What makes a character in a story different from any other character? When reading epic novels about Anglo-Saxon culture and epic heroes, a character's characterization and development sets them apart from other characters in the novel. The characterization developed in several ways using a different literary element present in Beowulf, Gilgamesh, and The Iliad. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay In the book, Beowulf, the main character, Beowulf, was a noble Anglo-Saxon hero. When a monster, Grendel, goes to King Hrothgar's party and kills Hrothgar's men, Beowulf attempts to find and kill the monster responsible for the murder (Beers 22). When Beowulf saw what Grendel had done, he was ready to fight and die to avenge Hrothgar's men. However, after a long and difficult fight, Beowulf defeated Grendel. He didn't know that Beowulf was going to have to face Grendel's mother. She had returned to take revenge on Beowulf, for the murder of her son. During the fight between Beowulf and Grendel's mother, Beowulf used the same tactics as against Grendel. He soon discovers that Grendel's mother is unaffected by his sword (Beers 26). Finding that the sword did not harm the beast showed that people could not use the same solution for all of life's conflicts. The problematic encounter led to a change in characterization as Beowulf had to quickly think of another solution to win the battle. He decided to fight Grendel's mother with his bare hands. It worked, but it wasn't very useful. Then Beowulf saw a massive sword mounted on the wall (Beers 27). The sword with giant magic was too powerful for a human to hold. Beowulf, now enraged and fierce, grabbed the sword from the wall and thrust it straight into the monster's neck. Because of the sword's blow, the beast fell to the ground lifeless and the sword was covered in the creature's blood. This story slowly developed Beowulf's character from a prepared warrior to a witty and fierce fighter. This novel and the multiple instances of development explain how Beowulf was different from the monsters from his experiments. In the epic novel Gilgamesh, the main character, Gilgamesh, and his friend Enkidu, help each other develop into a new role. During the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu both embark on a journey into an enchanted forest to kill Humbaba, the guardian of the cedar forest. The development of the character, Gilgamesh, is achieved through the use of a foil character. Enkidu is the main character in Gilgamesh, and he is known as Gilgamesh's conscience and guardian. During the course of the novel, Enkidu led Gilgamesh from the city of Uruk to the Cedar Forest (Beers 49). This event showed that even though Gilgamesh was a demigod and part of the royal family, he was okay with someone ruling him. When they arrived at the cedar forest, a massive door separated the two heroes of Humbaba. When Enkidu opened the door, his hands became numb and his face turned pale (Beers 49). With this result, Gilgamesh becomes the leader and protects Enkidu from danger. Soon, Gilgamesh and Enkidu were only a few meters away from Humbaba. Gilgamesh was very afraid of the giant. When the giant crushed Enkidu to death, Gilgamesh transformed from a cautious explorer into a fearless warrior and began attacking Humbaba. Shortly after the crash, Gilgamesh flies over Humbaba with an ax and with a perfect arc, Gilgamesh cuts off Humbaba's head and Humbaba dies. (Beers 53). Humbaba's murder shows change,.