Many different texts speak of a friendship between two or more heroes. Two such are the Bible and the Gilgamesh Epic. In 1 and 2 Samuel we find the story of Johnathan and David and the Epic presents the story of Gilgamesh and an Axe with the entual introduction of the character of Enkidu. In both of these texts friendship is taken to the level of sexual love. Although I do not believe you can interpret both in this manner. First, in Second Samuel David laments the death of Saul and Johnathan. He laments, “Saul and Johnathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions” (2 Sam 1:23). David is deeply distressed over the death of Johnathan especially; he says, “I am distressed for you, my brother Johnathan; greatly beloved were you to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women” (2 Sam 1:26). The phrase “passing the love of women” elicits a feeling that David loved Johnathan more than a wife. This has some large sexual overtones. While this could definitely not be meant literally I believe it should be at least interpreted metaphorically. In the Penn Tablet, we see Gilgamesh relaying a dream he had of an axe he relays, “An axe was lying there, and they were gathered over it” (Penn I 29-30).Gilgamesh then further says about the axe, “When I saw it, I rejoiced. I loved it like a wife and caressed it” (Penn I 32-34). This gives off some very strange thoughts to have
A popular saying about companionship is “True love is forever”. Another saying that pertains more to these stories is, “Rare is as true love, true friendship is rarer”. Friendship is a state of mutual trust and
Friendship, according to Aristotle there are 3 definitions of friendship. Friendship of Utility, “thus friends whose affection is based on utility do not love each other in themselves, but in so far as some benefit accrues to them from each other.” Friendship of Pleasure, “And similarly with those whose friendship is based on pleasure: for instance, we enjoy the society of witty people not because of what they are in themselves, but because they are agreeable to us.” Friendship of the Good. “The perfect form of friendship is that between the good, and those who resemble each other in virtue. For these friends wish each alike the other’s good in respect of their goodness, and they are good in themselves; but it is those who wish the good of their friends for their friends’ sake who are friends in the fullest sense, since they love each other for themselves and not accidentally. Hence the
In Gilgamesh, dreams are used as a form of communication between the Gods and humans. Major events are seen through these dreams and fantasies are foretold. In the ancient Mesopotamian culture, dreams play a major role. Dreams foretold the coming of Enkidu, the death of Enkidu, the protection of Shamhat during the battle with Humbaba, and much more. The fact that dreams play such an important role in
Gilgamesh has frequent dreams that foreshadow what difficulties he will come across in the future. As the story progresses, his dreams become darker and darker, where he realizes that he is not as strong as he thinks he is (pg 4) and that he will not live forever (pg ). Before Gilgamesh met Enkidu, he relied on his mother, the goddess Ninsun, to interpret his dreams. After he met Enkidu, Enkidu gladly offered Gilgamesh emotional support on days following a rough night of sleep. When they are on their way to Humbaba’s forest, Gilgamesh has dreams that jolt him awake from his sleep from terror, but Enkidu’s presence calms Gilgamesh down (pg 10). Even though Gilgamesh is such a big, powerful being, he is still intimidated by the messages that come to him in the form of dreams. Enkidu doesn’t ridicule him for this, but instead listens to Gilgamesh’s worries and provides either advice or
of what friendship is, is a feeling or emotion expressed in such a way that another feels wanted
What is the meaning of friendship? The meaning of a true friendship is being considered as part of the family even though the same blood does not run through your veins. Gilgamesh, a very old story, translated by Stephen Mitchell tells a story of a powerful king and a hero who becomes civilized in society. The story begins by describing the city of Uruk and then introducing Gilgamesh as the king who ruled in about 2750 BCE. However, he is described as an abusive king because he oppresses the young men by crushing them and also oppresses the young women by raping them on their wedding nights. On the other hand, Enkidu becomes present in the story as the hero who’s going to stop Gilgamesh from being such a harsh king. In his introduction, Stephen Mitchell accounts for the creation of Enkidu by saying, “Enkidu the brave, as powerful and fierce as the war god Ninurta. Hair covered his body, hair grew thick on his head and hung down to his waist, like a woman’s hair” (74-75). The mother creation, Aruru, created Enkidu as the double side of Gilgamesh, but she was told to create a hero so that Gilgamesh and Enkidu can balance each other that way there could be peace in Uruk. However, when Enkidu becomes civilized, he has a hard time trying to realize the changes in his life since he comes from nature where he would only communicate with animals. Although Gilgamesh and Enkidu have the same physical qualities, they have different personalities that
Friendship, on the other hand, is the mutual affection established between two people. It can be called an interpersonal bond established between two individuals. A bond established out of sympathy, care, honesty, altruism, understanding and enjoyment.
