For as long as humans have had the cognitive ability to consider human nature, it has been recognized to include many characteristics which most cultures generally regard as flaws. Attributes such as pride, selfishness, enviousness, entitlement, and aloofness are just some of the human traits to which people have given bad connotations over time. Humans who display these characteristics are usually looked down upon and encouraged to attempt to suppress or overcome them. This is a common scenario in literature as well. Characters clearly exhibiting “bad” traits are often punished in some form, whether it be by other humans, gods, creatures, or simply fate itself. The morals of the stories seem apparent: these traits are not acceptable and anyone …show more content…
The hulking protagonist of this ancient epic, Gilgamesh, is described as the king of Uruk who is “two-thirds divine and one-third human” (Mitchell 71). However, despite his divinity, Gilgamesh exhibits unfavorable human traits in his kingship such as hubris and, resulting from that, cruelty. Some individuals may argue that we, as readers of the text, cannot know whether these characteristics are a result of Gilgamesh’s divine part of self or his human part of self. However, this argument is irrelevant in this context due to the fact that these attributes are typical of humans and may therefore be accepted as human characteristics for the sake of discussion, whether or not divine beings also experience them. Gilgamesh exhibits cruelty in the tyrannical manner in which he governs his people of Uruk. He “does whatever he wants, takes the son from his father and crushes him, takes the girl from her mother and uses her, the warrior’s daughter, the young man’s bride, he uses her, no one dares to oppose him” (72), exemplifying Gilgamesh’s cruel nature and utter lack of compassion. This cruelty is a result of Gilgamesh’s hubris; his self-confidence is so great that he freely carries out his own will, never considering the consequences for others. He also believes himself to be undefeatable in battle, as …show more content…
In Gilgamesh’s battle against Enkidu, the two make a connection that changes Gilgamesh for the better. The two once-rivals “became true friends” (90). This is the first time Gilgamesh has someone in his life for who he truly cares. Suddenly, compassion and love for Enkidu allow Gilgamesh to open his heart to another and thereby become somewhat less egotistic. However, Gilgamesh’s hubris still gives him a desire to fight and defeat Humbaba, a fight which leads to Enkidu’s death. If Gilgamesh was not so hubristic as to want to “stamp [his] fame on men’s minds forever” (94) by winning in battle against Humbaba, Enkidu would have lived. His death ravages Gilgamesh, who sets his sights on achieving immortality so that he may never experience the very human fate to which his soulmate fell victim. Gilgamesh devotes years of his life to seeking immortality, but his quest ends in vain. The damage that Gilgamesh’s hubris caused is apparent; he experienced awful heartbreak and sacrificed many years of his mortal life in an attempt to preserve it. However, Gilgamesh’s story ends with an interesting conclusion: instead of suffering for the rest of his days due to his tragic flaw, Gilgamesh is able to accept that “[t]here is no way to overcome death” (63) and
The story of “Gilgamesh” depicts all of the heroic triumphs and heart-breaking pitfalls a heroic narrative should depict to be able to relate to today’s audience. However, “Gilgamesh” was once considered a lost and forgotten piece of literature for thousands of years, so there is a tremendous gap between the time it was created and the time it was translated into language that today’s audience can understand. That gap in history makes several aspects of the story of “Gilgamesh” strange and unfamiliar because what we now know about ancient Middle Eastern cultures and languages is a lot less than what we know about the cultures that prospered after ancient Middle Eastern cultures. Much of the content in the story of
(Gilgamesh 71)” Gilgamesh's grief for his friend was natural, but he shouldn't have abandoned his people and his royal duties. As ruler, his people have to follow his decree, and need his support to thrive. By forcing them to grief, and abandoning his position, he left them in a very vulnerable position. His last and final abandonment of his people began with Gilgamesh's quest for immortality. He was so upset and shocked by what occurred to Enkidu's body after death, that he vowed he would never die. His selfishness has grown so far, that when he finds his cure for mortality, he chooses to let an old man test the plant in case it brings death instead. “I will bring it to Uruk-Haven, and have an old man eat the plant to test it. The plant's name is “The Old Man Becomes a Young Man.” Then I will eat it and return to the condition of my youth. (Gilgamesh 106)” Gilgamesh was a powerful man with a lot of ambition, and potential. It was just ruined by his selfish nature. He was, all-in-all, a famous and great ruler... but not a just one.
