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Campbell's Archetypes In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

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Throughout most epic tales in history such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, Campbell’s Archetypes play such an important position in explaining what role each character may be perceived as. Each Archetype such as: The Hero, Mentor, Herald, Threshold Guardian, Shapeshifter, Shadow, Trickster, and Allie symbolize main roles in The Epic of Gilgamesh and provide clear indication on how to perceive each character. Unlike most modern epics, The Epic of Gilgamesh provides more than one occasion of certain characters containing multiple roles as one of Campbell’s Archetypes. Certain characters such as Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s companion, is seen to have multiple traits and characteristics that leave a suspicion to whether Enkidu is considered one to …show more content…
According to The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh quotes, “There dwells in the forest the fierce monster Humbaba, You and I shall kill him and wipe out something evil from the land” (48). Gilgamesh proves the role of the hero as he accepts to sacrifice his life for the people of Uruk and obstacles other could not or would not be capable of. Gilgamesh’s main quest is to understand and battle the life of a demigod, with superhuman capabilities, in order to rule Uruk …show more content…
In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the hunter quotes, “He constantly ranges over the uplands, constantly feeding on grass with beasts, constantly making his way to the edge of the water hole. I am frightened to approach him, he has filled in the pits I dug, he has torn out my traps I set, he has helped the beasts, wildlife of the steppe, slip from my hands, He will not let me work the steppe” (40). The hunter explains how Enkidu shows protection to his homeland and positions himself to be characterized as the Threshold Guardian. Urshanabi can also be considered as the Threshold Guardian because of protecting the areas of the deathly water from the hero Gilgamesh and requests Gilgamesh to cut poles from trees to build a boat again – since Gilgamesh attacked

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