"The Epic Of Gilgamesh": Main Character Analysis

In everything we read, there will always be the main idea and those who make are a part of it such as character analysis. Most times we can identify who the antagonist and protagonist are, but do we know who they are and how they are represented and viewed by others? In the story Gilgamesh, the main characters are himself, Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and Humbaba. There are many others, but these three are the main elements in the story, which change throughout the beginning and ending, for the good and bad, and some that have sympathy. In this essay, we will try to analyze the main characters of The Epic of Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh is known to be a mankind and even god as they have given him this role. Man people like the characters in the story and we readers deceive Gilgamesh by the way he is given out for most of the book. As one-third of mankind and two-thirds god, he tends to not demonstrate the god side; mankind is what he does. For example, think of an actual god that takes advantage of a woman's virginity before she gives herself to her soon-to-be husband. “His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute”. Like the audacity, he had to call himself a god and others didn’t have the strength or even words to tell him something. He is seen to be disgusted and even selfish throughout the beginning of the story until he is then going to meet up with a special person who changes him toward the end.

Enkidu, an object made out of clay from the reader’s point of view, thanks him for being a part of Gilgamesh’s life due to making him see things differently. The way that Enkidu was firmed and brought into the “world,” is by the other gods and goddesses and they made him of clay so that he can be shapable and able to be turned in certain ways just like if you were playing with playdoh. “She dipped her hands in water and pinched off clay, she let it fall in the wilderness, and noble Enkidu was created.' Enkidu can be described as someone that ended up being Gilgamesh's best friend. He was a positive role model for the protagonist in which telling him that taking advantage of those innocent women and killing the sons of many fathers was right, but not what a god should demonstrate. As we all loved Enkidu, the development of the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu came to the end of a slow and painful death. Gilgamesh had then developed a sense of mankind's characteristic which was grieving.

Humbaba is represented as a character who demonstrates nature, the unknown, and even fear. “As for Humbaba, when he roars it is like the torrent of the storm, his breath is like fire and his jaws are death itself”. In this text, it can be said that Humbaba was a powerful man that was guarding the Cedar Forest. Many of those who had to go through this was fearful when coming close to or even in contact with Humbaba, even so as Gilgamesh and Enkidu. As the story carries on, it is then demonstrated that Humbaba is unknown, even the palace of Cedar Forest. “You have moved him and now he sets out on a long journey to the Land of Humbaba, to travel an unknown road and fight a strange battle,”. Humbaba impacted the story in ways that he was trying to protect the Cedar Forest from any negativity and harm. Then Gilgamesh doesn’t see it that way and kills Humbaba. As we all know that Enkidu was a positive impact on Gilgamesh, there is a plot twist when he, Enkidu, influences Gilgamesh to finish Humbaba. Who would’ve known that in this story so many things can relate to the real world?

In Today’s society, this book can be relative to a person being very negative and they have someone enter their life that is only supposed to be seasonal like so Enkidu. With the time of seasons, come the consequences with it. People that we may interact with can shape us into the people we are today, even if they were toxic or even our long-term friends. Like so in this story it has many lessons that can be taken out of just character analysis. They all turned out to change throughout the story such as Gilgamesh who was perfect and ended up growing a friendship with Enkidu that was sadly taken away from him and he grieved for him. Enkidu was just supposed to impact Gilgamesh positively but had to grow mankind's way to understand and help him get through an obstacle, and Humbaba to demonstrate the evils and positives he did and what the other two did.

In conclusion, the elements of each of these characters were to see many perspectives of the readers and other parts of the point of view. The story, Epic of Gilgamesh was impacted strongly even by Today’s society or even the developing generations.