Essay On Joseph As An Epic Hero In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

704 Words2 Pages

An epic hero is a character that goes on a quest to achieve his goals, but sometimes encounters danger on the way. The hero is usually a king, prince, or a person of honor. The hero has a supernatural power that makes people respect them. The hero usually goes on a dangerous adventure to reach their goal or quest. The hero battles a creature or supernatural being that gets in their way during the adventure. The hero in the end usually does good deeds for people as well as finding themselves in the process. In every hero journey they find themselves or learn how to deal with their purpose in life, and end up accomplishing more then they set off to do. In the epic story Gilgamesh he is described as a heroic king. The conflict is that Gilgamesh …show more content…

The plot is Joseph versioned success. The brothers trying to plot against Joseph because they despised his plan, as well as Jacob love for his son Joseph. Also, Joseph imprisonment lead him to fulfill his dream. The theme is that God is in control. Joseph put God first that lead him to his divine purpose. The conflict in the story is that Joseph brothers were very jealous of him. Jacob catered to Joseph more than his other children, which made them jealous. It is ironic that even though Joseph brothers tried to prevent him from his divine purpose it was still accomplished. When Joseph filled his divine purpose and his brothers came to the city for food, he did not treat them any differently. Joseph invited them into the city and feed his family. This is a great example of treating people fair, regardless of how they treat others. On the other hand, Joseph and Gilgamesh both were trying to accomplish a task to fulfill their purpose in life. Joseph and Gilgamesh encounter people that were trying to tear there world apart. Ishtar doomed Enkindu and Joseph brothers selling him to an Egyptian. Neither one failed their divine purpose but the gained an understanding that it will be accomplished through dangerous quest. An epic hero is not about how powerful or strong a person is but the things they

Show More
Related

  • The Role Of Heroes In Mythology By Edith Hamilton

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is a hero? The book Mythology by Edith Hamilton has a lot of heroes and most of them have 2 things in common. The heroes are in their own ways superior whether it be strength, intelligence, and/or courage. The second thing they have in common is a quest that establishes their greatness and proving that they are good enough to be called heroes. The catch is that even though they may have the characteristics of a hero, not all of them are epic heroes.

    Read More

  • Homer's Odyssey: Woody As An Epic Hero

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

        An epic hero is character who is brave and noble, and that person is someone who carries good leadership traits and goes through an epic journey. Usually an epic hero is from an epic, and an example is Odysseus. Odysseus goes through a journey to return back to Ithaca, his homeland. In the modern era, there are epic heroes all around us. They can be in books, movies, or plays. One great example of a modern epic hero is Woody from Toy Story 3. He is confident, courageous,selfless,  and humane. Woody is a toy cowboy and his owner, Andy is going off to college. Woody and his buddies get misplaced and get donated to a child day care center. There, they have to try to escape and return home, after realizing how bad the place

    Read More

  • Gilgamesh and Odysseus: Perfect Heros

    1511 Words  | 4 Pages

    The dictionary defines hero in mythology and legend as, "a man who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and born of divine or royal blood. He is a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life." In addition, I believe a hero is one to be looked up to and emulated. What is interesting about epic heroes is that their great deeds and exploits all have to do with defeating themselves, so with help from the gods they can truly become heroic. They can only defeat themselves with the help of the gods.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Beowulf And The Little Mermaid

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    Epic heroes are described as a brave and noble character in a story. Being a hero or villain is not easy, it takes many struggles along the way but in the end, they are admired for their noble births, supernatural abilities, quests, and valorous deeds. In many ways Ursula is a villain and Beowulf are their own epic hero through comparing and contrasting these characters.

    Read More

  • Wonder Woman Vs Beowulf Research Paper

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    Epic heroes. Individuals who are larger than life, brave, and noble are the predecessors to our modern day superheroes. Initially, an epic hero such as Beowulf could be compared to Wonder Woman, a fierce warrior and protector of the Amazons. Both possess titles of nobility, travel over vast settings, and are well-versed fighters, all of which are characteristics of an epic hero. While both individuals are quite similar, there are a few distinctions between the two such as one standing alone in battle, being emotionally connected with their followers, and having a weakness that ultimately leads to their death. For example, Wonder Woman often fights her battles along with her counterparts while Beowulf chooses to battle independently.

    Read More

  • Gilgamesh As An Epic Hero

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    The idealization of Gilgamesh success will help its ethical structure. However, in the beginning of the epic Gilgamesh was very arrogant by the gods and so the people of Uruk decide to teach him a lesson. They sent Enkidu. At first they were enemies and soon after they became friends during their dangerous journey. It has been a long time Gilgamesh needed a friend and we learned that in the epic they teach each other some lesson and their friendship grow stronger. They were now brothers and they both show some weaknesses but they teach each other how they can conquer it. During the whole journey Gilgamesh has truly changed for the better. So, the people of Uruk can learn from their ruler. They realize that the king has risked his life and that the people of Uruk ethical structure was created. They had specialized occupations and the most common work was architecture. They were the ones who build the strongest and tallest walls to make sure that the accomplishments of Gilgamesh will remain forever. The people of Uruk were also educated, they were the first city to ever discover literature and writing. Gilgamesh was amazed by his people and he was content with everything now since all he was worrying about was being immortal. Yet, his people and the creation they construct made Gilgamesh immortal. The structure of the community must also be equal since Gilgamesh is working hard for his people,

