Comparing Heroes In Beowulf And Sir Gawain

Throughout all of literature, heroes, along with villains, ideally display the culture surrounding the setting of time during which the work was produced. Every detail placed throughout the work reveals both flaws and noble qualities within the hero or protagonist and also, by extension, within the society itself. These illustrations begin when the hero is compelled to act upon a threat in order to save the community. As the hero goes on his journey, the reader goes with him; they both in a sense face the same conflicts and learn helpful morals for later on in the journey allowing the hero and the reader to further themselves with more knowledge to be capable of passing through the rigor of the next conflict at hand. During Anglo-Saxon and …show more content…
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is called to adventure when the Green Knight asks “If any knight be so bold as to prove my words let him come swiftly to me here, and take this weapon, I quit claim to it, he may keep it as his own, and I will abide his stroke, firm on the floor. Then shall you give me the right to deal him another, the respite of a Year and a day shall he have. Now haste, and let see whether any here dare say aught,” (Weston) and his Uncle King Arthur steps forward. Gawain takes the axe from Arthur and decides to trade axe hits with the Green Knight. Gawain later crosses his first threshold by leaving camelot to search for the Green Knight. Both of these heroes are different because Gawain hesitates to accept the call to adventure at first while Beowulf does not refuse the call, instead Beowulf’s people think he is to strong and capable for this job. Beowulf displays anglo saxon values of duty and free will as he does not have to go save Geatland and Gawain expresses late middle english values of moral courage as he does not have to step up to face the Green Knight. One that guides the hero on their adventure is called the mentor, Hrothgar is a good king who is the mentor of Beowulf throughout the folk epic and displays a father like figure, and sets the …show more content…
And Gawain’s ultimate trial, he receives an axe hit from the Green Knight 3 times. Gawain flinches the first time, the second time the Green Knight messes up, and the third time, the Green Knight nicks him. This cut is his unhealable wound to display his breaking of the deal they made. The Green Knight revealed he was the host and made him suffer consequences for his actions as wearing the green girdle back to Camelot to remind him to always be ashamed of himself. (Weston) Both of the final trials are similar as both suffer consequences due to their pride because Gawain had the choice to travel but if he did not, Camelot would be embarrassed and Beowulf let his pride get to himself as he goes to slay a dragon alone. However their outcomes are different because Gawain lives and Beowulf dies. Both display cultural values of humility in terms of the anglo saxon and late middle ages. At the end of the ultimate trial, Beowulf is dying from a poisonous dragon bite and tells Wiglaf who would soon become King to bring him the treasure from the dragon’s lair. Beowulf’s apotheosis is that he feels like over his years he returns peace within the community along with wealth and fame and that makes him feel accomplished. While Gawain’s apotheosis is when the Green Knight does not kill him, Gawain is internally dead for allowing his needs come before what he is to do as a noble knight. This makes