In the “Epic of Gilgamesh” translated by N.K. Sanders, Gilgamesh completes a series of many challenges and obstacles, fulfilling the conditions of an archetypal quest story. In order to fulfill an archetypal quest story, the hero or protagonist must complete a series of hurdles, on their way toward achieving their goal. In the “Epic of Gilgamesh”, Gilgamesh hunts for his main obsession, immortality, while he battles off monsters, with the help of some friends. Sensing Gilgamesh embraces too much power, the gods create a friend for Gilgamesh named Enkidu in the hopes of lessening Gilgamesh’s power. Enkidu and Gilgamesh turn out to be best friends after Enkidu loses a wrestling match
Gilgamesh is not a completely flawed character; he possesses, and obtains through his adventures, many positive qualities or virtues. For example, he is courageous. This virtue is evident during his battle with Humbaba. This forest giant is a fearsome adversary, aided by the gods, with a considerable size and strength advantage. Defeat of Humbaba takes the combined efforts of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. To succeed, Gilgamesh had to gain the courage to undergo this task. Enkidu rallies his friend by saying, “O Gilgamesh, remember now your boasts in Uruk. Forward, attacks, son of Uruk, there is nothing to fear.” (Sandars 20) With this, Gilgamesh’s “courage railed” (Sandars 20). He defeats and eventually kills Humbaba for which he is subsequently praised.
Gilgamesh, on the other hand, is not so lucky. His weakness is something that he cannot escape. Since Gilgamesh is part human, death is an inevitable fact of life. Gilgamesh’s fate is first foreseen when he has a dream about a wild man Enkidu. Gilgamesh tells his mother,” Stars of the sky appeared, and some kind of meteorite of Anu fell next to me. I tried to lift it but it was too mighty for me, I tried to turn it but I could not budge it. – I loved it and embraced it as a wife. I laid it down at your feet, and you made it compete with me. (220-231)” Gilgamesh learns his destiny is to love Enkidu, but the gods create Enkidu to destroy Gilgamesh. When the goddess of love sends the bull of heaven to kill Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh and Enkidu defeat the bull, but the gods are not happy. As punishment, they speak the curse of death upon Enkidu. Heart-broken
The two immediately become companions because Gilgamesh finally finds his match. They set off on an adventure to destroy the cedar forest and its guardian, Humbaba, all to be forever remembered. Gilgamesh appears to be improving his ways and not exasperating his people. However, Gilgamesh then takes his journey to be remembered one step too far and kills the bull of heaven. This infuriates the gods so greatly that they decide that one out of Gilgamesh and Enkidu must pay for their actions. The gods therefore bestow a deadly illness upon Enkidu, which brings about his death. Enkidu’s death devastates Gilgamesh, for he not only loses his best friend, but also comes to the realization that he soon too will die. Not only does Gilgamesh lose his best friend, but he also comes to the realization that he will also die some day. Thus, Gilgamesh decides to seek out immortality so he will not have to endure death.
