Unpacking the Concept of Honor: A Study of Heroes

Many people take the word honor very lightly and believe that it is incredibly easy to be defined as a person who shows their honor for the people around them, and that may be true for some people but not for others. Three people who easily fall into the group of being an honorable person includes, William Wallace from the Mel Gibson film Braveheart, Sir Gawain, and Beowulf. Honor may be mistaken for many different things, but the word honor easily falls into the category of being a hero. In order to be a hero someone has to be honorable, and being honorable includes the same characteristics of being considered a hero. There are specifically two different types of heroes including, an Anglo-Saxon Hero and Epic Hero. There are four very strict

guidelines that must be followed to become an Anglo-Saxon Hero which includes them showing numerous acts of bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship. Many people believe that an Anglo-Saxon Hero and Epic Hero are almost identical, but in order to be classified as an Epic Hero the person must have physical strength, have outstanding morals, be glorified by the people around them, and accomplish their set goals. The three heroes listed above became known in the world of literature and became studied by many people to further expand their learning horizons on becoming a great person with numerous capabilities. The three literary works including, Braveheart, Beowulf, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight show numerous characteristics of an Anglo-Saxon and Epic Hero, leading up to the definition of the word honor.
Sir Gawain from the literary work, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, contains numerous elements that lead up to him being known for as an honorable figure.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, King Arthur gets ready to commit in the battle of the Green Knight until Sir Gawain stepped up and insisted that he be the one to fight. Sir Gawain said to King Arthur, “I beseech you, Sire, / Let this game be mine” (Gawain Poet 124-25). By Sir Gawain requesting to King Arthur that he must step before the Green Knight instead of the King, Gawain showed many acts of bravery and loyalty to his people, which gave him the characteristics of showing honor and being an Anglo-Saxon Hero. Sir Gawain stepped up to this incredible mission because he knew he was the weakest of the knights, and believed that no one would miss him, but instead when Gawain went up for battle the Green Knight refused to strike. The Green Knight has said, “It was I who sent her to test you. I’m convinced / You’re the finest man that ever walked this earth” (Gawain Poet 354-55). The Green Knight had his wife give Gawain the green sash in order to test him, the Green Knight knew Gawain had the courage to compete against him but he just wanted the knights to realize it. Sir Gawain shows honor in this literary work, because even when he wanted to doubt himself and give up he never did, he kept fighting and eventually made it to the Green Castle even though he knew he might not make it out alive. He insisted to follow

through and be the great hero he is, because he wanted to make King Arthur and his knights incredibly happy by protecting them.
Sir Gawain may be very hard to overpass because of his unbelievable capabilities of being known as a courageous hero, but William Wallace in the film, Braveheart reached Gawain’s abilities by leading the Scottish to victory. The film, Braveheart shows numerous acts of honor and proved that one person can make all the difference. That one person is William Wallace, who is now celebrated in Scotland for his great leadership and bravery, and his sword is now on a tower standing on the summit of Abbey Craig in the Wallace Monument. One example of honor showed in this Academy Award winning film, was the loyalty Wallace showed for his childhood friend who soon became his lover, Murron MacClannough while he refused to let the English soldiers rape her (Braveheart). Wallace was raised to always fight for what he believes in, even if that brings down other people in the process, but as he fought for Scottish Independence he knew he would not let anything get in the way of his victory, especially the rape of his wife. One last example showing how Wallace being an Anglo-Saxon Hero leads up to the definition of honor, is when he refused to yell “Mercy” in order to receive a less painful death (Braveheart). Instead William Wallace continued to yell “Freedom”, which gave hope to the Scottish people to never give up on their independence and continue fighting for victory even if they have to without their leader. William Wallace is the real definition to an honorable person and will forever be known as being a heroic hero by his famous quote, “Every man dies, not every man really lives”.
The definition of honor has been defined by using Anglo-Saxon and Epic Heroes throughout the history of literature, but the word honor would not be thoroughly accounted for without the poem, Beowulf.

Beowulf has shown numerous acts of bravery, friendship, loyalty and generously throughout the whole poem, which made everyone respect and look upon him. The main act of friendship and generosity that Beowulf had conquered, was when he told the town, “they, and you, may now sleep / without fear of either monster, mother / or son”, after killing Grendel and his mother (Beowulf 24-26). To prove how thankful the whole town was when Beowulf saved them from the harmful and injustice Grendel, Hrothgar stated, “you came / and that endless misery was over and I lived” (Beowulf 129-30). Beowulf never thought about himself or the outcome that may happen to him when fighting for his people, he knew without trying nothing was possible and he was always willing to take the risk. Without Beowulf sticking up for all the people around him and making sure they were protected, he would have never been classified for being a hero or showing everyone what honor really stands

for.