Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The nature of heroism essay
The nature of heroism essay
Gilgamesh archetypes essays
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The nature of heroism essay
First off, it take much more than courage to be a hero; it takes doing the right thing and putting others before yourself no matter what. Thus, while those of his time considered Gilgamesh a hero; his quest for immortality instead of running his kingdom pointed out that he was missing a least one trait. Consequently, it was Gilgamesh’s attitude which caused most of the misfortunes recorded within this epic; a mindset change earlier on would unquestionably given all the individuals of the story a more favorable outcome. Furthermore, cogitating himself as a superior person over the rest of mankind for most of this epic; proves that even though Gilgamesh had the bravery needed for a hero he lacked the extremely kind heart. Moreover,
Merriam- Webster online dictionary defines an epic hero as, “ A grand and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or effected by grand events.” The same dictionary also defines an epic poem as, “a story told about a hero or exciting events.” The Epic of Gilgamesh is often considered the oldest story on earth; which would make Gilgamesh, the story’s controversial main character, and the world’s oldest epic hero. This epic set a precedent for all epics to follow; it displayed most of the traits that society commonly perceives an epic hero and epic poem should have. The Epic of Gilgamesh exhibits tendencies of an epic poem through its inclusion of an epic hero, multiple gods and goddesses, and it’s vast array of settings across the world. Additionally, Gilgamesh presents attributes of an epic hero through his quest for immortality, his noble birth and his battles with superhuman foes.
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. Throughout the story, 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.
After reading The Epic of Gilgamesh, I have come to realize that Gilgamesh is not a hero, but a failure. His journey does not follow the traditional circular hero’s journey and he does not posses the traits that an admirable hero should have.
In both Ancient Anglo-Saxon and Ancient Mesopotamian cultures, works of literature portray heroes such Beowulf and Gilgamesh, and the heroic values that they possessed. The heroes, Beowulf and Gilgamesh, had both similar and dissimilar heroic values, however, Beowulf was by far a better hero than Gilgamesh. While Beowulf and Gilgamesh both possessed remarkable strength and courage, Beowulf was fearless and selfless, which makes him a true hero. After comparing the two texts, it is fair to say that Ancient Anglo-Saxons abide by stricter guidelines in terms of heroic values.
In many literary works we see significant transitions in the hero's character as the story is developed. This is also true in the Epic of Gilgamesh with its hero, Gilgamesh. In this narrative poem, we get glimpses of who Gilgamesh is and what his purposes and goals are. We see Gilgamesh act in many different ways -- as an overbearing ruler resented by his people, a courageous and strong fighter, a deflated, depressed man, and finally as a man who seems content with what he's accomplished. Through all of these transitions, we see Gilgamesh's attitude toward life change. The goals he has for his own life alter dramatically, and it is in these goals that we see Gilgamesh's transition from being a shallow, ruthless ruler to being an introspective, content man.
...king them personally aspire to be great. Gilgamesh is a hero for his unbelievable actions, and the adoration he received from his people. Enkidu may not be the hero Gilgamesh is but he can be considered quite the hero even by himself. Monkey was able to accomplish some incredible feats in his many lifetimes. Tripitaka, while not as much of a hero as Monkey, was invaluable to the success of the journey and was greatly rewarded because of it. Becoming a hero is not an easy task. There is a reason these characters are so well known from these literary classics. They reached for the sky in their achievements, and had plenty of successes along the way. It is not easy to become a hero, but if you do you live on forever in the hearts and minds of the future generations as you are remembered. Therefore, Gilgamesh did obtain the immortality he always sought after.
Out of the two men, Gilgamesh was far braver than Oedipus. He risked his life a number of times when he was in the company of his friend Enkidu. In addition, he risked his life following Enkidu's death whilst he went to uncover the secret of life and death to save Enkidu. Gilgamesh believed that he could do anything, "Gilgamesh, who feared nothing, might have been expected to say, `then it's I who will go out and subdue him [Enkidu] and bring him captive to the city'"(Bryson, 5). Gilgamesh would have fought any monster or conquered any feat that stood in his way. Following the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh was determined to unearth the secret of life and death to bring his friend back from the afterlife. He had to cross many dangerous paths which "no one who [was] alive [could] cross..." however, he never gave up and finally reached Enkidu.
Ever since the beginning of time, man has learned to mature by trials and tribulations. In the beginning of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the protagonist Gilgamesh appears to be an arrogant person who only cares about himself. He abuses all his powers and takes advantage of people with his physical abilities. Basically in the beginning he thinks that no one on earth is better than him. However, just like all epic poems, the protagonist encounters many challenges that make him a better person. So as the story progresses Gilgamesh slowly starts to change his personality. Various events help transform this tyrant to a humble person.
Gilgamesh is an epic of great love, followed by lingering grief that causes a significant change in character. It is the story of a person who is feared and honored, a person who loves and hates, a person who wins and loses and a person who lives life. Gilgamesh's journey is larger than life, yet ends so commonly with death. Through Gilgamesh, the fate of mankind is revealed, and the inevitable factor of change is expressed.
This is the most important criteria that determine if one is really a hero is returning from the journey. Since hero’s journey is the process of growing up (Segal, 93), Campbell’s criteria said, if hero returns with elixir or changes into a better person for society, then he or she had a hero’s journey. Therefore, the first journey of Gilgamesh is not a hero journey even though he had the great supporters, threshold and heroic effort. Even before Gilgamesh started his first journey to the cedar forest, he was strong and a self-centeredness person. He was selfish and did not care how much people around him suffered because of his behavior, such as rape women and wives of nobles. Gilgamesh was still the same person after he completed the mission. Then how and why Gilgamesh is a
In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the characters and their lesson arise as the most memorable
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
In the epic of Gilgamesh, there are many complex characters. Every character involved in the story has their own personality and traits.
Gilgamesh was considered a hero because he had many great qualities, such as loyalty, perseverance, and heroism. Although these are heroic traits, he also had his flaws and was self-righteous, selfish, and prideful. Gilgamesh was a great man and was seen as flawless and “perfect in strength” (4). He represented almost a human version of a god; therefore, making it hard to see his flaws because he seems so ideal. He appeared like the perfect man that had absolutely nothing wrong with him. He was very courageous and this was evident when he states, “There dwells in the forest the fierce monster Humbaba, [You and I shall] kill [him] [And] wipe out [something evil from the land]” (18). This statement shows both a heroic quality and a flaw in Gilgamesh. It shows his heroism and how he felt that he could accomplish great things. His statement also shows how prideful he was because he always wanted the glory and wanted to be seen as the hero. This comes from the fact that he was part human and part god and he knew how amazing everyone thought he was and felt that he needed to live up to that expectation. This can be seen as both positive and negative because it shows his determination, but yet shows his pride. Being prideful is not necessarily a good thing because in this situati...
Of all the many similarities of The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey, the sharing of the main character’s archetype can be considered to be the most significant similarity of the two epics. Odysseus, the main character of The Odyssey, and Gilgamesh, the main character of The Epic of Gilgamesh, both fall under the character archetype of a hero, the man in charge of saving the day. This sameness implies that the two characters had similar fates and characteristics; both had the distinct traits of a hero. Both Odysseus and Gilgamesh were kings, strong, brave, and blessed by the gods. In addition, they both angered a god and suffered from the consequences. In The Odyssey, Odysseus had to change his route to avoid Poseidon’s wrath. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh angered Ishtar which consequently led to Enkidu’s death as a punishment ( “The Epic of Gilgamesh” 29). Both Gilgamesh and Odysseus had elements of arrogance in their personalities, and it was their arrogance that backlashed and caused...