Gilgamesh: a Hero’s Journey Essay

Gilgamesh, written by David Ferry, illustrates a point rough a man who knows al personal mannersything, precisely continues to try and learn more. Although Gilgamesh whitethorn be arrogant, he still remains a great ruler and commander of Uruk. finished unwrap the book, the ad chances of Gilgamesh fit Joseph Campbells idea of the haceks travel. by and by analyzing the pieces to the supporters expedition, Gilgamesh is advancen to be a received bomber because his travel parallels that of the heros journey set forth by Campbell.The latter(prenominal) percent of this paper will prove Gilgamesh is a hero using Campbells model, by analyzing the pieces of the heros journey breakup or departure, the initiation, and the return. The first grammatical constituent of the heros journey is separation or departure. This first piece is comprised of a scream to adventure, acceptance of the call, supernatural aid, and the pass through of the door. Campbell explains in a heros journe y, a herald calls the hero to pose on a journey. This dower is set forth in Gilgamesh when Enkidu comes to lease Gilgamesh to go on a quest.Enkidu tells Gilgamesh about Huwawa, the guardian of the cedar tree Forest, who is frightening every be. After hearing about Huwawa, Gilgamesh accepts the call to adventure and says, It is Gilgamesh who will venture into the Forest/and cut the Cedar take d avouch and win the glory (Ferry 17). Both the call to adventure and acceptance atomic number 18 stand for in the beginning of the book. The attached component that falls under the same family of separation or departure is a supernatural aid. Gilgamesh receives supernatural aid from Shamash, the paragon of heaven.Ninsun, Gilgameshs mother, asks the god to help comfort her son and Enkidu time they are on their quest. When Shamash sees him setting out on the road,/or in the sight passes, or pop off into the Forest, may Shamash guard and keep him safe. / And may the stars, the watc h workforce of the night,/watch over Gilgamesh and the companion (Ferry 20). subsequently on, when Gilgamesh and Enkidu struggle to champion Huwawa, Shamash does help by creating winds and earthquakes. This supernatural aid continues to prove Gilgamesh is in fact a hero. Crossing the threshold is the closing component of separation or departure.Campbell explains this as leaving a mankind you know and entering a humanity that is unknown. In the book, Gilgamesh and Enkidu quit Uruk afterwards tour Rimat-Ninsun. and then from the Seven-Bolt Gate the cardinal departed,/hearing the warnings and blessings of the metropolis (Ferry 20). As the two companions leave the city they know so hale and begin their journey into the land they are unfamiliar with, they cross their threshold. Since all of the fractions of separation or departure are met in the beginning of the story, Gilgamesh continues to meet the criteria to be a hero.The second piece needed for a heros journey is initi ation, which includes the roads of trials, the belly of the whale, meetings, attonement with the father, and the ultimate boon. Gilgameshs fight against Huwawa was one of many gainsays he had during his journey. Then Gilgamesh was afraid, and Enkidu/was afraid, and they entered into the Forest, afraid (Ferry 26). Just as a hero would act, Gilgamesh didnt allow his fears get the best of him, hardly instead he entered the Forest to fight Huwawa. another(prenominal) challenge Gilgamesh faces later in the story is fleck the Twin Dragon Scorpion Beings.When he came to the mountain and saw the monster, fear spread through his body, entirely he didnt let it stop him from his goal. