Essay/Term paper: The epic of gilgamesh

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Essays

The main character in the

book The Epic of Gilgamesh, is Gilgamesh himself. In the

beginning of the book one realizes that Gilgamesh is an

arrogant person. Gilgamesh is full of himself and abuses his

rights as king. He has sexual intercourse with the virgins of

his town and acts as though he is a god. Although some

readers of this classic book may say that Gilgamesh does

not change from the beginning of the book, it can easily be

interpreted the other way. Throughout the book, many things

cause Gilgamesh to change. He gains a friend, he makes a

name for himself by killing Humbaba, and he tries to become

immortal because of the death of Enkidu. Through these

main actions his personality changes and he becomes a

better person. First, the quest for immortality after the death

of Enkidu shows that Gilgamesh has changed. Gilgamesh

becomes frightened when he realizes that he isn"t immortal.

After the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh tries to find immortality

by trying to cross the ocean to find it. He sounds pathetic as

he rambles of his reason for trying to find everlasting life. His

state of being at this part in the book, which is the end, is

completely different from his arrogant beginning of this epic.

Gilgamesh has gone from arrogant to scared. Second, the

death of Humbaba changes Gilgamesh. Humbaba is evil.

Many people who live in the city of Uruk fear Gilgamesh.

Most would say that Gilgamesh himself is, in fact, evil. He

has sex with the virgins, he does what he wants, and he

tends to offend the gods. He has lots of problems with

Ishtar. By going into the forest and facing Humbaba,

Gilgamesh makes a name for himself and changes the views

of the people in his city. This is a very arguable point. Yes,

the past of Gilgamesh does not change, but the great deed of

killing Humbaba, makes him a better person because he

protects his city. This is another arguable point. Most would

say he does this only to make a name for himself, but that is

not the case. Gilgamesh does this because of his love for

Enkidu and his people, he has changed from the beginning of

the epic. Finally and most importantly, the main reason that

Gilgamesh changes from the beginning of the book is the

friendship that he has with Enkidu. Enkidu is made to make

Gilgamesh more human. In the first paragraph of the book

the gods are angry with Gilgamesh and send down an equal

of himself, they send down Enkidu. After becoming friends,

Gilgamesh changes because he has an equal to be with.

Enkidu and Gilgamesh become as close as brothers.

Because of this, a very arguable point comes up. Was

Enkidu and Gilgamesh lovers? The answer is obviously yes.

What points in the book show this? They go to sleep holding

hands, Gilgamesh loves Enkidu like a women, and

Gilgamesh goes almost insane after the death of Enkidu. The

point of Enkidu being a lover of Gilgamesh is very important.

It allows the reader to understand the reasoning of

Gilgamesh changing. There are no changes in Gilgamesh as a

person until Enkidu enters the picture. Obviously he is the

reason for all eventual changes in the personality and

manhood of Gilgamesh. If the belief and understanding of

Gilgamesh and Enkidu being much more than "good" friends

is present, then the understanding of why Gilgamesh changes

in the book is also present. If Gilgamesh is just friends with

Enkidu some change is possible, but not almost total recall

as Gilgamesh does in the book. People change more if there

is sex involved and there is a deep relationship. In order to

make Enkidu happy, Gilgamesh has to change, and he does,

throughout thier relationship. In reflection, although some

people would say that Gilgamesh does not change from the

beginning of the book The Epic of Gilgamesh, the better

understanding of the book reveals that, in fact, Gilgamesh

does change from the beginning of the book to the end. The

personality of Gilgamesh changes for three distinct reasons.

First, Gilgamesh changes in the book because of his

insatiable desire for immortality after the death of Enkidu.

Gilgamesh wants immortality after the death of Enkidu.

Second, Gilgamesh changes in the book because of the

death of Humbaba. The death of Humbaba show