The Hero's Journey

The crossing of the return threshold is the final step in Gilgamesh’s hero journey. Enkidu’s death sent Gilgamesh on an adventure to fight death but he ultimately ended up learning his biggest lesson from Utnapishtim, the man who become immortal. He learns to appreciate life every day and that humans are meant to die. Utnapishtim tells him how fortunate he is to be 2/3 divine and 1/3 human, to be blessed, and to be king . He takes this information and starts to appreciate everything about his life and his kingdom. He understands that death is a part of life. This experience changed him for the better. From the beginning of the story of Gilgamesh to the end you can see a total transformation in this character. The strong and greedy king showed fear and vulnerability. The death of his brother and second half stirred up his restless heart and sent him on a journey to fight and overcome death. The lesson he learned though was to appreciate his life every day until he dies. He learned that death was a part of life. Gilgamesh has obvious flaws and goes through many struggles just as its readers do on a daily basis. Gilgamesh’s vulnerability makes him easy to relate to. Modern American readers want a hero who’s relatable and seems ordinary in their emotions and life. People change in life sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst. In the case of Gilgamesh he changed for the better and become a better person. Readers

In The Epic, Gilgamesh’s understanding of his mortality is almost dismissive; he argues that since all men die anyway, that then they might as well risk their lives to make a name for themselves. Gilgamesh does not question the value of “making a name for himself” in a world where all great heroes are forgotten-it is enough to use his allotted years to achieve fame and glory. In this case, Gilgamesh believes that the value of life is to be remembered after death. Gilgamesh’s mortality and fear of death reflect on his human side and is consistent with the human condition of fearing death. However, Enkidu views death differently. Gilgamesh rouses Enkidu with a speech, explaining to him that since all men die anyway, they should not fear

The knowledge that Gilgamesh acquires from his journey and Utanapishtim change his life since Gilgamesh learns that humans are fated to die by the gods will. This knowledge causes Gilgamesh to give up on his quest to get immortality because he learns that humans can’t get immortality without giving up their humanity first from Utanapishtim’s story of how he survived the great flood. Also that the fates won’t let him have even eternal youth, since the flower that would grant him that power was stolen by a snake even after he tried to protect the flower very carefully. Gilgamesh plans to gain immortality for giving the people of Uruk wisdom of the great flood and by carving his name into the walls of the city. This way he will go down in history

Watching a film, one can easily recognize plot, theme, characterization, etc., but not many realize what basic principle lies behind nearly every story conceived: the hero’s journey. This concept allows for a comprehensive, logical flow throughout a movie. Once the hero’s journey is thoroughly understood, anyone can pick out the elements in nearly every piece. The hero’s journey follows a simple outline. First the hero in question must have a disadvantaged childhood. Next the hero will find a mentor who wisely lays out his/her prophecy. Third the hero will go on a journey, either literal or figurative, to find him/herself. On this journey the hero will be discouraged and nearly quit his/her quest. Finally, the

Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk and very confident in his ways. He begins his journey thinking that he above everyone else knows what is best in all situations. It is quickly revealed that Gilgamesh has a lot to learn and grow from himself. The role of knowledge and wisdom is most obvious when Gilgamesh realizes he is afraid of death and seeks to find eternal life. He comes to realize that life is about death, but making the most of the life we have.

     Gilgamesh sets out on his journey for immortality, leaving his kingdom and people behind to fend for themselves. He starts to become self-seeking just as he had before. He spends every waking moment searching for immortality only to benefit himself. The whole purpose of the journey itself is so that Gilgamesh can gain immortality for himself and be remembered forever. He doesn’t realize that his people are off on there own with no king to control the empire. Even when

Small or big, everything we do in life is part of our journey. Reg Harris’ “The Hero’s Journey” describes the voyage one takes throughout life to grow and change as a person. He breaks the journey down into eight steps leading to the return. It starts out as a goal that isn’t always easy to reach, one goes through hardship and personal doubts only to succeed and become a better person. An example of this journey can be found in the movie, Troy through the character Achilles. Achilles is a strong fearless warrior in the movie, Troy who goes through “The Hero’s Journey” and ends up with a change of heart.

Tim Winton has shown, the concept of Journeys are complex, involving a process of failure, learning and development, to be true through his stories, Big World and Neighbours. This concept is shown to be true by John Lee Hancock, through his film, The Blind Side. The journey may offer life-changing experiences, but it is ultimately the destination that motivates the traveller to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals, making both equally important. Journeys can be driven by aims of escaping to a better place, but the process itself is just as significant as it shapes the outlook of the traveller.

