In the two stories, The Road by Cormac McCarthy and “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, Gilgamesh and the father both experience stages in the hero’s journey. Throughout the different stages, the two characters face similar challenges that depend on their survival, meet with mentors that teach them respect and how to maintain their goodness, and face deaths that cause transformations of the different characters. The two characters also face differences in their stories including making decisions to go on their adventures versus not having the option to, and containing knowledge about what dangers they face.
Both stories include mentors that teach the heros how to act properly and maintain their humanity. In the beginning of The Road, the father has
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In the beginning of The Road, the son clarifies with his father that they are heading south and the father responds, “yes. So we’ll be warm” (McCarthy 10). The father and son decide to travel south in order to stay warm, which is their call to adventure. This decision was forced upon them because of their only other option is to freeze to death during the winter, unless they move south to a warmer region on the coast. In Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh decides to kill Humbaba and climb the Cedar Mountain because “when those in time to come remember the great names of the past, [he] would like [his] name to be among them. [He] will bring the names of the heavenly gods with [him], so that they too will be remembered” (“Gilgamesh” 34). Gilgamesh decides to make his name immortal for all people to remember, so he decides to complete an impossible task and kill the giant, Humbaba. This decision that Gilgamesh has made to kill Humbaba is different than the reason for the father and son’s call to adventure because the father and son have to make the decision to move south in order to survive. Their life depended on making this decision. Gilgamesh decides to go on his hero’s journey because he wants to make his name legendary and immortal for all people to
His dangerous voyages challenge his fate and saw the truth about human life. He felt pain like everybody else and misunderstood things yet the people of Uruk admire their king and the community change. With great discipline and equality. Gilgamesh exceptional qualities of being an epic hero make him prove that with his people and the dangerous voyages he went to.
Both stories feature a father figure who creates the action and attempts to play God.
In the Hero’s journey, The Odyssey, the main protagonist, Odysseus, changes in a way which helps him gain self-knowledge. Odysseus ' experiences transformed his personality from how he was in the beginning to the end, by leading him through a heroic journey, also known as a quest. The real reason for a quest never involves the stated reason, and this is no different with Odysseus. As the story developed, many of Odysseus’ sides were exposed through the challenges he faced. Out of the countless dangers and obstacles every step back home, him and his crew have only acquired minimal character changes. Even though they are minimal, they are those which take many decades to achieve.
The next two parts of the hero’s journey are the trials and the mentors. Gilgamesh’s journey has both of these components, however, he does not go through them as a hero should. In his trials, he ends up h...
The Hero’s Journey is an ancient archetype that we find throughout our modern life and also, in the world of literature.Whether metaphorical or real, the journey that a character goes on shows not only the incredible transformation of the hero but it also gives them their life meaning. It is the ultimate human experience and it reflects on every aspect of life. Take Logan, also known as Wolverine, from the X-Men movie as an example. His adventure starts with “The Call,” which is the first step of the Hero’s Journey. This step happens due to the realization of imbalance and injustice that the character has in their life. Logan steps into the first stage of the pattern but is hesitant to start his adventure because he does not know what and
Consequences are inevitable. A decision made today will have consequences that can last years or even a lifetime. Both Gilgamesh and Enkidu made choices that changed their lives forever. Consequences can be both positive and negative, but each is equally long lasting.
The main character in the book The Epic of Gilgamesh, is Gilgamesh himself. In the beginning of the book one realizes that Gilgamesh is an arrogant person. Gilgamesh is full of himself and abuses his rights as king. He has sexual intercourse with the virgins of his town and acts as though he is a god. Throughout the story, many things cause Gilgamesh to change. He gains a friend, he makes a name for himself by killing Humbaba, and he tries to become immortal because of the death of Enkidu. Through these main actions his personality changes and he becomes a better person.
