Compare And Contrast Sir Gawain And Beowulf

Literary works can have many ways of revealing to the readers how protagonists in their stories portray themselves, and ultimately how they represent the paradigms and values of their age . Readers often learn along with the protagonists during their journey, such as lessons unique to their cultural values and even sometimes their way of thinking. In the Middle Ages, for instance, in both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the protagonists Sir Gawain and Beowulf exhibit similar ways of thinking, while also having different key characteristics compared to one another.
Therefore, Beowulf and Sir Gawain exhibit what the Anglo-Saxons and the MIddle English saw as both acceptable and unacceptable behaviors and attitudes.Some of the

Beowulf takes on the challenge of killing Grendel and later Grendel’s mother because he wants to show everyone how tough he is and that he can take on anyone if he wanted to. In other words, he is trying to be this powerful man who no one can ever defeat. Beowulf does not look at the task as a challenge, but rather a way to show everyone that he is the strongest and heroic man of them all. When Beowulf goes into any sort of battle, he refuses help from anyone. He does not want to feel or look, he is so focused on himself and his pride that he does not see the elevating problem in himself. Both Beowulf and Sir Gawain serve a king in their task, but they are taking on the task for different reasons that are instantly shown by their

Unlike Beowulf, Sir Gawain takes on the challenge because he does not want to let the people of Hereot down, particularly king Arthur, whom he does not want to dishonor in any manner. Sir Gawain takes on the “test” given to him by the Green Knight in order to showcase his loyalty to his people and the ones he needs to prove his worth to. Sir Gawain is not obligated to take on the task, but he does only for the reason of proving himself to those around him as well as himself. While the protagonists in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have different values and perspectives when it comes to what they value in their lives and what they do not, their downfalls have a different outcome due to their decisions. Beowulf, being too focused on himself and his pride is what ultimately finds him in the end. He always chooses to not accept help, even when he needed it the most when he chose to fight the dragon alone towards the end of the folk epic. He let his hunger for power and strength blind him to what really matters, which is putting other before