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Examining Sigurd and Gildong’s Heroic Acts

In my opinion, a hero overcomes his or her fear of danger by refusing to live in an utterly

passive manner for the benefit of other people. Using the Saga of the Volsungs and The Story of

Hong Gildong, this paper compares the acts of two characters Sigurd and Gildong, and then

makes a determination if truly they qualify to be considered heroes.

Sigurd's greatness is largely attributed to both his enormous power and his resilience. On

one hand, he has the bravery and ability to slaughter a dragon and achieve great victories, but on

the other, he can deal with setbacks and mistakes. Sigurd is the only one attempting to get a

solution when Brynhild learns of his betrayal. He tries to urge Brynhild to accept and move on

following the fate they find themselves into. Sigurd appears to be experimenting with several

options to allow Brynhild to go on and minimize the harm. Despite being tainted, he continues to

make an effort to fight back. Unfortunately, Brynhild resists and believes that death is the only

option. She is more like the ideal hero of the light than Sigurd, who cannot allow herself to be

tainted. 

Sigurd exhibits many characteristics of the "glowing hero of light". Many signs point to

the fact that he was destined from birth to follow a heroic and magnificent path, which he

promptly does by killing the dark symbol Fafnir. However, after the pivotal dragon-slaying

scene, Sigurd gradually veneers off the path of a typical hero due to his friendship with the
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Niblinhs, who gradually taints his purity resulting in his demise. Sigurd had succumbed to the

darkness at the end of Book III. He fails to console Niblinhs and leaves for to die.

On the other hand, Gildong can be considered half royal given that his father currently

holds a significant political position that would presumably pass to Gildong, but since he is the

second child, the authority will instead go to his elder brother. Despite this, Gildong is still a king

because he commands a band of ragged vigilantes throughout the story, and once he affirms his

rule in Yul, everyone hails him as a great king. This shows how Gildong has managed to act

honorably. 

Gildong skillfully defends himself and kills the invader who assaulted him after being

hired to kill him. This depicted him as an important person and also a responsible leader because

he was able to care for himself. He shows the audience that second-born sons can be as

competent as firstborns if given chance to showcase what they can do.  Being the second son of a

nobleman makes the protagonist of "The Story of Hong Gildong" distinctive. The hero

continuously bemoans the fact that, while possessing excellent ability, his birth prevents him

from pursuing his goals in the conventional yangban manner. Later on, he tells the King of

Joseon that his only desire was to be his loyal or general and that when he was denied that

opportunity, he left home and adopted an outlaw lifestyle out of frustration. 

I think Gildong exhibits the characteristics of a hero stated above. He is humane and acts

fearlessly for the benefit of people around him. The idea of human worth as demonstrated by

Hong Gildong cannot be underestimated. Numerous characteristics of Hong Gildong indicate

that the hero was treated unfairly at his father's home. He believes the wealthy are not doing their

part to maintain the prosperity of the country, therefore, he feeds the poor by stealing from the

rich. He thinks that rich people do not respect the lives of the underprivileged. Additionally, he is
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concerned about treating second-born kids equally rather than indulging the firstborn, which

sometimes results in one spoiled child and the other bitter one. Being consistently empathic and

treating everyone with respect defines Hong Gildong's heroism. 

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Works Cited

Kang, Minsoo. "The Story of Hong Gildong:(Pilsa 89 Version)." Azalea: Journal of Korean

Literature & Culture 6.1 (2013): 229-322.

Quinn, Judy. "The saga of the Volsungs: the Norse epic of Sigurd the dragon

slayer." Parergon 9.1 (1991): 153-154.