Gilgamesh

`Being an anti-hero is easier than being a hero. Despite the fact that some heroes follow the hero journey and do what heroes are expected to do, and that their fate is to be heroic, often they still do unheroic actions in life. Heroes are called heroes because of the great actions they do, but they must also defeat the anti-hero in themselves. In the Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Stephen Mitchell Gilgamesh and Enkidu are called hero and follow the hero journey but they do something anti-heroic.  What the epic shows us is that the person who are called hero aren’t perfect. They also have anti-hero side. However, Gilgamesh and Enkidu follow the steps of the hero journey and are transformed at last. They learn to embrace their own life.

      Enkidu is a trusting, caring hero, but he is persuaded to acts antiheroically. His purpose is to be friends with Gilgamesh so he kill Humbaba only because he thinks he don’t want to leaves Gilgamesh alone. At first he doesn’t want to kill Humbaba “Enkidu said, “who is brave enough / to enter the Cedar Forest? / It is sacred. Enlil has said that no person may enter the forest. / He put Humbaba in the forest to terrify men. We must not go on this journey. We must not fight Humbaba.””(Book III P16) but then, when Gilgamesh still wants to kill Humbaba Enkidu agrees because he think Gilgamesh is his friend. At the end, he even encourages Gilgamesh to kill Humbaba “Enkidu said, “Dear friend, don’t listen / to anything that the monster says. / Kill him before you become confused.”” (Book V)This sentence shows that Enkidu wants Gilgamesh to kills innocent creature only because he thinks he have to stand by Gilgamesh’s side. He curses others. When he is on his death bed, he says, “As for the wretched trapper who found me/ when I was free in the wilderness/ he destroyed my life. / Destroy his livelihood. / May no animals ever enter his traps. /May he starve for bringing me here. /” “Shamhat, I curse you with the ultimate curse./ Never may you have a home and family./ Never may you caress a child of your own./ May your man prefer younger and prettier girls./ May he beat you as a housewife beats a rug……””(Book VII) This tells us that Enkidu curses people because he think that all others’ focus. Like those chose were all decide by himself but he though that’s people who gives he the chance made him to do those decision. That’s why he curses those innocence people.

      In the end Enkidu learns to accept life and transforms. In Book VII after Enkidu heard what Shamash said he feel guilty so then he changed the fate of Shamhat”When Enkidu heard this, his raging heart grew clam. / He thought of Shamhat and said, Shamhat I give you a different fate./ My mouth that cursed you will bless you now./ May you be adored by princes./ May your lover tremble with excitement when you are a mile away./ May Ishtar give you generous lovers…… ” (Book VII) that tell us he become kind in the end because he know to curse people is wrong because those are good people and they let him know how to be a human and at last he change it.

Gilgamesh also present as an anti- hero at first he force people do something. ”They call him protector of the people/ they call him flood. He tramples his citizens lie a wild bull/ He is king. His dose whatever he wants/ He takes the son from his father and makes him fight/ He takes the daughter from his mother and uses her the way he wants to.”(Book I) This shows us what Gilgamesh do to his citizens and how people are afraid of him so that they have no idea to deal with those problem. This is the bad things what Gilgamesh did and it shows the anti-hero side of Gilgamesh also it describe what his citizens think about him. “Gilgamesh the king of Uruk will come/ He will be the first to mate with the wife.”(Book II)This also shows his anti-hero side by describe what he actually did when he is the king.

He also transforms at the end, “When they arrived, Gilgamesh/ said to Urshanabi, “This is / the wall of Uruk. No other city on earth can equal Uruk./ See how the wall shines like copper in the sun……””(Book XI) This shows he change because he want other look at the city of Uruk but no himself, he doesn’t said to Urshanabi those are all he did but said this is the city of Uruk. He transforms at last because he understand the life and what means to be a hero. This is the heart of the story and it follow the hero journey. It doesn’t said straightly about if Gilgamesh changed, but it shows how Gilgamesh changed by write what he say to Urshanabi. What he said shows us he is not only looking at himself any more, that’s what he actually change.