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Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Sir Gawain

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What makes a character in a book heroic? Beowulf was a strong and courageous hero who risked his life for the safety of other. Sir Gawain was also brave and mighty. He risked his life instead of his king’s life. These to character have many things in common as well as differences. Beowulf and Sir Gawain are two outstanding heroes that are similar with their bravery, quest, and religious beliefs, but in those categories there are also differences between the two. First of all, these two characters went on a quest. Beowulf came to defend the Danes of terrible monsters that attacked the town. As the story states, “He announced his plan: to sail the swan’s road and seek out that king, the famous king that needed defenders” (200). Similarly, …show more content…

The king was very grateful that Beowulf arrived at the Danes: “Beowulf my friend, you have traveled here to favor us with help and to fight for us” (457).The king had already lost hope of defeating Grendel since twelve years had passed and Grendel still attacked. They were helpless. Beowulf was their only chance. Although Grendel was undefeated, Beowulf had the courage to fight him. He wasn’t frightened by the things he heard about Grendel. The news of Grendel actually made him want to go to the Danes to battle him. Likewise, Sir Gawain was the only person to volunteer to hit the Green Knight. The Green Knight wanted to see if the king had enough courage to hit him, but Sir Gawain stepped in the way of that. He preferred to do it himself than let the king do it. They both risked their lives by going on a quest for the sake of others. Although they both were courageous, one had humanly emotions and the other did not. Beowulf was strong. He did not show no fear even if he saw his life flash before his eyes. He battled three monsters and died trying in his last encounter. He was old, yet he still battled. He was very confident with himself. Otherwise, Sir Gawain did show his emotions. He was very frightened on his way to seek the Green Knight. He was scared of failure. Many thoughts went through his head and the fear of not being able to find the Green

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