Gilgamesh Rhetorical Analysis

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In the epic poem Gilgamesh, King Gilgamesh goes on a humbling journey that helps him develop his flawed character. Gilgamesh develops a homosocial relationship as he travels alongside Enkidu. However, after Enkidu’s passing, he grows a fear of death, and goes on another quest seeking the answer to immortality. Gilgamesh’s desire for immortality quickly becomes more of an obsession once he realizes he is still human. Through the use of repetition and imagery, the poem shows that Gilgamesh’s need to be remembered soon becomes less of an obsession, as he begins to accept that he is a mortal but finds a legacy to leave behind through his city, Uruk. Enkidu’s passing uncovered Gilgamesh’s fear of mortality, and his obsession towards immortality. …show more content…

Utnapishtim shares his knowledge about a magical “…plant that grows under the waters,/ thorny to seize…” (79). So Gilgamesh, anxiously tied a couple of rocks to his feet to retrieve “…the thorny plant that cut his hands...” (80). The repetition and image of the thorny plant demonstrate his obsession for immortality; he did not mind the thorns, or that it was underwater, he found a way to get the plant and finally obtain immortality. Since Gilgamesh was a hubris man, it was unexpected when he announces that “he will carry the thorny plant back to [his] city./ [Where he] will give some of the plant to the elders…to share among them…and [then he] will take [his] share of the magic plant/…” (80). Although the image and repetition of the thorny plant continue to show his obsession with immortality, it also shows Gilgamesh’s change in character when instead of keeping the whole plant for himself, like one would have expected at the beginning, he decides to share the plant with the people back in his city. His change in character demonstrates how he went from being a hubris tyrant who only saw himself as a god, to a humble person who wanted to share his gift of immortality with everyone. His visit to Utnapishtim led him to find the magical plant that can make him

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