Hero, the word means various things to a wide array of people. According to Wikipedia, "the hero is often simply an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, who, despite the odds being stacked against him or her, typically prevails in the end." Though Wikipedia was talking about the modern fictional depiction of a hero it is this definition that embody and tie together the gallant Sir Gawain and the modern Dark Knight that Christopher Nolan has brought to life. Sir Gawain the famed knight of King Arthur's Round Table, is the ideal hero in his society of 10th and 11th century Britain. The Dark Knight on the other hand is a completely realistic, modern day depiction of a romanticized superhero known as Batman, who has been adored by the public since his conception in 1939. Two totally different superheroes in two totally different areas what possibly could they have in common? The simple answer is much more than you think. Through their mannerisms and their sense of honor, Batman and Sir Gawain will be revealed to have much more in common than the average reader may notice, yet the most noticeable difference in the modern Batman from Sir Gawain (to this point in Nolan's series) is the way each one achieves disgrace at the end of the story.
Batman and Sir Gawain are both very important heroes to a whole era of people, and though these eras are very different many of the ideals of the time coincide, which is why it comes as no surprise that many of their mannerisms are very similar. Batman and Sir Gawain both feel a responsibility to protect their kingdom's well being (or city in modern thinking). Batman's sense of responsibility towards Gotham with regards to its protection, strongly resembles Gawain's sense of responsibility towards all of Camelot with his willingness to protect King Arthur at all costs. This also shows that both heroes are prepared to fight and potentially die for something they deem more important than themselves. Both are also similar in the sense that they live wealthy lives posed as playboys, but are prepared to fight for their cause, which we determined is the safety of their respective homes. Both of these heroes also are fighting against antagonists, who abruptly enter the scene who they can't exactly pinpoint and constantly underestimate. Though Batman finally overcomes this issue while Sir Gawain fails to really do so even by the end of the story. Both of these heroes also reveal themselves as extremely fallible as Batman___, while Gawain on the other hand has a lot of human faults the most prevalent not being his inability to resist temptation, but rather his inability to forgive himself at the end. Though these men have various things in common regarding their live styles and personalities the strongest thing that binds them together is their sense of honor and their own personal codes of honor that they live by.
Batman and Sir Gawain both are very similar in their possession of an intense sense of honor and their efforts in maintaining such. In both Batman Begins and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight our heroes face their fears for the sake of honor and dignity. In both The Dark Knight and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight our heroes our tempted to compromise their moral code for instant gratification and both heroes stay true to their virtues and refuse to compromise their honor. In Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the heroes are tempted by women and being realistic flawed portrayals of heroes, both have trouble dealing with such. Therefore it comes as no surprise in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the lady of the castle is the one who causes Gawain to break his code of honor. However, it is in The Dark Knight that Batman's temptation to use any means necessary to save Commissioner Gordon and his family that forces him to break his personal code of honor. For those who have seen the movie and remember the part where Batman uses "big brother" technology to find the Joker, and think that is breaking his moral code, he never admits that it breaks his moral code, but rather it breaks Lucius Fox's moral code. Nevertheless, it is the way these heroes recover from breaking their honor code that separates them, and allows Batman to earn my never ending respect.
Both Batman and Gawain have many differences as one could expect between society representative heroes created nearly 850 years apart; however, it is their individual reactions to breaking their respective moral codes that really separates them as heroes today. At the end of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain feels such a guilt about his prior actions and leaves the Green Knight in a weak state. Sir Gawain then goes home feeling ashamed and lacking of honor though his fellow citizens try to reassure him of his bravery. It is this inability to move past his mistake and attempt to fix his situation that separates him from Batman. In the end of The Dark Knight, Batman is forced to break his moral code and kill Two-Face, also known as Harvey Dent, to save Commissioner Gordon and his son. Batman, instead of pouting about breaking his code like Sir Gawain, assed the situation and determined that he needed to take the rap for all the evil Harvey had done after he became Two-Face. He decided Harvey's image was so important to the city of Gotham that he had to take the blame to best serve his city, and he had to play the villain to be the hero. As Batman states during the last scene of the movie, "You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me. Set the dogs on me, because that's what needs to happen." This is what separates Batman and his heroic ability from Sir Gawain, and why he has become the icon he is today, while Gawain has become a hero of the past.
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