Gilgamesh struggled to establish moral principle. His personality at first was an arrogant, self-centered tyrant ; he was described by Enkidu "His teeth are dragon's fangs, his countenance is like a lion his charge is the rushing of the flood..." (pg. 16 line 3-6). But towards the end of this epic narrative Gilgamesh switched
As the epic starts, Gilgamesh is portrayed as a self-centered, self-admiring leader who believes that he is the only individual that can lead the city of Uruk. Gilgamesh believes that he is a god-like figure and often refers to himself as one. He believes that he is above everyone else in the city of Uruk. For example, in the epic there is a scene where Gilgamesh enters the city of Uruk, the epic describes the scene as; “He entered the city of Uruk-the-Town-Square, and a crowd gathered around. He came to a halt in the street of Uruk-the Town-Square, all gathered about, the people discussed him” (15). This quote is a good example of how Gilgamesh expected those around him to respect and look up to him as a god-like figure. He did not lead the city of Uruk humbly; he wasn’t a leader who strived to feel like a normal citizen of the city. Instead, Gilgamesh felt that he was entitled to more privileges than the average person. Early on in the epic, Gilgamesh is described as a “tall, magnificent and terrible, who opened passes in the mountains, who dug wells on the slopes of the uplands, and crosses the ocean, the wide sea to the sunrise” (2). This demonstrates how selfish Gilgamesh truly was, and how all
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu helps act as a catalyst for the transformation of Gilgamesh’s character from an undefeatable god-like brute into a complex thinker. In the eyes of Gilgamesh, he is unstoppable and is willing to challenge death itself so long as he is remembered as a hero by his subjects. With Enkidu’s help, Gilgamesh learns to become a better person as a ruler, not as a better warrior. Although not blood related, Enkidu was like a brother to Gilgamesh and the duo shared an inseparable bond. Throughout the epic, Enkidu teaches Gilgamesh that he is not unstoppable, being stubborn will not stop him from dying, and that there are no easy solutions to life.
This story has been one of my favorite readings of all time . This epic poem was about a young god who is two-thirds god and one-third man by the name of Gilgamesh, mighty king of Uruk-haven whom is known for his arrogance, Strength who is later challenged by another molded creation Enkidu, referred to by the god Anu as “zikru,”. Who played an important role in Gilgamesh’s life. They have gone through many challenges and have overcome many obstacles together like the ferocious “humbaba” and “Bull of Heaven”.
This passage from Tablet II takes place shortly after Enkidu and Gilgamesh first meet, and it illustrates Gilgamesh’s blind pride by his shaming of Enkidu for objecting to his proposal to fight Humbaba. This excerpt serves to characterize Gilgamesh as brash and overzealous in his support for a seemingly impossible quest. Gilgamesh eventually coaxes Enkidu to go along with his plan which inadvertently leads to Enkidu’s death through Gilgamesh’s inability to hold his tongue. This later episode further supports the reckless mindset displayed by Gilgamesh in the excerpt at the beginning of this paper. Judging by this excerpt it can be inferred that one’s pride and honor played a very important role in ancient Mesopotamian culture. This is because Gilgamesh attacked Enkidu’s pride and honor in the last six lines of the excerpt to cajole Enkidu to assist him. Gilgamesh also asserted to Enkidu that he was going to fight Humbaba, even at the cost of his own life, regardless of if Enkidu decided to help him.
Later, Enkidu is punished for killing the Bull of Heaven and Humababa, Enkidu suffers from illness and ends up dying. Enkidu’s death affected Gilgamesh a lot; Enkidu’s death marks a change in Gilgamesh life. Gilgamesh change from a harsh and a strong person into someone who has feelings and a loving heart. Gilgamesh keeps thinking that if Enkidu can die then he can die too and all that Gilgamesh
This is known to be the major transition of Gilgamesh. It has already been foreseen through the various changes of the king how Enkidu had affected him overall as a person. From the wild beast entering his life to the slewing of Humbaba, humanity had crept upon Gilgamesh without a sound. When the gods decided to penalize Enkidu for the murder of Heaven’s Bull, the demise of Humbaba, and the cedar tree he cut down, he was faced with eternal punishment. By way of Enkidu’s sluggish miserable death, it took its toll upon Gilgamesh.
There once lived a king, the great king of Uruk in Mesopotamia. This great leader was Gilgamesh. His preserved epic is of great significance to modern day culture. Through Gilgamesh, the fate of mankind is revealed, and the inevitable factor of change is expressed. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, it is a great love, followed by a lingering grief that cause a significant change in the character of Gilgamesh.
As we can see at the beginning Gilgamesh is a powerful king with no compassion for others, and after the death of his best friend Enkidu he realizes that death is unavoidable. Gilgamesh start his journey in the search for eternal immortality; but during his journey and the struggles that he endures he gains the capacity and the compassion for others. We can see his compassion when he retrieves the plant that grows under the water and lose it to a snake. Compassion: “By its virtue a man may win back all his former strength.