These two great literary pieces, “Beowulf” and “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” revolve around the idea of heroes being brave, courageous and honorable. Both are very similar with slight differences, such as the way the hero is depicted throughout the story, the various elements of the stories, magic, and more. These stories influence readers at the time like what it means to be a hero and also there are Christian influences. In “Beowulf”, the main character Beowulf is legendary and venerable. He had slain countless monsters and in turn, gained many victories and much fortune, telling his tales for all. He serves himself, seeking all sorts of adventure, glory, and wealth. He is immensely brutal. This can be seen throughout the entire tale
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In Beowulf, honor is tied together with justified violence. Beowulf becomes a hero and eventually becomes a king to his land, because of his worthiness seen by the glorious victories he obtains. With these gory victories, he gains much reputation and honor. With that, he is able to rise higher than everyone else and thus, is treated with the utmost respect. However, in “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” honor is viewed rather differently. Honor is less physical and more about upholding one’s word, respecting those who should be respected and being chivalrous. Sir Gawain goes through trials in order to show his honor. To keep his promise, he had to seek out The Green Knight by his own willpower. In order to continue on with the journey, he had to reside at a castle where he made a deal with the lord. At the end of the story, Sir Gawain failed in one part during his journey and was left embarrassed and …show more content…
On the contrary, “Beowulf” focused primarily around warfare. The degree of the challenge is another topic for discussion, regarding contrasts between these stories. In “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight”, Sir Gawain merely had to go through trials of will power, keeping one’s word and following a knight’s chivalrous code. In contrast, Beowulf was repeatedly risking his life engaging in greater, life-threatening challenges, such as combating several terrorizing monsters: Grendel, Grendel’s mother and a terrifying
In Beowulf, honor is tied together with justified violence. Beowulf becomes a hero and eventually becomes a king to his land, because of his worthiness seen by the glorious victories he obtains. With these gory victories, he gains much reputation and honor. With that, he is able to rise higher than everyone else and thus, is treated with the utmost respect. However, in “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” honor is viewed rather differently. Honor is less physical and more about upholding one’s word, respecting those who should be respected and being chivalrous. Sir Gawain goes through trials in order to show his honor. To keep his promise, he had to seek out The Green Knight by his own willpower. In order to continue on with the journey, he had to reside at a castle where he made a deal with the lord. At the end of the story, Sir Gawain failed in one part during his journey and was left embarrassed and …show more content…
On the contrary, “Beowulf” focused primarily around warfare. The degree of the challenge is another topic for discussion, regarding contrasts between these stories. In “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight”, Sir Gawain merely had to go through trials of will power, keeping one’s word and following a knight’s chivalrous code. In contrast, Beowulf was repeatedly risking his life engaging in greater, life-threatening challenges, such as combating several terrorizing monsters: Grendel, Grendel’s mother and a terrifying