In the Babylonian story Epic Of Gilgamesh and the American movie Batman Returns both of the main characters show hero like qualities and both realized their life’s purpose through the loss of loved ones. However, Gilgamesh’s ultimate desire for immortality was selfish compared to Batman’s desire to fight crime. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is introduced as a man who was two thirds divine, one third human, and the king of Uruk. His people only thought of him as a horrible king because he only ever cared about the well being of his city and not his people. Throughout his journey, Gilgamesh’s main purpose is to seek immortality itself. Unlike Gilgamesh, Batman is fully human and instead of a king, serves as a vigilante for Gotham City. …show more content…
Batman’s initial intent was to avenge the death of his parents, but soon learned that his abilities could be used to better society. Throughout this movie Batman is in a constant head to head battle between two evil villains named the Penguin and Max Schreck. Through their actions, Gilgamesh and Batman show multiple characteristics of a hero; they both put their lives in jeopardy for the sake of others and are tenacious no matter what the situation. Batman’s pursuit to save lives would have never started if his parents had not been killed and Gilgamesh would have not gone to seek immortality if Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s equal, did not get ill and pass away. The characters goals and apparitions are the main differences between the two works. Gilgamesh and Batman shared many of the same characteristics of a hero but also differed at times. In The Epic of Gilgamesh and Batman Returns both main characters follow a “Call to Adventure” in a hero’s journey created by Joseph Campbell in 1949 which is located in the first of three steps to hero’s journeys: Separation or Departure, Trials and Victories of Initiation, and lastly the Return. Gilgamesh has a call for immortality when his dear friend Enkidu died and caused him to fear death. While Batman’s initial call was to get revenge on the person who killed his parents but then realized his true calling; saving the people of Gotham City. The role they place in their society is very detrimental making them heroic figures. Gilgamesh was known for his superhuman strength and courage while Batman was known to have no real super powers. The author of The Epic of Gilgamesh says, "[Gilgamesh] I am Gilgamesh, I killed the Guardian! I destroyed Humbaba who lived in the Cedar Forest, I slew lions in the mountain passes! I grappled with the Bull that came down from heaven, and killed him." There is an example of Gilgamesh exemplifying his powers and abilities. All of Batman’s abilities came from the use of his intelligence and skills he had acquire through large amounts of hard training. His batman suit also helped project him substantially. In Batman Returns The Penguin says, “He didn’t even loose a limb! An eyeball! Bladder control!” This was during what should have been a fatal blow to Batman but it did not injury him due to his suit. Another category under Joseph Campbell’s steps to a hero’s journey is “Freedom to Live” which is in the last of the three steps, Return. At the end of each of the works the main characters were allowed to go home worry free of everything. Gilgamesh finally realized immortality was impossible to reach even if you are two thirds divine, so he went home to his kingdom where he finally got acceptance from his people and was honored for his battles. He was free from his fears of morality and accepted every human has a fate. Batman was able to fight two deadly enemies that were trying to take of the city of Gotham and defeat them and because of this was able to go home and enjoy the holidays with his family. Batman could put his enemy the Penguin and Max Schreck in the past and no longer have to worry. Not having too worry about the past and accepting the freedom of fear are examples of “Freedom to Live” in the hero’s journey. One of the most striking seminaries between both Gilgamesh and Batman was their motives for doing what they did.
