Edna Gutierrez
English 6
Final
The
Better Hero’s
Throughout
the book we read stories about heroes but who are the best in playing the
heroic role in the middle ages. If I had to choose character it would be both
sir Gawain and Beowulf they both have special characteristics that make then
good heroes in their own way. Beowulf has a pagan believe in which values
kingship, generosity and bravery that are made evident in the story. Sir Gawain
has more of a chivalry code that he follows to be a better man and that values
more of the chastity, humility, honesty, and devotion to the lord. They both
have a strong bond with being loyal to people or their own kings and but also
have great qualities. Beowulf is a generous hero who has great strength and
bravery that makes him stand out from the others. Sir Gawain in the other hand is
a knight who has much respect and loyalty to his king that he would even risk
him life for him. They both have such
heroic qualities that make them stand out the most from many other heroes’ in
the Middle Ages.
Bravery
is one of the strongest characteristics for Beowulf in was made clear in the
beginning of which he shares his plans to get rid of the great threat in the
village Grendel. Beowulf make it clear that he would help with killing the demon
that was terrorizing the live of the people in town “When it comes to fighting
, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel.”(678-679). Beowulf fines
himself to be much more of a danger then Grendel in which he is made to look
like a great brave person to do the
right job as a hero would.
In the
beginning sir Gawain showed he is also a brave person. When the green knight
burst forth into king Arthur court, all the other knight stood down and allowed
Arthur to approach the green knight, it was only sir Gawain who asked to be the
one to take the green knight challenge. He steps forward and accepts the
challenge even if he is the weakest one as he stated “I am weakest of your
warriors and feeblest of wit; loss of my life would be least lamented.”(354-355).
He is truly brave to be the only knight to step forward to the challenge. He
bravely presided with the first task of the challenge and cut the green knight head.
He shows more bravery by actually returning a year later for the second part of
the challenge. Sir Gawain shows bravery in his actions wanting save his king
and completing the challenge.
Being a
hero is also to have physical strength. Beowulf has god like strength in which
is depicted in his fight with Grendel. He is a warrior who is willing to go to
the max to find opportunities to display his physical might, He had a swimming
competition in the open sea for five nights with Brea, and also he was able to
rip Grendels arm off with nothing but him mire force. “The monster’s whole body was in pain; a tremendous wound appeared
on his shoulders. Sinews split and the bone – lappings burst. Beowulf was
granted the glory of winning” (814-818).Beowulf has great strength that is not
like other he was able to hurt a demon that is also strong. He knows he is
strong and able to do anything that gets in his way. Beowulf has any good
walling that make him a good hero and strength is one of them.
In sir Gawain he uses his chivalry code as to
his devotion to god and Christian man in which give him strength to proceed
with his mission. Sir Gawain is “servant of god” in which he finds himself in
prayer to god to be guided: “father […] let me happen on some house where mass
might be […] He rides the path and prays” (753-759), and almost immediately he
found the castle of Bertilak. For Gawain his faith is his strength in which he
values in his shield he added a image of Mary in the inside of the shield in which
serve as a representative of his spiritual and moral beliefs as his inner
strength.
Being loyal is also a part of being a hero and
Beowulf did exactly that he was loyal to him people. Beowulf helps the Danes
but just increase his reputation however ones he learned that main drive is a
family debt that Beowulf owes to Hrothgar he is conceited to be able to lend
his loyal services to Hrothgar. He also continued to show his loyalty to his
uncle and king ones he returned to home he continues to risk his life even if the
tactics of the ruler are not the best , ones the Hygelac is killed the queen
offers him the throne but he refuses and continues to be a loyal worrier to the
young king. In the end Beowulf ruled for fifty years and he was still loyal to
his people and decided to risk his life for them: “I risked my life often when
I was young. Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue the fight
[…] and face me in the open” (2510-2515). Even at old age Beowulf shows grade
deal of loyalty to his people as a king and having to fight for them even if it
means to give up his life. In Beowulf he was a great king to the people and was
loyal to every single one even after no wanted to help kill the dragon with
him.
Sir Gawain shows loyalty as also being the main
reason to accepting the challenge. He showed his loyalty when he was the only
one to step forward to the challenge of the green knight .None of the other
knights in the round table said anything until he did. He did not want anything
to happen to their king and he said “I stake my claim this melee must be mine”
(340-343). He was the first to say something to his king who was about to take
the challenge. Trying to complete his challenge he was put in a test in wanting
to find the green knight he stumble into a castle and there he meet the lord’s
wife who was temping him. The green knight planted the test the loyalty of
Gawain word in which he fail to do, he was tempted with a girdle that was
giving to him by the lord’s wife. The only thing that the green knight wanted
was to see if sir Gawain would be a loyal friend and tell him the trued about
the girdle.
A motivating factor for Beowulf was reputation;
he had great desire to seen as a great hero. It was important for him to let
people know who he was and all the great thinks he did. When a son of Ecglaf
doubted his reputation of him losing a swimming contest it would make Beowulf
unfit to fight with Grendel. Beowulf defend his reputation with poise he
pointed out it was a five night not seven night swim. He corrects every mistake
that was said and also adds how he killed sea monsters with nothing just sword
even if he had to die: the truth is this: when the going was heavy in those
high waves, I was the strongest swimmer of all […] (533-536). He likes having a
reputation and being known as the greatest even when he was old. As he got old
he still wanted to be the hero and face the dragon alone knowing his old age he
wanted to die with great reputation.
For sir Gawain reputation was also was
something he did not want to acknowledge. When lady Bertilak was taking to him
she told him she was eager to have a conversation with him because she had hurt
his great reputation as the man who everyone loved: “famed through all realms
whichever road he rides, whose princely honor is highly praised” (1226-1230).
Sir Gawain had a reputation that made him knows as a great knight but he never
really did nothing great to fill that he earned It.: “May the lord repay you
for your prize performance but I know that Gawain could never be your name” (1292-1293).
Sir Gawain did not what to damage his reputation for courtesy and complied with
lady Brirtlak wishes and not being Gawain if he failed to comply.
A definition of a hero is a man of
distinguished courage or ability. In which was a great Way to define both sir
Gawain and Beowulf. In the middle ages a hero was brave, loyal; and had
strength in ether inner or outer. For both Beowulf and sir Gawain it was just
the thing they have to be the better hero in an ether epic or romance. They
both have a similarity even when they are both complete different stories they
shine in there on world. Sir Gawain being a knight who fights for his kingdom
and Beowulf who is a worrier and fights for the same reason even if they end up
dead of not. They are both great examples of what great heroes are.
