Fear can be defined as many things, but in the times when these stories took place fear was unheard of for a hero. To be a hero you need to be tenacious, intelligent, charming and above all courageous. In Beowulf we find little or no fear. Beowulf himself is a man who prides himself on accepting any challenge that may or may not come his way. It can be argued that perhaps Beowulf's greatest fear is losing the respect of his people if he chooses not to fight. The same cannot be said for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in that fear is a much broader theme. Sir Gawain is a bit of a childish hero; he is someone who in his first meeting with the Green Knight debated whether or not to resist the challenge. Throughout the story Gawain debates with himself over and over whether or not to comfort the Green Knight for a second time. The funny thing is that reading this story, it seems like every decision Gawain makes is driven by fear. It may be easy to fear the unknown, but for Sir Gawain the unknown is all he can rely on