Enkidu, who is a mixture of human and wild animal, creates a journey for readers and touches on the essential question of what it means to be human, as well as the transition from being uncivilized to becoming civil. “While Enkidu was seated before her…Enkidu forgot about the steppe where he was born.” (The Epic of Gilgamesh 45) Gilgamesh sends the harlot Shamhat to Enkidu in order to civilize him and to coax him into becoming a companion for Gilgamesh himself. Shamhat then goes to sleep with Enkidu for six days and seven nights and persuades him into becoming similar to a god, or in this case, humanized. Eventually, Shamhat treats Enkidu to eat bread, “the staff of life,” and to drink beer, “the custom of the land,” causing Enkidu to become …show more content…
“Gilgamesh was weeping bitterly for Enkidu, his friend, as he roamed the steppe.” (The Epic of Gilgamesh 72) Gilgamesh mourned his companion’s death excessively, making him want to leave the world he is so familiar with. This new realization and fear of dying prompts Gilgamesh to begin a lifestyle in the steppe where Enkidu was born in order to escape the harsh reality. Gilgamesh then allows his hair to grow matted and clothes himself with lion skin to forsake the refined world in order to find the immortal man by the name of Utanapishtim. Gilgamesh’s fear of death seems selfish for the fact that this fear only steamed from him not being able to have a rich life as he desired and the fault being death. Gilgamesh’s fear could not be necessarily death, but the fact that he cannot achieve the fame he so desperately wants, which fills his craving to seek out Utanapishtim. Certainly, there is no such thing as immortality, in which Utanapishtim relays to Gilgamesh, however there is a lotus plant that can rejuvenate age. However, a snake catches the scent of the lotus plant and eats it for itself. This event happening strikes me as significant for my belief that the snake is symbolic in more ways than one. The snake’s actions implies that death is inescapable and it will eventually happen to you. Furthermore, the snake’s actions are so vital that it teaches the lesson that you should make the most out of your life and that the quest Gilgamesh had to undergo was not about death, but the journey of life and having the will to
Gilgamesh, without Enkidu, is like fire without oxygen. Enkidu is needed by Gilgamesh in order to flourish; not being able to survive long without his sidekick. Both men were created, by the God’s, for each other. They were built to be together and work off each other’s strengths, being able to accomplish great things together. Without Godly intervention, the two may have gone unmatched and never met their other half. The question is: would the story, The Epic of Gilgamesh, have the same outcome without Enkidu and what would become of Gilgamesh.
This is the beginning of a vicious cycle that Gilgamesh goes through. He gets his hopes up. Then they are destroyed, only to be brought up again. The cycle continues when Gilgamesh finally reaches Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh thinks he is very close to eternal life, but Utnapishtim destroys that hope when he tells Urshanabi to bring Gilgamesh back across the sea of death. The final spin in the cycle starts when Gilgamesh gets the thorny plant from the river floor. To Gilgamesh, this plant is much more than hope. It symbolizes the purpose of his life: to resurrect Enkidu. At this point, Gilgamesh thinks he has finally won. He has the key to eternal life. When the serpent eats the flower, Gilgamesh is devastated. All that he worked so hard for is taken from him.
Character is built in several different ways. Some may view character as how one handles a certain hectic situation or how well one person treats another. A true definition character contains these elements, but one’s character is built and developed mainly on how one picks and chooses his time to act and his time to wait. This definition refers to restraint and discipline. Gilgamesh and Homer’s The Odyssey uses many instances in which the main characters must use incredible restraint to protect not only themselves, but also the ones they care for and love. Although both stories use this theme of self-control and discipline to develop certain personalities, each one tells a different account of how these characters are viewed by their fellow men and women and the rewards that come from showing the traits of restraint and self-will. In Gilgamesh, the character that holds back and exhibits patience is viewed as a coward, as Gilgamesh believes, and is a sign of a lack of bravery and confidence. The way that patience is portrayed in Gilgamesh reflects how the society of the time feels about everything in their lives. The author of this story wants the reader to believe that one must not hesitate and must act decisively and quickly. Opposing this belief, Odysseus holds back emotions of rage and homesickness in order to complete the task at hand. Homer, living in Greek society, understood that his people thought more about the problem before coming to a quick conclusion and then acting on it impulsively. So, although both stories repeat the concepts of self-restraint and discipline as character building qualities, they differ in the way that these attributes build or weaken a personality.
Every culture has a different story of their origin. Each story varies in setting, main characters, and religious aspects. Although the stories are different, the sole purpose is the same for each – to explain how each civilization came to be. In order for a civilization to fully understand their past, they must critically break down the components of their origin story. Creation stories establish appropriate relationships within society by the revelation of the punishment laid out by the gods on unsatisfactory vassals, the importance of a hero figure, and the exposure of human survival based on nature.
