King Gilgamesh Friendship Analysis

Friendship is one of the most powerful and necessary bonds between two people, and in Irving Finkel’s, “The Hero King Gilgamesh”, he portrays the true meaning of this strong force. This is a story filled with Middle Eastern gods, curses, and most importantly heros. King Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu tackle ferocious beasts and take down wild monsters. Along Finkel’s exhilarating story, he showcases the power of friendship and how it can change a person through the ordinary world, trials, and success. Friendship always starts with an awkward first “hello”, but in Finkel’s story, it started with a conflict between two who were destined to meet. Not long after the fight started, “He [Enkidu] acknowledged Gilgamesh as his superior and from that

Having someone to face these trials with, makes a stronger team to work with. Teamwork is a bond that comes with friendship, these bonds work hand in hand, and this can be seen on Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s first adventure together when, “He [Humbaba] began to make the most ferocious and distorted expressions. Gilgamesh was terrified… Enkidu rallied his friend by reminding him of their own great weapons… and the two heroes turned together to face Humbaba,” (10). As shown in the text, it has not only portrayed that teamwork makes two stronger together, but it shows the trust that Gilgamesh has in Enkidu. Enkidu has yet again, changed Gilgamesh’s mindset to a stronger, braver, and confident character through their bond. Not only have the two faced the dreadful monster Humbaba, but, “Once again Gilgamesh and Enkidu found themselves side by side in battle with a monstrous enemy [the Bull of Heaven]” (12). In their final battle together, Gilgamesh and Enkidu were faced with another beastly animal Neither of them let the other one face a battle alone, making them stronger as a pair. Together Gilgamesh and Enkidu are almost undefeatable because their trust in one another makes it easier to tackle any obstacle in their