Throughout The Epic of Gilgamesh and Batman Returns the main characters incentives came from the loss of close loved ones. For Gilgamesh his friendship started when the gods created an equal to him called Enkidu. Aruru, the goddess of creation, put Enkidu on earth to teach Gilgamesh on how to be humble. Together they were seen as soul mates. Side by side with Enkidu, Gilgamesh destroys Humbaba, the monster of the Cedar Forest, and the bull sent from the gods to kill him. After overcoming these two heroic battles Enkidu gets terribly ill and dies. The author of The Epic of Gilgamesh says, “[Gilgamesh] seven days and nights I sat besides the body, weeping for Enkidu beside the body, and then I saw a worm fall out of his nose. Must I die too? Must Gilgamesh be like that? It was then I felt the fear of it in my belly. I roam the wilderness because of the fear. Enkidu, the companion whom I loved, is dirt, nothing but clay is Enkidu.” Gilgamesh, now fearing morality, does everything in his power to try to find immortality. Unlike Gilgamesh, Batman had other things to seek besides immortality. As a young boy Bruce Wayne, the person behind Batman’s identity, was walking home with his parents and got mugged; both of his parents died right before his eyes. In this very moment, his life took a drastic turn. His life purpose was to kill the man who caused him that …show more content…
indescribable pain. The motivation and determination to keep doing what their doing comes from the same exact place in both works, the main characters heart and will. Without these defining moments in these characters lives would have completely different motives for what they do. In the beginning of Batman Returns and The Epic of Gilgamesh the main characters had a selfish motive for what they wanted. Gilgamesh wants power and only cared for the well being of him, where as Batman only cared on defeating the one person who caused him the loss of his parents. After the failure to achieve his goal Batman used all of his knowledge and power he built for that one man to protect his city no matter what the costs. Gilgamesh and Batman do share this characteristic but unlike Batman it took Gilgamesh multiple failures before realizing he needs to treat his people with the respect they deserved. Throughout the entire Batman Returns, Batman never once turned his back on the people of Gotham. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh started off as the one causing burden in his city and then was forced to realize that there is no way to avoid death. As author of The Epic of Gilgamesh says, “[Siduri] Gilgamesh, where are you wandering? The life that you are seeking all around you will not find. When the gods created mankind they fixed Death for mankind, and held back Life in their own hands.” This is the moment Gilgamesh knew immortality was unachievable. Because of that specific reason Gilgamesh became a better king to Urak. It was that selfishness for immortality that blocked Gilgamesh mind from seeing the bigger picture where as Batman noticed his powers and only used them for good. Batman says, “You - you've got kind of a dark side, don't you?" This was to Cat woman saying everyone can have a bad side but its your actions that show. This why people might consider Gilgamesh to not be a hero because at one point he was doing the complete opposite of what a hero is sought to do. Batman was the ideal hero in Batman Returns. Batman in Batman Returns states, “If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely.” As you can see Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh and Batman in Batman Returns do share common ground for numerous counts of things.
Gilgamesh at the end of it all was known to truly be a great hero to his city and people as Batman was the entire movie. There are more difference than similarities obviously between the two but the similarities are percent as I showed. Every heroic story follows a basis or events and that is what Joseph Campbell created. The two works did not watch up entirely with the steps of Campbell’s idea but shared the overall common goal. As many people would not see how Gilgamesh, a mythological being, and Batman, a modern superhero, share a lot in common, the facts are there. In the end Gilgamesh’s mind opened up from selfishness and Batman continues to do what he does best but both are looked at as the ideal cultural
hero.
Often, literature is based on several heroes and their adventures. Most especially, the epic stories symbolize different countries, nations, and cultures. The authors usually shape the characteristics of these stars and profile their unique techniques of writing as well as their imaginative power. Gilgamesh is one of the most known heroes, whose character was developed in the famous “Epic of Gilgamesh” as the strongest of men, a fair judge, a brave warrior, and an ambitious builder who built the magnificent walls of Uruk to protect its people. On the other hand, there are some undesirable characteristics that he possesses such as selfishness, and arrogance mostly brought about by the fact that he is part human and part god. He is characterized
But I do know one thing, Batman was there for us when we needed him the most. He separated us from our darkest nightmares every night. He guarded our houses and protected our families, our friends, and our children. Batman stood up for what he believed, he always had us, the people of Gotham in his best interest. What more could we have asked Batman to do? I could stand up here and say "I never knew the man," but that might not be the truth. During my life, I have known many men, many men who are full of strength, courage, and virtue. Any of these men could have been the Batman and I would have never been aware. However good men still walk among us today, even without Batman. These good men and women are my hope, my consolation for
Heroes, the unordinary beings with extravagant abilities, from powers and competence to skills and talents. Heroes are people who are idealized by society for their courage and individuality. Iconic and well recognized heroes like Hercules, Superman, Spiderman and Achilles are some of the few heroes known around. All heroes have a similarity to each other, for example Beowulf and Batman. While both can be considered great heroes, they differ significantly, yet are similar in other ways.