After his friend Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh realizes that death is also imminent for him since he is part human. Thus, terrified of his future, Gilgamesh journeys into the underworld in search of immortality but instead finds
Everyone has qualities that are heroic and noble, and everyone has their flaws. No matter who they are, or how perfect others think they are, people still have some negative qualities that can hurt their heroic ones. In the book, The Epic of Gilgamesh, by Benjamin Foster, both Gilgamesh and Enkidu had positive and negative characteristics that affected the outcome of their journey and their adventures they experienced throughout their lives.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad, and Oedipus Rex all center on morality in terms of each character’s social behavior from the beginning to the end of the story. Gilgamesh, Achilles, and Oedipus are three central characters that embody strong qualities of strength, however carry different experiences of morality. Furthermore, all three characters hold different moral codes that are dependent on their ability to resolve the unique situations that they are in. Nevertheless, morality has ultimately impacted the character’s perception of their role in society in terms of whether or not their actions benefit someone or something. This paper will be examining the morality of the three main characters as they undergo major character transformations
Enkidu was created to be Gilgamesh’s equal and his soul mate. ‘“You made him… now create his equal; let it be as like him as his own reflection, his second self, stormy heart for stormy heart’” (14). So the goddess of creation, Aruru “dipped her hands in water and pinched off clay, she let it fall in the wilderness” and created Enkidu (14). Before Gilgamesh had met Enkidu he loved him; ‘“… I bent down, deeply drawn towards… [Enkidu]… I loved it like a woman and wore it at my side”’ (16). Enkidu had “virtue in him” (14). He was also “innocent of mankind” (14). After Enkidu was civilized the wild animals would not be near him. He felt ...
One of the main themes in the epic is that death is inevitable, which is shown through Enkidu's death. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh becomes very worried, because he realizes for the first time that everyone is going to die at some point in time. The fact that Enkidu is a close friend makes it even more visible to Gilgamesh that everyone is mortal. Then, along with this realization, comes the theme of denial. Gilgamesh does not want to accept the fact that he will die. He denies the truth, because he does not want to think about the truth or cope with the tragedy that has struck him. "And he-he does not lift his head. 'I touched his heart, it does not beat'" (Tablet VIII, Column II, 15-16). "'Me! Will I too not die like Enkidu? Sorrow was come into my belly. I fear death; I roam over the hills. I will seize the road; quickly I will go to the house of Utnapishtim, offspring of Ubaratutu. I approach the entrance of the mountain at night. Lions I see, and I am terrified. I lift my head to pray to the mood god Sin: For...a dream I go to the gods in prayer: ...preserve me!'" (Tablet IX, Column I, 3-12).
The Epic of Gilgamesh is generally regarded as the greatest literature about tales of a great king. The Epic of Gilgamesh served to show us a lot of things. The time period of BCE is very blurry, and this story attempts to describe many different things in not only Sumerian beliefs, but also Sumerian's culture as a whole. Like many stories from BCE the truth itself is questionable, even though a lot of the information is fact. The factual information that Gilgamesh teaches us about Sumerian Civilization is that had had many craftsman and artistic skills, and also a strong belief in Gods.
One important idea in the Epic of Gilgamesh is that power without purpose leads to corruption, as authority is shown to be easily abused and misused when in the wrong hands. One example of the exploitation of power happens shortly after Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar’s desire to marry him, due to the state of her past lovers. As a result of being “insulted” Ishtar uses her status as Queen of Heaven and manipulates her parent’s power, to demand the Bull of Heaven in order to destroy Gilgamesh as an act of vengeance. To show the calamitous effects of releasing the Bull of Heaven, the narrator states “When they reached the gates of Uruk. The bull went to the river. With his first snort, cracks opened in the earth and 100 young men feel down to death” “200 fell down dead” “Woe to Gilgamesh for he has scorned me in killing the Bull of Heaven” The words “hundred”, “death”, “two hundred” and “woe” create a destructive tone that conveys Ishtar’s indifference to the 300 deaths of her own people, which
The story begins a description of the world in which Gilgamesh lived. There were the several gods in Gilgamesh’s world. The city of Gilgamesh was one in which the walls tower so high that they protect the city from invaders, floods, wild beasts, and even unfriendly gods. Even with all this protection the people of Uruk were not happy they spent all their time building the walls higher and higher. The mothers were without their sons and the woman without their lovers. The elders of the city went to complain to the gods about Gilgamesh who has ordered them to keep building the massive walls. They were answered by Anu. Anu dismissed the elders. He respected Gilgamesh as a fearless ruler and thought that he knew best for his people. The goddess of love, Ishtar disagreed. She was angered to see her young girls without their lovers and her mothers without their sons. The elders suggested a plan for the gods to create a man equal Gilgamesh. Aruru, the goddess who created mankind, came down and shaped a piece of clay and placed it in the forest. This man was very similar to Gilgamesh but this was a wild beast of a man. He was Enkidu. Enkidu lived in the cedar forest outside of Uruk. He learned to feed from the gazelle and learned to fight by wrestling the lion.
Analysis of the Character of Gilgamesh In the epic Gilgamesh, there are many complex characters. Every character involved in the story has their own personality and traits. The main character in the novel is Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is a character who is very self-confident.
The second significant change in Gilgamesh was caused by the loss of his brotherly companion, Enkidu. Gilgamesh couln't bear the loss of a love so powerful. Despite his astonishing power and leadership, something in his life was missing. Moreover, he wept for seven days and nights, thinking his friend would come back because of his weeping. It is in this stage of the epic that one can see the truly sympathetic and compassionate side of Gilgamesh. The grief in his heart had far surpassed the magnificent pride that he had previously displayed so boldly. Enkidu's death left Gilgamesh frightened and confused. However, the despair in his heart was so great that he could not rest; would he ever be at peace? Thus, he became terrified of his own death.
The epic begins with Gilgamesh terrorizing the people of Uruk. They call out to the sky god Anu for help. In response Anu tells the goddess of creation, Aruru, to make an equal for Gilgamesh. Thus Aruru created Enkidu, a brute with the strength of dozens of wild animals. After being seduced by a harlot from the temple of love in Uruk, Enkidu loses his strength and wildness yet gains wisdom and understanding. The harlot offers to take him into Uruk where Gilgamesh lives, the only man worthy of Enkidu's friendship. After a brief brawl the two become devoted friends.