lord of Winterfell until he left for Kingslanding to be the new Hand of the king and the head of the Stark house.  While ruling he was known as a good man and an even better lord.  He treated those under him with respect and even ate with them which was uncommon for those in his position.  It's about how he acts, especially compared to others that have power behind their name like, Robert Baratheon and Tywin Lannister, Ned shows honor and chivalry with everything he does.  Whether it's how he treats his wife and children to how he treats his people and servants, he shows them nothing but love and respect.  The first test of his honor was seen in the first episode with the arrival of a deserter in Winterfell.  The deserter had to be executed for leaving the Night’s watch and Ned had to carry it out since Ned was the one to pass sentence, he was the one take responsibility.  Even though Ned was visibly disgruntled with his actions he held strong for his sons because he was trying to instill an important lesson that would help them in the future. 

 

Ned Stark next example of honor is seen after he arrives in king’s landing and discovered the truth about the children of Robert.  He chooses to keep them a secret and safe instead having them revealed and leading to an early death. If the children were revealed, they would be the rightfully heir to the throne and they would also kick the Lannister's off the throne since they would have no ties to it, but it was too much of a risk for the children.  Unfortunately, Ned decided he would go to Cersei Lannister with the information he had hoping to blackmail.  He had the best intentions, but Cersei’s power and influence were to great which caused his blackmail to backfire on him and got him put into chain and headed to the execution platform.  Ned stark only wanted the best for the kingdom and thought this was the best way for the rightful heir to sit on the throne.  

Ned Stark strong sense of honor and chivalry possibly came from him growing up with Robert Baratheon and Jon Arryn.  Jon taught the two everything thing they know about fighting and being leaders.  Ned may think that his sense of honor and justice may be based on reality but in the world they live it may be more of a fantasy.  He believed that he was able to trust Petyr Baelish, but it turned out that Petyr was a spy for Cercei the whole time.  Ned came to believe that the good were honorable and the bad were dishonorable but the world inside of King’s Landing wasn’t as black and white as he thought.  Noone is not all good or all bad everyone has their motives or secrets, like Robert may not have been the best king but he was a good ish man and Ned was just trying to preserve his friend’s memory and legacy.  Robert was still a better ruler than the Mad king, Aerys ll Targaryen and Joffrey Baratheon.  I believe the Ned did the best he could against the Lannisters he was just simply outmatched, but he remained honorable throughout the entire ordeal, even when he was on deaths door.

 

Comments

  1. Elena Stuckey5 October 2020 at 11:11

    I liked Ned Stark when the series very first began and while I agree he is honorable in his actions, I also feel it is necessary to point out that he is foolish. I think of the conversation he had specifically with Cersi and he simply expected her to leave, he seemed almost arrogant in his honor. He made honorable decisions yes, but at what cost? He expected people to listen and follow what he did simply because he considered it to be right and ultimately it cost him his life. Yes he is an honorable man, but a foolish one as well.

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    Replies
    1. Ranasia Rumley5 October 2020 at 11:31

      I do agree that him expecting people to just trust him and follow him led to his death, but at least he died being noble and a man of his word. I would rather die knowing people will remember me as a noble hero than be alive not surviving a purpose watching my kingdom fall apart.

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  2. Ranasia Rumley5 October 2020 at 11:28

    I agree! I loved Ned Starks character and I thought he died an honorable man. Ned had a lot of responsibilities and handled them all well, yes at times he may have been seen as foolish for some of his decisions, but he did everything out of purity. Ned was twice the man of any other guy on the show and lead like a great leader. He tried to prepare his children for the real world as much as he could while also being a good father and husband. Even though his heart led him astray he will still be remembered as a great leader.

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  3. Yassera L.5 October 2020 at 11:54

    I definitely agree that Ned lived an honorable life and he did what he felt was needed. This type of honor is important in leading characters like himself.

    ReplyDelete

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