Human beings are prideful creatures by nature- some, more prideful than others. Pride is a great characteristic to carry throughout life, but when one becomes too prideful it is an almost detrimental trait. This is the case in The Epic of Gilgamesh. The protagonist, King Gilgamesh, pushes the boundaries of pride constantly throughout the epic. Gilgamesh is the prime example of pride as a human problem and the consequences behind it. Through King Gilgamesh, The Epic of Gilgamesh explores pride as human problem, and the consequences behind it in several ways.
The poet simply describing Gilgamesh and his physical attributes is the first site of pride as a problem in the epic. The poet shows the extent of Gilgamesh’s pride is in the beginning …show more content…
Even though Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s new companion, helped to balance Gilgamesh, he also boosted his pride at the same time. After Gilgamesh won the fight, he says: “Enkidu has neither father nor mother, / His hair was growing freely / He was born in the steppe.” (109). This is Gilgamesh’s way of belittling Enkidu. After Gilgamesh speaks these words, Enkidu begins to weep. This shows how Gilgamesh negatively radiates pride even in his …show more content…
Pride leads Gilgamesh to make rash decisions such as killing the Bull of Heaven, setting off on a journey for eternal life, and killing Humbaba. It is not coincidence that it is only when Enkidu arrives that Gilgamesh wants to make a journey to battle Humbaba. Gilgamesh claims to want to kill Humbaba because he is “something evil” (110), but one is lead to believe that Gilgamesh has some ulterior motive. Gilgamesh makes his true reason behind making the journey to Cedar Forest clear while he speaks to Enkidu, saying, “If I fall on the way, I’ll establish my name: / ‘Gilgamesh, who joined battle with fierce Humbaba’ they’ll say.” (111). Gilgamesh gets caught up in making a name for himself because the attention Enkidu receives when he arrives in Uruk makes him uneasy. This uneasiness shows as Gilgamesh relates his dream to his mother, and then again when Enkidu actually arrives in Uruk and the people celebrate. The journey to Cedar Forest to kill Humbaba is obviously not a smart one. The gods have created Humbaba for a reason, but because Gilgamesh’s pride is in the way, he is not able to see this clearly. Enkidu does realize this and warns Gilgamesh: “ . . .Humbaba is guardian of the forest of cedars, / . . . The great gods will become angry with us,” (Tablet V lines 65, 70). The killing Humbaba results in Enkidu being cursed (122), and eventually dying. Just in these few
The poet simply describing Gilgamesh and his physical attributes is the first site of pride as a problem in the epic. The poet shows the extent of Gilgamesh’s pride is in the beginning …show more content…
Even though Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s new companion, helped to balance Gilgamesh, he also boosted his pride at the same time. After Gilgamesh won the fight, he says: “Enkidu has neither father nor mother, / His hair was growing freely / He was born in the steppe.” (109). This is Gilgamesh’s way of belittling Enkidu. After Gilgamesh speaks these words, Enkidu begins to weep. This shows how Gilgamesh negatively radiates pride even in his …show more content…
Pride leads Gilgamesh to make rash decisions such as killing the Bull of Heaven, setting off on a journey for eternal life, and killing Humbaba. It is not coincidence that it is only when Enkidu arrives that Gilgamesh wants to make a journey to battle Humbaba. Gilgamesh claims to want to kill Humbaba because he is “something evil” (110), but one is lead to believe that Gilgamesh has some ulterior motive. Gilgamesh makes his true reason behind making the journey to Cedar Forest clear while he speaks to Enkidu, saying, “If I fall on the way, I’ll establish my name: / ‘Gilgamesh, who joined battle with fierce Humbaba’ they’ll say.” (111). Gilgamesh gets caught up in making a name for himself because the attention Enkidu receives when he arrives in Uruk makes him uneasy. This uneasiness shows as Gilgamesh relates his dream to his mother, and then again when Enkidu actually arrives in Uruk and the people celebrate. The journey to Cedar Forest to kill Humbaba is obviously not a smart one. The gods have created Humbaba for a reason, but because Gilgamesh’s pride is in the way, he is not able to see this clearly. Enkidu does realize this and warns Gilgamesh: “ . . .Humbaba is guardian of the forest of cedars, / . . . The great gods will become angry with us,” (Tablet V lines 65, 70). The killing Humbaba results in Enkidu being cursed (122), and eventually dying. Just in these few