How Did Enkidu Change In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

1. How does Enkidu appear at the beginning of the story? How is he changed? How does he, in turn, affect Gilgamesh? What does this change for both characters symbolize?

At the beginning of the story, Enkidu, a half-man/ half-beast, a wild man is fated to save the society and become Gilgamesh's companion. He forms a mutual friendship with Gilgamesh transforming him into a perfect leader and receiving civilization in return. For instance, he stopped Gilgamesh from mistreating (dictating) his people thereby shaping Gilgamesh's leadership qualities and saving the society from tyranny. In this regard, at the start of the chronicle, Enkidu appears harmless but useful and supportive. Nonetheless, as the story continues, the character changes to harmful and destructive. He slays Humbaba and is sentenced to death. When he dies, Gilgamesh remains without a friend, an advisor, and an interpreter of his dreams.

2. Why do you suppose that Gilgamesh is presented as 1/3 human and 2/3 god while Enkidu is presented as a sort of half-human and half animal before he is tamed? What does it mean to be a human in this story?

The author portrays Gilgamesh as 1/3 human and 2/3 god because he is extraordinary, heroic and stunning. He is also egotistical like many gods. The fractions mean that this character has both qualities of humans and

An "epic" is a long poem about a hero's saga. The epic of Gilgamesh focuses on the character Gilgamesh; hence, he is the hero in the story. In the contemporary literatures, for example, the novels by Dickens C. or Tolstoy, the life of the epic hero plays out contrary to the majority of the historical and cultural views. The same thing happens with Gilgamesh. His heroism begins with the fact that he is half-divine and interacts with the immortals. The story of Gilgamesh, as well, entails a chain of quests and superhuman conquests. In this regards, for me, Gilgamesh is a hero in the