Winston Churchill once said, “Books, in all their variety, offer the human intellect the means whereby civilization may be carried triumphantly forward”. Literature often reflects on specific moral values that would allow civilization to be “carried triumphantly forward”, as Churchill said. Values such as compassion. The world is in a great divide and a big reason is a lack of concern for others and the unwillingness to help. Compassion is simply to see someone’s misfortunes and be compelled to do something about it. With compassion, perhaps we could make humanity a little bit less separated. In Beowulf, translated by Charles Kennedy, a terrible monster named Grendel terrorizes a kingdom. The old king, Hrothgar, and his people are terrified and feel helpless until a mighty hero named Beowulf comes from another land to defeat the monster and save the kingdom. Beowulf hears about the kingdom’s plight and shows compassion for the king and his people. When Beowulf and his men arrive to speak to the king, Beowulf explains that word of Grendel’s reign of terror had reached his homeland and goes on to say that “the seafarers say this best of buildings, this boasted …show more content…
As Sir Gawain sits at the table with his fellow knights, a knight who is completely green rides in on his green horse. The Green Knight immediately begins insulting the knights and King Arthur at the table. After the Green Knight’s tirade is over, Sir Gawain stands up and asks for Arthur’s permission to defend their honor. He takes an axe and “...with the weapon, walked towards the warrior, and they stood face-to-face, not one man afraid,”. Sir Gawain knows how important a knight’s honor is, so when he sees the knights being insulted, he feels insulted as well and volunteers himself as their representative and defends them. This sort of empathy and solicitude is how civilization is able to