How Did Gilgamesh Change

Improved Essays
Throughout the first weeks of school we were introduce to “The Epic Of Gilgamesh,” by Benjamin R. Foster. As we read the book we were introduce to a character name Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk, a powerful man. He was not the type of king that cared for his people instead he was the kind that took advantage of his people. The people got tired of the way he was acting and started to complain. The people asked Aruru for help to change Gilgamesh, which is how Enkidu was created. As we read further in the book what we thought of Gilgamesh changes, he changes from an arrogant ruler to a weary one. In certain situations we see that Gilgamesh changed to a better person but things changed in the end when he ends up realizing that he will be remembered in death. At the very beginning of the book we are introduce to Gilgamesh as a powerful king that takes advantage of his people. Gilgamesh is also a demy God, whenever he decides it’s time for war he sends his warriors instead of fighting himself. He does not show feelings for anything or anyone, and he cares only about himself. However he wants people to remember him. Gilgamesh built the city of Uruk and …show more content…
However Gilgamesh decided it was best to wait to take the plant until he got back home and gave it to an old man first. Gilgamesh was afraid that the plant would bring death upon him therefore he decided to wait. “Death- the fear of death, everlasting fame as victory over death, life after death- is a common theme and distinctive of the late Sumerian Gilgamesh tradition” ( Moran 2). Gilgamesh was afraid of death; he did not want to die due to the plant. This goes to show that Gilgamesh did not trust him; he did not believe that the plant would work and instead he was going to be selfish and give it to an old man without knowing if the plant would kill him or

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of a king, Gilgamesh, who is two-thirds god and one-third human. He befriends Enkidu, who is considered a “wild man”. Not so long after they become friends, they go on a quest together. Soon after their quest, Enkidu becomes sick and dies. Gilgamesh was heartbroken over his death, which left him very distraught and emotional.…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the epic of Gilgamesh, there are two main characters: Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Gilgamesh is the king of a massive city, and at the beginning of the book, he terrorizes his people. Enkidu is created by the overwatching gods and goddesses in the…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gilgamesh in return helped Enkidu face his fears. Gilgamesh became a leader by understanding his people…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    At a glance, one may assume that The Epic of Gilgamesh and I and Thou have no relation to each other. This can be believed when the plots of the epic and book, respectively, are taken into account. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem written by ancient, anonymous authors that tells the story of Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, and how he gradually becomes a noble king through a series of events, with his best friend Enkidu by his side. I and Thou is a book written by Martin Buber in 1923. This book is about how humans find meaningfulness for their lives through relationships with objects and with others.…

    • 1564 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Herbert Mason’s translation of Gilgamesh presents a very unique dynamic in the central relationship of the epic between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Scholars have come to the understanding that that the relationship portrayed in this version is different from that found in earlier translations of the text, but Mason’s portrayal seems to represent the most honest image of the situation. Gilgamesh and Enkidu cannot fully be equals because Gilgamesh is seen first as a god-king and Enkidu is identified as his more human protector. When the reader is introduced to Gilgamesh he has the appearance of being more god than man. “Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk, a city set between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in ancient Babylonia… Gilgamesh was called a god…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This is where the tragic irony sets in. The reader knows that Gilgamesh’s desire for eternal life will prove unsuccessful, but Gilgamesh is hopeful. HE truly believes there is a way to escape such a horrible fate that we as humanity are doomed to; but, as in many tragedies, there is no way to truly escape one’s fate, especially if that fate is…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Javier Romero Dr. Felipe English Comp 3 August 13, 2015 The Epic of Gilgamesh The Epic of Gilgamesh shows realities between the unruly natural world and civilized Mesopotamia. This epic is the journey of a warrior, Gilgamesh, filled with great hubris, as he searches for the key to immortality. Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk but is seen more like a overpowering tyrant than a kind leader to his people. The gods send a wild man, Enkidu, as a buffer to Gilgamesh’s hubris.…

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Literature can be anything from poetry to an epic to a novel. It dates back thousands upon thousands of years. The “Epic of Gligamesh” and the Book of Job are two of these pieces of literature. These two works are very different, but at the same time they are very similar. A universal theme they both share is the characters have to come to term with and learn about the human condition.…

    • 1550 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    The gods, Utnapishtim, and his wife possess the one thing that Gilgamesh does not: the gift of eternal life. Immortality is seen to be the highest form of power one can achieve. While no god can truly escape their death, the gods cannot die without a cause. Gilgamesh does not have this ability and he sees this as his one flaw. This desire for immortality causes Gilgamesh to go on his quest in search for Utnapishtim after he sees his beloved brother and friend die a simple, debilitating death at the hands of the gods.…

    • 1403 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Because of his powers, we learn that Gilgamesh is two-thirds god and one-third human. This makes Gilgamesh part of the heavenly gods. Based on the poems, the people of Uruk believed in the gods to a very high extent. This is believed to be the same for Mesopotamia. The gods are considered a part of religion and The Epic of Gilgamesh helps us to know and understand this.…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gilgamesh believes that he is immortal and cannot die therefore the people of Uruk ask the Sumerian gods to create an individual equal to Gilgamesh. Enkidu was created the Gods of wisdom Enlil, Ea gave Gilgamesh the fate to see visions in his dream, and he knew Enkidu was coming and he was to love him as a woman. Gilgamesh and Enkidu became great friends and decided together to conquer the world together and to live forever, to have mortality. Upon the death of his companion realization became apparent to Gilgamesh that death will always come, which is something Gilgamesh has to understand, it becomes so with the death of his friend Enkidu, there is no such thing as immortality, and friendship is crucial in life. Fate is not of our own doing but the doing of others and freewill gives us the decisions to make choices in our lives.…

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Epic of Gilgamesh is a widely known and respected ancient poem which tells the story of Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu. The Epic of Gilgamesh contains two main quests: Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s journey to kill Humbaba and Gilgamesh’s journey to seek eternal life. During both quests, the Mesopotamian gods not only provided guidance to Gilgamesh and Enkidu, but also obstacles that the two had to overcome. Despite the power of the gods, it is clear that The Epic of Gilgamesh sheds light on both the positive and negative human emotions of the gods as proven by Gilgamesh and Enkidu 's multiple interactions with them.…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Will of the Gods The gods represented in Gilgamesh hold a certain resemblance to the way that humans act, and are only set apart through of their immortality, strength, and birthright as a god. The gods are above all men. They form the highest of the class system, though they are not humans in Gilgamesh they still interfere with the human world. The gods influence the humans through dreams and visions, they are the ultimate governing force for mankind, and yet they are detached from the humans and their suffering. The gods in Gilgamesh provide a window into what the lives of the Kings and upper classes of the Mesopotamian societies and how they viewed everyone else within the hierarchy.…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Death is feared by many people because of the simple fact that is it unavoidable, well unless you are granted immortality like a god. Throughout “The epic of Gilgamesh” we are shown that Gilgamesh and Enkidu fear dying without being remembered. The pair of friends go on various journeys for the simple pleasure of having fame and being seen as heroes throughout Uruk. Gilgamesh and Enkidu face great despair that completely change their perspective about what life and death really means. At the beginning of the epic story we learn that Gilgamesh is two-thirds god and one-third human.…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the epic of Gilgamesh the theme of man vs. nature is extensively explored through the characters Enkidu and Gilgamesh. At the start of the epic, Enkidu represents the wild, and Gilgamesh represents the civilized man. However, Enkidu finds himself becoming civilized through his sexuality with the harlot Shamhat, along with his newfound friendship with Gilgamesh. Once Enkidu becomes somewhat civilized, he is no longer welcome among the animals.…

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays