The Bible is full of parallels, many of them explicit. One of the less overt is the contrast drawn in Genesis between Abraham and Noah.
In what really should be one of the more well-known Old Testament stories, Genesis 18 (ESV) narrates how
So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
So, Abraham hears of the impending destruction of the nearby city and is bold enough to argue with God, repeatedly, over more and more lenient conditions under which God would spare the city after all.
This wasn’t exactly Noah’s response. In Genesis 6 (ESV) we read,
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood . . . For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you . . . Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
So, Abraham hears of the imminent destruction of Sodom and argues with God about it; Noah follows instructions.
I think there are a couple of different emphases that could be placed here. Maybe Abraham is characterized by more boldness and self-will (not uncorroborated by his decision to lay with Hagar) and Noah is more habitually compliant and not given to questioning orders. Maybe Abraham was generally a more compassionate person (uncorroborated by his decision to expel Hagar) whereas Noah had more of an indifference towards all of humanity apart from his immediate family.
But, interestingly, the Bible seems to treat approvingly of both responses. Both Abraham and Noah are referred to in these retellings as righteous. God never responds to Abraham’s questioning his judgement with a “How dare you?” even if that sentiment is appropriate in different circumstances (Isaiah 40, quoted in Romans 11). This in spite of the fact that God’s initial judgement proceeded apace, and even the 10 righteous could not be found after all. Likewise, Noah is not rebuked for his lack of any concern worth recording.
Not to go too much out on a limb here, but I think this is an interesting parallel because it reminds us that God didn’t create indistinguishable widgets. For all the instructions and clear moral imperatives in Scripture, God didn’t create people to be identical and interchangeable, and faithful servants of God can look surprisingly different from each other (again, within clear moral parameters) in their habitual responses and their personalities.