In many literary works we see significant transitions in the hero's character as the story is developed. This is also true in the Epic of Gilgamesh with its hero, Gilgamesh. In this narrative poem, we get glimpses of who Gilgamesh is and what his purposes and goals are. We see Gilgamesh act in many different ways -- as an overbearing ruler resented by his people, a courageous and strong fighter, a deflated, depressed man, and finally as a man who seems content with what he's accomplished. Through all of these transitions, we see Gilgamesh's attitude toward life change. The goals he has for his own life alter dramatically, and it is in these goals that we see Gilgamesh's transition from being a shallow, ruthless ruler to being an introspective, content man.
Myths have been a great example of the hero’s journey. Many heroes have journeys and trials to face throughout their life. Most of their journeys start out with their origin and end with the return. However, the hero’s role remains identical to every other hero. Most heroes like Gilgamesh has heroic traits because of the stages in the hero's journey. Gilgamesh is a man who can turn into a hero by changing himself, even when he has unusual circumstances surrounding his birth. Gilgamesh is viewed as a hero due to the stages of the hero's journey.
The epic of Gilgamesh is about demigod created to rule over the people of Uric but fears death, Throughout the epic, Gilgamesh faces many obstacles while undergoing a series of changes and developments; starting out as an arrogant and selfish king.
The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey both are held in high respect by literature analysts and historians alike for the characterization of the hero and his companion, the imagery brought to mind when one of them is read, and the impressive length in relation to the time period it was written in. The similarities that these two epics share do not end with only those three; in fact, the comparability of these works extend to even the information on the author and the archetypes used. However, The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh contrast from one another in their writing styles, character details, and main ideas. Both epics weave together a story of a lost man who must find his way, but the path of their stories contrast from one another.
The Epic of Gilgamesh and Homer Iliad are intriguing stories that reveals about mother and the heroic sons relationships which consists: support, guidance, and a strong bond.
Gilgamesh is an example of someone who had many flaws and faced many struggles but, in the end, changed his attitude and became a better person. In the beginning of Gilgamesh, he is described as doing whatever he wants and being juvenile in a way. For example, in the text it says, “he was their shepherd, yet powerful, superb, knowledgeable and expert, Gilgamesh would not leave young girls alone, the daughters of warriors, the brides of young men.” With his second half, Enkidu, they entered into the first step in becoming a hero according to Campbell, the separation, by going on an adventure. At this point in the story, Gilgamesh is very arrogant. While traveling to Cedar Forest, Gilgamesh tells Enkidu, “let me go in front of you, and your voice call out: ‘Go close, don’t be afraid!’ If I should fall, I should have won fame. People will say, Gilgamesh grappled in combat with ferocious Humbaba… ensure fame that will last forever.” Next is stage two, the initiation, of the Campbell’s hero journey. Gilgamesh undergoes a trail to begin his transformation, he must fight the Bull of Heaven. Gilgamesh’s supportive side is starting to show when he tells Enkidu that they will win if they fight together. After killing the Bull of Heaven, Gilgamesh’s confident attitude is shown once again. The next trial he faces is the death of Enkidu. He starts to show emotion when he says, “for you Enkidu, I, like your mother, your father, will weep on your plains… I will lay you to rest on a bed of loving care… and I myself will neglect my appearance after your death.” At this point his character has been greedy and then he showed his fear and supportive side. The last stage in the hero’s journey is the return. Enkidu’s death sent Gilgamesh on an adventure to fight death. From this adventure he learned his biggest lesson from Utnapishtim. He learns to appreciate life, and
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a moving tale of the friendship between Gilgamesh, the demigod king of Uruk, and the wild man Enkidu. Accepting ones own mortality is the overarching theme of the epic as Gilgamesh and Enkidu find their highest purpose in the pursuit of eternal life.
First, in both families the father is the central focal point in both stories. The fathers are portrayed as antagonist and protagonist because of how often their roles change in their respective stories. Both fathers have aspirations of becoming their own boss and owning their own business one day. They would like to acquire a