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Compare And Contrast Sir Gawain And Beowulf

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According to the Oxford dictionaries a hero is “A person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities” (Oxford Dictionaries). Despite the time period, the qualities of a hero appear the same; the circumstance that a hero encounters is what differs. In the poems “Beowulf” and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” both protagonists display noble qualities that exhibit heroism such as their selflessness, bravery, and honor. While Beowulf and Sir Gawain are perceived to be ancient heroes because of their courage to stand against figures that threatened their society, there are modern day heroes that fight against obstacles, but in a different form. In 2017, a hero holds the same qualities as these ancient heroes. Currently, in America people are suffering from natural disasters, which let us identify our modern day heroes as they rise to help the people affected.
Beowulf’s displayed qualities of bravery, which led to his portrayal as a hero. Hearing that a demon, Grendel tormented the citizens of the Danes, Beowulf goes to Heorot to return a favor to Hrothgar given that Hrothgar helped out Beowulf’s father. Going to Heorot was Beowulf’s first act of heroism in this poem because he willfully chooses to return this favor through helping out Hrothgar’s people by defeating this ferocious demon. The undefeated Grendel has made the people of Danes victims for 12 years, therefore Beowulf taking up this challenge was a bold move. In the poem, it states,

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