Literary Essay

Bravery is an important trait of a hero. It's a characterization that will help audience learn more about the different kinds of characters. Heroes are not only around us, but also in legendary stories. They demonstrate courage that could inspire others, just like what the protagonists in "The Sniper" and Lady Westall in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" do. Their existence helps to make our world a better place.


In the short story "The Sniper", the protagonist is a courageous sniper who fights with enemies all by himself and plans to escape calmly after getting shot. In the setting of the civil war in Ireland in the 1920s, most soldiers are selfish and they often escape from dangerous tasks. The Republican sniper is just the opposite because he fought with bravery with his enemies all by himself. For instance, when the sniper noticed the enemy car on the street, "The sniper raised his rifle and fired." He shot at the armored car once he noticed it. The protagonist knew that there were a lot of enemies around, but he still chose to fire at them. This shows that he's fearless towards enemies. He is very heroic at such a young age. The sniper's behavior of battling with the Free Staters by himself creates a mood of intensity for the audience. In addition, when facing external conflicts, people are usually very fragile, but the main character planned his runaway calmly with intelligence right after he was injured. For example, after getting shot, "The sniper lay still for a long time nursing his wounded arm and planning escape." Suffering from an arm injury must have been torture, but the sniper overcame the agony and analyzed the situation with a calm mind. As a young man, he demonstrated excessive maturity by being so thoughtful and gallant. The short story's resolution was a tragedy, but the author didn't mention the protagonist being fragile after finding out that he killed his brother. That shows the author wants the reader to think of the sniper as a hero who is very strong and could control his emotions because ordinary people would burst into tears when they're facing a next of kin's death. In summary, the Republican sniper symbolizes bravery with his cleverish mind, endurance and courage.


In "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", Lady Westall demonstrated bravery by overcoming her own fear and daring to persuade the protagonist to escape. As a woman in the olden times, her position must have been very low, so she needed a lot of courage to disobey a man's will. For example, when she walked into Sir Gawain's room to convince him to escape, "She whispered 'You must escape right now, I will help you!' " Lady Westall told the protagonist softly that she's providing him a chance to flee. It would give the audience suspense and make them wonder why she would do this because the readers couldn't know about her thoughts since the story has a limited omnicient narrator. At the same time, this action shows that even though Lady Westall was afraid to be noticed by other people, she still decided to assist Sir Gawain in escaping. Not much people would offer to sacrifice themselves to benefit others. Lady Westall needed to be very brave in order to overcome her own internal conflict of being scared. Her behavior also breaks the stereotype that woman are like shadows who only follow men. Another idea is that being an elegant lady, Lady Westall was probably very kindhearted because it's not easy for a noblesse to be so modest. For instance, " 'I can not let this happen to you. Run for your life!' She pleaded." after Sir Gawain refused to escape. In that kind of intense atmosphere, Lady Westall's actions makes it clear that she is a person who insists on behaviors that she thinks is right, no matter what it would cost her. People like Lady Westall are usually full of dignity and grace, so she had to be brave to demonstrate the true, gracious self. That makes it clear that Lady Westall gives the audience a impression of considerate. Therefore, Lady Westall represents bravery and courage to challenge the feudal faith that woman should always be obedient. It's self-evident that she's the symbol of gallantry.


Thus, the sniper and Lady Westall have characteristics in common. Both of them are courageous, so they could encourage readers to stay calm in dangerous situations and persist in behaviors they believe is correct. Bravery also makes people able to overcome fears. Even though the protagonists' bravery in the two stories aren't the same, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and "The Sniper" both explain the gallantry of heroes.