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Examples of heroism essay
Examples of acts of heroism
Examples of heroism essay
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Beowulf and Gawain are both “Heros”! They both show traits that would make up any hero. But some things that make them Heros are the same but in different ways and some things are completely different. Gawain Shows three traits throughout this story that make him a hero. Braveness, Strength, and Chivalrousness. Gawain shows braveness in lines 139-142. It says “Then Gawain and Guinevers’s side bowed and spoke his design: “Before all, king, confide this fight to me. May it be mine.”” This shows Gawain being brave because he steps up and asks the king to let him do the fight instead of the king. He is risking his life so that he king doesn't have to. And thats brave. Gawain also shows his strength in this story in lines 197-204. It says “Gawain …show more content…
They both show there braveness in there stories. The difference in their braveness is that beowulf had no idea what he was going and getting into, and Gawain knew exactly what he was getting himself into. They also both show strength in their storys but different types of strength. Gawain cuts off the green knights head with one swing of the green knights axe and that shows he has strength but not compared to beowulf who ripped off Grendals arm with his bare hands and defeated the monster without using a weapon. So they both are strong and have strength but beowulf strength compared to gawain is out compared. Then there is Gawain who is chivalrous because he is honorable to his king by taking the challenge and risking his life for his king compared to beowulf who is cocky and goes around bragging about himself and thats not chivalrous. Then there is Beowulfs last trait which is leadership which he shows buy leading his men and watching out for them compared to gawain which shows little bit of leadership when takes the offer from the green knight to the king and shows that he can do it and to not disappoint the king. Gawain also shows leadership when a year and a day later he goes to the green knight to get his head chopped off. That shows it because he is taking responsibility for his actions by following through with the deal that the green knight made with him. So like I said in the first paragraph, beowulf and Gawain are alike in some ways but different in other ways. So in conclusion, Beowulf and Gawain have some traits that are the same that make them heros but some that are different and the traits that are the same between them are different because they show it in their own
A hero not only needs to be physically outstanding, but he also needs to have integrity, moral values and needs to act without thinking in his own benefit. Beowulf has many characteristics of a hero but he also has some defects that make me think that he wouldn’t be considered a hero in today´s world. A hero concept evolves with a culture, Beowulf has many things that the Anglo-Saxons viewed as heroism but he misses many things that are important for a modern hero.
In my opinion Beowulf is can be considered a hero. Beowulf can be considered a hero because of the characteristics he displays that resemble heroes. He displays all of the characteristics that heroes have. Throughout the story Beowulf stays true to himself and is morals showing that he is a hero. Beowulf is a hero due to his courage, loyalty, and justice.
Heroes come in many forms. The construction of "the heroic" has taken many forms, yet traits such as: courage, honor, and loyalty, reappear as themes throughout the "hero" personality. The characters of Beowulf and Sir Gawain each represent a version of a hero, yet each comes across quite differently in their story. A hero can be said to truly win if he remains constant to his noble values when put in any situation that crosses his way. When measured by that criterion, Sir Gawain stands out above Beowulf as a true hero, due to his command of both personal and spiritual power through the use of thought, as well as valiant deeds.
Beowulf, the great Geatish warrior, lives a very adventurous life filled with many voyages, battles, and victories. Through all of these events, he meets various people who are considered to be heroes like himself. These heroes, however, are unable to have the same abilities and characteristics of Beowulf. His great achievements cannot be matched by anything that they have done in their lives. Beowulf is a superior hero to Hrothgar, Unferth, and Wiglaf in the epic of Beowulf because he kills every monster that he fights, becomes a widely feared warrior and king, and dies in battle completing his final heroic act.
Initially, Gawain’s strongest trait is humility, Beowulf’s is pride. In the beginning of Gawain and the Green Knight, a mysterious warrior enters King Arthur’s court to extend a challenge. Although he knows others in the court would handle the challenge better than him, out of respect, when King Arthur attempts to accept the challenge Gawain comes forth and suggests he takes his place. Gawain presents himself as “the weakest of them, I know, and the dullest-minded/ so my death would be least loss, if truth should be told/ only because you are my uncle am I to be praised/ no virtue I know in myself but your blood” (Broadview Analogy 269). Instead of bragging about his bravery, Gawain acts modestly and states that his death would be of little loss during this challenge. He is not self-absorbed and gives off the impression that the only reason he is a knight is because of his relation with King Arthur. By stating this, he gives off the impression that his self confidence is quite weak; this is astonishing for a character of this era. Although King Arthur has at least one of his knights to be proud of, it seems as though
In Beowulf, the protagonist Beowulf is shown as a hero with extrodinary strength. This is not what makes him a hero. By definition, a hero is a man of exceptional quality. However this term does not do Beowulf justice. His self-imposed purpose in life is to help others, and eventually sacrifices his own life in doing so. Beowulf’s battle with the dragon serves as a critique of the notion that Beowulf is a hero. The Dragon section displays many of Beowulf’s heoric characteristics. Beowulf establishes himself as a hero by fighting the dragon, exemplifing strength and courage when fighting the dragon, and sacrificing himself so that others can live.
