The medieval hero: Beowulf and Sir Gawain According to Joseph Campbell's interpretation of a hero, "The hero travels through the dream world of adventure where he must undergo a series of tests” (Monomyth). In “Beowulf” and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” the reader encounters two completely different heroes, both reflecting the culture of their respective eras: Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman. These two characters face various challenges, just as Campbell says a hero must. Beowulf must first defeat Grendel; after his victory, he discovers that he must also eliminate the threat of Grendel's mother. The reader is told that Beowulf continues to face challenges throughout his life until his final encounter with Beowulf. In “Beowulf,” Beowulf never shied away from his duty in battle. After killing Grendel, Grendel's mother becomes a threat. Beowulf takes it upon himself, because of his promise to bring peace to Heorot, to defeat her as well: “Let us immediately follow in the footsteps of this troll-dam. / I guarantee you: she will not flee, / neither to the underground dens, nor to the groves of the highlands / nor to the bottom of the ocean” (“Beowulf”, 1390-1394). Beowulf recognizes that his act of killing Grendel has brought this new threat to Heorot and, as such, it is his responsibility to resolve the situation. Beowulf finds himself in a similar situation when the dragon attacks his people. He is their leader and must face their enemy. However, the narrator says, “He [Beowulf] was sad-hearted, / unsteady but ready, feeling his death” (“Beowulf,” 2419-2420). Beowulf has this feeling deep within him that the dragon will be his undoing, but he faces his adversary anyway. He knows he cannot allow the dragon to terrorize his people, so he faces his death and will greet it as he knows he must. In similar form, Gawain chooses to face his almost certain death as honorably as possible. When the Green Knight issues his challenge, no one is ready to accept it, but King Arthur feels that he must accept it in order to maintain the pride of his court. The narrator states: “So Arthur grabs the axe, “Beowulf” was written for the Anglo-Saxons while “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” was written for the Anglo-Normans, both descended from the same geographical location. The main difference seems to be that the Anglo-Normans were less warlike than the Anglo-Saxons, mainly due to the progress of the times. As a result, the Anglo-Norman hero placed more emphasis on chivalrous conduct than on winning countless wars and battles. However, looking at the similarities between Beowulf and Sir Gawain, one can see the similarities between the two cultures reflected in the honor, weaknesses and struggles that both characters