The Hero’s journey, or in its more correct terminology the Monomyth is an object from the area of comparative mythology. Its definition in the most basic of forms, it is a pattern or outline that is used in storytelling, usually the myth. This pattern is found in many famous pieces from all around the world. In the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces from 1949 by author Joseph Campbell, this pattern is described in detail. Campbell describes that numerous myths from different times and areas of the world seem to share an identical structure in their storytelling. He summarized this with a well-known quote found at the intro of his book:

He traveled thousands of miles and has to cross the Waters of Death in order to finally find Utnapishtim. When Gilgamesh fails Utnapishtim's test to see if he is worthy of immortality, his wife tells Gilgamesh about a plant that will restore his youth. Not until a serpent eats Gilgamesh's prized plant does he finally accept death. He realizes that his legacy will live on through the beautiful city he has built and needs to fully enjoy the beauty of life. He needs to take advantage of every luxury life has to offer and not dwell on

He continues to search for a way to receive immortality, and Utanapistim provides him another way to receive it. After gaining the plant form the bottom of the sea, he is once again faced with defeat after a serpent steals it as Gilgamesh takes a bath. Returning back to the kingdom, Gilgamesh finally accepts the fact that death is indeed inevitable. In my opinion, I feel that Gilgamesh has matured by the end of his journey because in the beginning he was an uptight king and very closedminded. Learning that he cannot escape death, he returns to the kingdom and serves the people with a better mind frame than

We see the evolution of Gilgamesh: he is introduced as a tyrant, ruling with an iron fist. In meeting and befriending Enkidu he is no longer as self-involved. He becomes more “human” in his love for another person. Gilgamesh evolves further through Enkidu’s death; the sense of loss he feels humanizes him further and inspires his quest for immortality. “Bitterly Gilgamesh wept for his friend Enkidu; he wandered over the wilderness as a hunter, he roamed over the plains; in his bitterness he cried, ‘How can I rest, how can I be at peace? Despair is in my heart. What my brother is now, that shall I be when I am dead” (The Epic of Gilgamesh). The quest for immortality eventually leads to a moment of enlightenment when the serpent steals the immortal herb and Gilgamesh must face the hard truth that immortality will not be bestowed upon him. His identity evolves further in his acceptance of his own mortality. Upon his return to Uruk, speaks to Urshanabi about the city with great pride. It is apparent that Gilgamesh realizes the legacy he is able to leave behind in Uruk, and this leads him to become a more benevolent

In the end Gilgamesh comes to realize that all men, including himself, have to pass away at

Due to his behavior, the gods heard people’s lament so they decided to create his equal like him as his own reflection, Enkidu. From Gilgamesh’s dream before they met each other, it was told that Gilgamesh will be glad; he will love him as a woman. After he met and fought with Enkidu, they realized that their strength is equal and then their friendship was sealed. Enkidu changed Gilgamesh thoughts. He also changed Gilgamesh from being the bad king to the better king. The moment that he became more “human” is when he accepted the truth about the immortality after the serpent steal his flower because of his carelessness so he should use time that he have left usefully and happily. He set up his journey to find the immortality after the death of Enkidu. After a long restless journey, he met Utnapishtim and his wife and then them made Gilgamesh sleep, wash his hair and threw off his skins. Gilgamesh had realized that, even his is a king or half god,he is not different from other men. Even Though, he couldn’t complete his quest but he transform himself from his

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the story about Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk and Enkidu, their friendship, how Enkidu dies, how Gilgamesh mourns the death of his friend and finally he understands enlightened truth . Most of this story is narrated from Gilgamesh’s point of view. The story is set in Mesopotamia and the portrayal of Gilgamesh is ironical. He is described as a king of immense vigor and strength who is not benevolent with his subjects. He befriends Enkidu who is of equal valor. They embark on different conquests together after which Enkidu gets dreams with message of his impending death . Enkidu subsequently dies with illness . With the death of his friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh is shattered and also becomes obsessed with his own life and so he embarks on a quest to find Utnapishtim, who is bestowed with immortality by the Gods. He believes that he would get eternal life from Utnapishtim, who had received eternal life from the Gods . The story’s theme throughout is related to how man evolves through various incidents in his life and finally realizes that immortality for a human lies in doing good work for others but not in the conquest of death. The entire story revolves around how Gilgamesh, obsessed by life yearns for eternal life and how it eludes him even though he undertakes dangerous quests to find it . The thesis statement is that humans can attain immortality by