Men exemplify heroic qualities in both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, however, women are depicted differently in the two stories. In Beowulf, women are not necessary to the epic, where as in Green Knight, women not only play a vital role in the plot, but they also directly control the situations that arise. Men are acknowledged for their heroic achievement in both stories, while the women's importance in each story differ. However, women are being equally degraded in both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Beowulf and Gawain are shown as great leaders. Sir Gawain is liked by most people he has met. Beowulf has many loyal followers by his side. Beowulf and Sir Gawain are both brave and loyal. They attempt to honor their kings and kingdoms. Those are all qualities of a hero.
Both characters abided by a code of honor that they were willing to protect with their lives. Today, that trait is at the very least, rare, if not altogether absent from our increasingly materialistic and self-centered society. Both Gawain and Beowulf saw themselves as means by which the end of achieving glory for their society could be achieved. They didn't leech on to society and drain precious resources, as do many of today's corrupt leaders. On the contrary, they gave back to their people and lived up to the ancient notion of the "good citizen" as first advanced by Plato.
The stories of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are both tales of heroes who go out on fantastic quests to uphold and forge their honor. These stories mean to inspire the reader to be like their corresponding hero, and thus provide an outline of what honor means in the culture in which it was written. Through identifying the heroes’ characteristics, one can draw conclusions of what qualities the everyday person needed to have in order for others to think of as honorable.
A quote from the great Robert Louis Stevenson says, “All human beings are commingled out of good and evil.” While many people in the world today would definitely agree with this, it is unclear how people during the Anglo-Saxon era and Middle Ages would think about this. Since we obviously cannot ask a living person from these time periods what they think about this, we can analyze their literature to discover what the common man thought so many years ago. The classic literature I have personally analyzed on this topic are as follows: Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Canterbury Tales.
A hero is someone who is admired for their bravery and courage, among other noble features. In both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, both men display heroism, however, their motivation to be these valiant beings stemmed from different places in their lives. In Beowulf, we see a man whose inspiration is to be a legend that lived on long after his physical presence on earth is gone, remember and admired by all his people. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain’s bravado came from his religious background of Christianity. Agreeably both men were heroic, but these key differences in their ways and motivations set them apart.
The three heroes discussed here, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and King Arthur, are heroes for different reasons. Beowulf, our earliest hero, is brave but his motivation is different than then other two. To Sir Gawain personal honor and valor is what is important. King Arthur, Sir Gawain's uncle, is naturally the quintessential king of the medieval period. Though all men to a certain extent share the same qualities, some are more pronounced than in the others. It is important to see how these qualities are central to their respective stories and how it helps (or hinders) them in their journeys.
Some definitions for the word “Hero” include brave, noble, and admirable. And Sir Gawain is all of those words listed and more. Heroic characters are frequently placed on a pedestal. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, we encounter Sir Gawain, a character with very human qualities. See he was sort of a celebrity because he was King Arthur’s nephew. Man cannot be considered a hero unless he has overcome some sort of opposition. He must surmount some force within his own self in order to be dubbed a hero. Originally faced with the challenge of the Green Knight, Gawain must face temptation and less-than-heroic qualities within himself and he doesn’t necessarily overcome them all. Sir Gawain may be regarded as a heroic adventurer in his pursuit of the mysterious Green Knight. Through the poem, he presents himself with the upmost ideals of chivalry, honor, and honesty. In the poem, we find our hero is faced with a quest of amazing proportions. He represents a hero because the truest hero is one who learns from his mistakes. Sir Gawain realizes and understands where he has failed.
This essay is the comparison between Beowulf and a modern day hero. I consider any American soldier to be my modern day hero. In this essay I will explain in three paragraphs of how my modern day hero is like Beowulf. With in these three paragraphs I will go over how they are both fighting for a good cause, how they are both rewarded for what they do, and how they are both treated with much respect.