Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

In literature, the protagonist often conveys a representation of a larger being, whether it is a community or culture. That protagonist has many qualities that define him, but also many flaws that shape his outlook on life. The reader can learn from the protagonist 's encounters and mistakes to better prepare oneself for their society. Beowulf and Sir Gawain represent their cultures in the Anglo-Saxon and Middle-English time periods through pride and honor. These values are still carried on today from the Early to the Late Middle Ages, which can be seen through an archetypal analysis of the protagonists of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knights. Most works follow “The Hero’s Journey,” a theory thought by Joseph Campbell, start with “a call to the adventure,”: something to start the story off. In Beowulf, his call to his adventure comes when he hears

Like the second, the third set of trials is supposed to be even more challenging. Beowulf’s third set is many years after the second. Between the two, he has already become king and ruled well for many years. Now, another threat is terrorizing his lands and Beowulf must be a good king and fight for his people. Beowulf goes out to fight a dragon, and successfully defeats it, except in the process is killed. Gawain’s third set of trials is actually what he went out in search for from the beginning. He finally reaches the Green Chapel and fights the Green Knight. The Green Knight swings for Gawain’s head three times, only missing the first two. The third time the Green Knight barely nicks Gawain’s neck. The nick from the third swing signifies the third day when he fell to the temptation partially. Both these works convey the two values in their cultures very well through the third set of trials. Both Beowulf and Gawain show their pride in completely the challenge and quest, and their honor is showed when they return to the peoples of their