Gilgamesh and Odysseus are two heroes from two different time periods that were both in search of the meaning of life. The epics that the two characters are featured in Gilgamesh, was developed from early Mesopotamia and the Odyssey in early Greece. Gilgamesh was a very popular and it was very valuable to the historian of Mesopotamian culture because it reveals much about the religious world, such as their attitudes toward the gods, how a hero was defined and regarded, views about death and friendship.
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.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known stories, recounts the tale of the reckless King Gilgamesh and his adventures with his friend Enkidu, a natural man created by the gods from clay to humble and teach Gilgamesh to become a better ruler. Through Enkidu’s death, the once fearless Gilgamesh becomes fearful of his own inevitable demise and journeys to find immortality. However, by finding compassion for his humanity, he is able to come to terms with his mortality and continue living wholeheartedly as the ruler of Uruk. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh learns to accept his mortality by gaining compassion for himself.
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
In the beginning of the Iliad and The Epic of Gilgamesh there are similarities in the behavior of the leading characters. Gilgamesh and Achilles both have problems managing their emotions. For Gilgamesh the issue is in the form of sexual conquest and abuse of power. For Achilles it is pride and fury that causes problems for the hero. It could be said that these behaviors show how the heroes deal with and internalize feelings as well as emotions. Another similarity is how the loss of their comrades causes a transformation in the protagonists. In the Iliad the hero Achilles suffers the loss of his close comrade, Patroclus, and likewise in The Epic of Gilgamesh he experiences the death of Enkidu. The deaths of these comrades serve as a catalyst
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
Batman is a hero during the night that protects the people of Gotham city to the best of his capability and is willing to sacrifice everything, even his true identity. Then there is Bruce Wayne, who is a very rich, spoiled playboy that does not care about anything other than him and the luxurious lifestyle he lives. The ideological struggle between Batman and Bruce Wayne is very important in this book because everyone at some point struggles between who they actually are and who they want to be. The way Frank Miller portrays the struggle in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is truly a work of
The Epic of Gilgamesh has many similarities to the Bible, especially in Genesis and it’s not just that the both begin with the letter “g”’! One major similarity being the flood story that is told in both works. The two stories are very similar but also very different. Another being the use of serpents in both works and how they represent the same thing. A third similarity being the power of God or gods and the influence they have on the people of the stories. Within these similarities there are also differences that need to be pointed out as well.
The plot of Batman Begins mainly focuses on the origins and psychology behind Batman, and how he copes with the struggles he faces. One major thing that changed the course of the story, was the death of the Thomas and Martha Wayne. It formed an emotion change in the story that effects Bruce Wayne and all of Gotham to arise the struggles and problems that will be faced in the rest of the movie. Another key point in the story was the seven-year disappearance of Bruce Wayne. When in the Chinese prison it would also discipline him, which was something that he hadn’t had much of before. The meeting of Ras Al Ghul and his further training were also key experiences to develop Bruce Wayne into Batman. These were the some of the building blocks in the plot. The plot of The Dark Knight was very different to Batman Begins. The main plot is that Batman has limits and Gotham needed a different hero, whereas, in Batman Begins, Batman was the hero and didn’t think he had any limits. The foundation of the Dark Knight was more of what had happened in the few absent years between the two movies, and not what would happen. The
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...
For Batman, he is a famous person with high social class. His image is a successful businessman and on the other hand he is a hero to save the city. He is very strong and well body shape. When he catches the thief, he acts independently. He will not ask for help and refuse the others involve although he gets hurt. He is very clever and very calm. He will first plan before he takes action.