Gilgamesh, a poem retold by Herbert Mason, is a tale of a king who seeks a life of immortality, which is marked by his ignorance and selfish desires, and his quest to outsmart death. This story of a king named Gilgamesh, and his inability to accept the inevitability of death, which makes him ignorant and selfish. Gilgamesh shows that friendship is essential for everybody. Enkidu a wild man, created by the gods in the grasslands who would eventually become each other's companion. Enkidu was one-third human and two-thirds beast, he was created to mirror Gilgamesh’s character.
Gilgamesh IS an epic hero. Gilgamesh is a powerful yet emotional king. Gilgamesh shows his weak side by saying “I have wept for him day and night…” After this he remains an epic hero in my opinion. The text states he went on a great dangerous journey and survived and killed the guard of The Cedar
The two battle it out but end up becoming close friends and going on many adventures together. On one of their adventures, the two travel together to the Cedar Mountain and defeat a giant named Huwawa. Later the goddess Ishtar asks Gilgamesh to marry her but he refuses. Spurned she goes to heaven and complains to her father Anu, and so the gods sentence Enkidu to death as punishment. After Enkidu falls ill and dies, Gilgamesh becomes distressed and goes on a quest to discover immortality.
People Change People The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale read throughout time about the ancient King of Uruk, Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is a selfish king who is stronger than any man because he is two parts God and one part human. With his strength, Gilgamesh abuses his power causing the people of Uruk to lament. Hearing these laments, the Gods created Enkidu for Gilgamesh, to be his equal in all aspects. Throughout Gilgamesh’s interactions with Enkidu, Enkidu changes Gilgamesh to become a better person and to be a better king.
After the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh loses his second piece of his soul. Therefore, Gilgamesh is in deep sorrow and the death scares him. In the text Gilgamesh says: “Dear friend, dear brother. I cannot kill Humbaba alone. Please stay here with me.
For instance, after Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh seeks Siduri to Urshanabi to Utnapishtim for the answer to immortality. Gilgamesh’s determination in seeking eternal life displays great significance in terms of his development as a character in comparison to the “wild bull on [a] rampage” (Gilgamesh I.30) the city of Uruk depicted him as, before Enkidu’s everlasting influence. In addition, Gilgamesh faces struggles of mortality in the wilderness. When Gilgamesh is in possession of the closest commodity to eternal life, “a snake [catches] scent, [comes] up [in silence], and [bores] the plant off” (Gilgamesh, XI.305-6). His venture into the forest becomes redefined by the internal struggle of whether to keep fighting or choosing to give up all hope in terms of attaining immortality.
He is the greatest of all men, and both his virtues and his flaws are outsized. He is the fiercest of warriors and the most ambitious of builders. The Gilgamesh of the epic is an awe-inspiring, sparkling hero, but at first also the epitome of a bad ruler: arrogant, oppressive, and brutal. He lorded over his subjects, raping any woman who struck his fancy, whether she was the wife of one of his warriors or the daughter of a nobleman. The people of Uruk complained to the Sumerian gods about Gilgamesh’s overbearing behavior, and so the gods created the wild man Enkidu to confront Gilgamesh.
The book shows great relevance to today’s society. There are two biggest themes are friendship and definition of life. Before the journey began, Gilgamesh is a tyrant, and he is the most powerful and wise of all Uruk. Nobody can ever match his potential as he was a demigod. However, everything changes when Enkidu comes, Gilgamesh has to change his way of life and for that, the great story began.
In examining The Epic of Gilgamesh, one is left to continually read between the lines in understanding the tale. Because of the many translations and missing texts, many are still seeking the entire adventure. While one might wonder what Gilgamesh did beyond the writings or why Siduri runs a tavern at the end of the Earth, it might be interesting to see if the story is a more current tale. Everyone can relate to a common path-growing up and the challenge it can be along the way. If broken into stages of life, someone could draw an analogy to the epic has various aspects to observe.
Enkidu becomes deathly ill after having foreboding dreams which, he then finds out the gods are taking vengeance out on him. The gods decided to punish Enkidu for the death of Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. Angry at how he is being treated Enkidu starts cursing everything and everyone.