A Comparison Of Gilgamesh And Sir Gawain

Often, literature is based on several heroes and their adventures. Most especially, the epic stories symbolize different countries, nations, and cultures. The authors usually shape the characteristics of these stars and profile their unique techniques of writing as well as their imaginative power. Gilgamesh is one of the most known heroes, whose character was developed in the famous “Epic of Gilgamesh” as the strongest of men, a fair judge, a brave warrior, and an ambitious builder who built the magnificent walls of Uruk to protect its people. On the other hand, there are some undesirable characteristics that he possesses such as selfishness, and arrogance mostly brought about by the fact that he is part human and part god. He is characterized

by outsized flaws that he exhausts is subjects with forced labor and constant battle and selfishly taking by force any female he desires.
Another well-known hero is Sir Gawain, who is characterized by an unknown writer and put in the center of the famous poem known as “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” He is created with the qualities of a hero that is strong willed, loyal, and brave. This paper champions the thesis that both Sir Gawain and Gilgamesh exhibit heroic characteristics such as brevity, loyalty, strong-willed, perseverance, and also have charismatic personalities with Sir Gawain responding more constructively to his situation than Gilgamesh. This essay will compare and contrast the different characteristics of Sir Gawain and Gilgamesh while analyzing the most positive character.
Similarities
First and foremost, both Gilgamesh and Sir Gawain represent heroism, only that they demonstrate it differently.

Gilgamesh proves his heroism by doing daring things with the aim of being famous while Sir Gawain does daring things like battling the green knight to act as a service to King Arthur. When Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu went to slay Humbaba the god, Gilgamesh was telling Enkidu, “but if I do this, even if I fail, they will still say I died a hero’s death” (Grundy 42). Another similar characteristic is that both Gilgamesh and Sir Gawain are loyal. Gilgamesh demonstrates loyalty to his friend Enkidu such that when he dies, Gilgamesh is grief-stricken that he tries to do the impossible simply to bring his friend back to life. On the other hand, Sir Gawain is loyal to King Arthur such that he prefers to fight the Green Knight just so to save the life of his

king.
Both Gilgamesh and Sir Gawain portray perseverance in their own ways. Gilgamesh shows internal perseverance through his emotional stability after the death of his best friend, Enkidu. He goes through many trials in his effort to find the secret to immortality only to end up finding out that there is no way to cheat death (Grundy 45). Similarly, Sir Gawain demonstrates perseverance during the encounter with King Arthur’s wife. He goes through grief and temptation most especially when she offers to give him the silk belt that allegedly could save his life. Although greed and temptation overshadow his perseverance, he becomes a hero through his repentance. “His heart reached out for protection, like a thief for a gem…He held his tongue, allowed her to speak, and she pressed it on him, urgent, and he was ready to surrender, and then smiling, he resigned” (Borroff 190). Although he could not persevere for long, he ended up a hero in spite of the wrong-doing. He even confesses to keeping the belt not because of its lovely silk, or gold, or polished stones, but as a reminder of his sin caused by his weakness and lack of enough perseverance (Borroff 190).
Both Gilgamesh and Sir Gawain are brave.

Being brave is one fundamental element of becoming a hero and it is a condition that is expected from all heroic characters. In both the tale and the poem, Gilgamesh and Sir Gawain are identified as brave individuals. In the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” Gilgamesh shows courage when he sees lions on the mountain. He only shields his eyes for a moment then “he takes courage and approaches,” and draws his sword and “fall upon them like an arrow from the string, and strikes, and destroys, and scatters them” (Grandy 37). In the poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” displays Sir Gawain in a confident manner. In line 2274-2280, the Green Knight challenges anyone to come forth and strike him with an ax. Nobody except Sir Gawain accepts the challenge to save King Arthur. Besides, this bravery is also evident in the conversation between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as he answered, “Enough! I will not flinch when you hack” (Borroff 81). The reply indicates the bravery on the part of Sir Gawain, who does not move despite the attempts by the Green Knight to chop his head

off.
Another typical personality is that both Gilgamesh and Sir Gawain are strong-willed. Gilgamesh was willing to do anything to find immortality. He traveled far in his search and after finding the cure to mortality only to later learn that immortality is only for the gods. On the other hand, Sir Gawain was willing to do anything to save King Arthur even if it meant to die in the process (Borroff 80). According to him, he was the weakest of all knights but still he has the will to try. Besides, he knew that if he refused the challenge, the one who would have accepted would have been King Arthur, the man he was willing to risk his life to save.
Another common characteristic of the two heroes is their charismatic personalities. This aspect is one most shared element by all heroes. Their charming personalities allowed both Gilgamesh and Sir Gawain to gain control over their people. However, this is not a preferred style by Sir Gawain due to his modesty in the poem with no single statement related to his authority. His charismatic personality is displayed in phrases like “more than a hundred are eager to serve him” (Borroff 99). Alternatively, Gilgamesh charismatic personality is seen later in the tale after he realizes the inevitability of death. He uses his charisma to charm people as well as the gods to help him in his leadership.
Sir Gawain responds more constructively to his situation than Gilgamesh. He performs admirably well in almost all the tests placed under him. Only the last one makes him seem ordinary because he failed. However, he confesses his sin and offers the king a method to punish him for it (Borroff 189). He excelled in all the other tests that include the challenge of the Green Knight without reservation. Gilgamesh, on the other hand, changes for the better in the latter parts of the epic tale. He is displayed as selfish and someone who misuses his power to oppress the weak, and has no respect for women. Besides, he sends men to war day and night not for the protection of the city but for his own pleasure. Nevertheless, Sir Gawain is characterized to be a real brave that is selfless and puts the interests of his country first before his personal benefits. Although he falls into the temptation to steal the golden belt, he still responds constructively to the situation by confessing and offering to keep the belt on as a sign of his one-time weakness.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both the characters exhibit heroic and noble qualities, and neither Sir Gawain nor Gilgamesh is modeled as a perfect hero. Besides, it does not matter how perfect people think heroes are, and they also have negative qualities that may overshadow the heroic ones. Gilgamesh displays negative characteristics at the beginning of the tale like self-righteousness, pride, and selfishness but transforms into more active and heroic ones after becoming friends with Enkidu. He is considered a hero due to the qualities of heroism, perseverance, and loyalty. But the character of Sir Gawain, however, is too humble, with more positive characteristics hence he is the better hero in the two stories. Even so, it seems unfair to compare these two characters since they get the roles from their authors. But heroes or not, both Gilgamesh and Sir Gawain share more similarities than disparities.