Friendship can easily be seen in the character of Enkidu and his friend Gilgamesh. A true friend in my opinion is not one whom you simply spend time with; but rather, a friend is someone who will come to the aid and support of their friend without the need for a call to action. Even if, the action puts the friend coming to aid in a jeopardizing position a friend will come to the aid of their companion. The character of Enkidu seems to fit this position. In the following passage Enkidu demonstrating how a friend can aid another, “‘The dream you dreamed tonight is fortunate. The mountain that you dreamed about is Huwawa. Huwawa will fall like a mountain.’”(Ferry, 23). Enkidu offers Gilgamesh here a piece of emotional support in the form of reassurance, and this pattern continues two more nights with Enkidu explaining that Gilgamesh’s dreams are not a part of some sort of curse but rather vision of a triumphed future. The visions prove true; however, I do not think the main point of the sequences is
In Marai's book Embers, two great friends, Henrik and Konrad, meet together for the first time in over 40 years and reminisce together about their past. As they are discussing past memories, their conversation unravels in which hidden confessions of each other's true thoughts finally become revealed after so many years. Despite the hatred they had towards each other, their friendship was always able to sustain itself because their friendship was very well founded.
In Wall-E’s situation it was more ideal. He managed to keep his love with Eve and remain friends with the cockroach. For Offred she found love but it wasn’t real. Offred made friends but the friendships didn’t last. Both Wall-E and The Handmaid’s Tale show just how important love, trust, and friendships really are. Offred trusted Nick but in the end he let her down. Wall-E and Eve found trust within each other and they fell in love. Love is an important thing. For those who are fortunate enough to find it it’s important to hold on to. Friendship and love give a sense of dependence and belonging. Wall-E and Offred both had the opportunities to make friends and fall in love within their
Notably, the thing about human life is that everyone desires friendship or to be simply not be alone. In the story of the epic of Gilgamesh talks about how friendship changed his whole life. Gilgamesh used to be a terrible ruler led by arrogance, and brutality of his people. He was overconsumed with power, therefore doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. It seemed that Gilgamesh grew bored of life, and had a deep hole in his heart as such something was missing from his life. One day Gilgamesh told his mother “I want a friend for my own counselor, for my own Counselor do I want a friend” (Foster 106). He needed someone to confide in as well as talk too about his plans and future. Gilgamesh had everything in his life from riches to power, but it seemed like the thing he craved more than success was someone to take the journey beside him. In a
They act as the link between the human and spiritual worlds (Livius). Following this dream, Enkidu is brought to Uruk where he fights with Gilgamesh. Just as predicted by the meteorite in the dream, Gilgamesh and the townspeople take a liking to Enkidu. Gilgamesh’s second dream features an axe found within the city of Uruk. In the dream, Gilgamesh finds himself drawn to the axe and “[loves] it like a woman and [wears] it at [his] side” (TEoG Ch. 1).
A close-knit loving bond between two people can begin with a friendship. Whether it is a friendship between two males, two females, or one male and one female, these friendships will develop into love. In no way is it a romantic love, but this type of love connects and bonds friends. Friends may move away or friendships may wane, but the love between the two people burns on forever.
I believe that the story “Two Friends” has presented friendship more realistically than “Damon and Pythias”. The reason I believe this is because “Damon and Pythias” is a Greek legend. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term “legend” is defined as “A traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but not authenticated.”(oxforddictionaries.com). This definition suggests that the story is not authenticated, which means it may contain false and made up contents. This is contrary to the definition of reality. Therefore, the fact that “Damon and Pythias” is a greek legend makes the story unrealistic and not able to present a realistic friendship. On the other hand, the story “Two Friends” is a story set during a real
By friendship, I mean true friendship, or close friendships. I believe that true friendship is very different from causal friendships. True friendships involve a level of emotional intimacy that you do not find with causal friendships or acquaintances. If you look in the dictionary, it will define friendship as the relationship between friends, or the state of being friends (Merriam-Webster.com). I do not find that the