    Read More

  • Epic Hero: Beowulf

    757 Words  | 2 Pages

    In every epic story, the center of attention will be on the epic hero. Usually all the epic heroes have some kind of special power, which keep them different from other characters. Later on, their epic journey these powers, help them to win the glory, which make them epic heroes. In Beowulf, Beowulf is truly an epic hero, because of his wisdom, strength and bravery.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Gilgamesh And Rama

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    The epic hero’s journeys hold the hopes for future of ordinary people’s lives. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in approximately 2000 B.C.E which is highly enriched with Ancient Mesopotamian religions, and The Ramayana was written by ancient Indians in around 1800 B.C.E. The stories were written in two different parts of the world. However, these two stories etched great evidence that show people from generation to generation that different cultures and religions are interconnected; they share ideas with each other. Both Gilgamesh and Rama traveled long journeys in these tales. These epic journeys played a role in the creation of different archetypes. We can clearly see that these two tales share similarities between these archetypes. Although

    Read More

  • The Journey Of Gilgamesh As A Hero's Journey

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gilgamesh is viewed as a hero because of his origin. Gilgamesh is a king who has done great things for Uruk. Although being King, he's also human and God, which he can die on his journeys. According

    Read More

  • The Hero Of Gilgamesh And Joseph Campbell's Hero

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gilgamesh is an example of someone who had many flaws and faced many struggles but, in the end, changed his attitude and became a better person. In the beginning of Gilgamesh, he is described as doing whatever he wants and being juvenile in a way. For example, in the text it says, “he was their shepherd, yet powerful, superb, knowledgeable and expert, Gilgamesh would not leave young girls alone, the daughters of warriors, the brides of young men.” With his second half, Enkidu, they entered into the first step in becoming a hero according to Campbell, the separation, by going on an adventure. At this point in the story, Gilgamesh is very arrogant. While traveling to Cedar Forest, Gilgamesh tells Enkidu, “let me go in front of you, and your voice call out: ‘Go close, don’t be afraid!’ If I should fall, I should have won fame. People will say, Gilgamesh grappled in combat with ferocious Humbaba… ensure fame that will last forever.” Next is stage two, the initiation, of the Campbell’s hero journey. Gilgamesh undergoes a trail to begin his transformation, he must fight the Bull of Heaven. Gilgamesh’s supportive side is starting to show when he tells Enkidu that they will win if they fight together. After killing the Bull of Heaven, Gilgamesh’s confident attitude is shown once again. The next trial he faces is the death of Enkidu. He starts to show emotion when he says, “for you Enkidu, I, like your mother, your father, will weep on your plains… I will lay you to rest on a bed of loving care… and I myself will neglect my appearance after your death.” At this point his character has been greedy and then he showed his fear and supportive side. The last stage in the hero’s journey is the return. Enkidu’s death sent Gilgamesh on an adventure to fight death. From this adventure he learned his biggest lesson from Utnapishtim. He learns to appreciate life, and

    Read More

  • Odysseus As A Hero In Homer's Odyssey

    1769 Words  | 4 Pages

    A hero is an individual that demonstrates behaviours and decisions that are ethically and emotionally worthy of awe. They are individuals that do extraordinary things and give their lives to something bigger than themselves. As a society, a hero is a champion, warrior, advocate, defender and a friend. The existence of heroes has dated back to early ancient civilizations, but has been most prominent in Ancient Greece, where Trojan War and Olympian heroes were just as important to society as the Gods. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian epic poem opens with the line, “he who gazed into the deep, the unknown, the abyss” to express what a hero must endure on a heroic quest. Heroic quests consist of confrontation of the unknown, falling into

    Read More

  • Comparing The Epic of Gilgamesh with The Odyssey

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey both are held in high respect by literature analysts and historians alike for the characterization of the hero and his companion, the imagery brought to mind when one of them is read, and the impressive length in relation to the time period it was written in. The similarities that these two epics share do not end with only those three; in fact, the comparability of these works extend to even the information on the author and the archetypes used. However, The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh contrast from one another in their writing styles, character details, and main ideas. Both epics weave together a story of a lost man who must find his way, but the path of their stories contrast from one another.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of The New Boy

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    Joseph as an individual started as a lost, depressed individual with no insight on what is happening in his life which leads to constant flashbacks to his father. The loss of Joseph 's father pointed out the feeling of how many children across this world might feel especially in places where conflict and war are still existent. This story did have a little bit of the plot focused on racism but the idea of being new and unique dominated the

    Read More

  • The appeal of epics

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    Heroes are the main characters and the focus of epics. They are set apart from others. They typically have some of these characteristics: born noble, of unusual circumstances, or of divine conception; performs one or more incredible feats; is a brave and fearsome warrior; combats supernatural or great opponents; dies and comes back to life; and attains great to godlike power. Some of these are impossible by modern skepticism, leaving them to be mythological fiction.

    Read More

  • Beowulf as an epic

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf also contains an epic hero. The title of the poem has been named after our epic hero, Beowulf. In definition, an epic hero is someone that does larger than life deeds and is stronger and smarter than any normal man; and Beowulf fits this description as if the mold were made for him. He has the strength of thirty men and uses it as a major weapon against evil. This can be seen through Beowulf’s battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon.

    Read More

More about Essay On Joseph As An Epic Hero In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Open Document