While there are many differences between the lead characters in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf—Beowulf is able to save many people during his battles and is more spiritual, while Gawain’s battle was with himself and he pays more attention to his morals—there are also similarities between the two. In fact, many fail to recognize that both characters share similarities throughout their individual stories. These similarities come with human error making each knight memorable and more realistic. Sir Gawain and Beowulf are very similar in that they both display heroism and feel a need to prove their worth, ultimately showing that one can prevail even when mistakes are made.
Sir Gawain and Beowulf, both feel the need to prove themselves, …show more content…
Beowulf’s character was willing to do anything and everything that he had to, to prove his worth. In the end he was able to prove his worth to others and most importantly to himself. He did this by working hard, protecting others from evil—Grendel—and pure determination. While, Gawain—who cares a lot about protecting his morals—fails when he lied to the Lord. Not only did he lie, he cheated when he wore the girdle to protect him against the Green Knight. Sir Gawain remained truthful for a long time, but crumpled under pressure and chose to keep a secret from the Lord in order to benefit himself. In all reality this “benefit” became his downfall and ultimately made Sir Gawain lose the title of the noble Knight. Sir Gawain found out that the Lord knew that he had the belt when he said, “The belt you are bound with belongs to me/it was woven by my wife so I know it very well” (Beowulf 2358-59). In the end, the Lord forgave him and explained to Gawain that people make mistakes and are not perfect. To remember this day forever and remind himself to stay noble and humble, Gawain decides to keep the girdle and wear it. Beowulf was able to convey a strong determination to fight for what he wanted—to uphold his title—and Gawain was able to accept forgiveness and realize that he is human and humans make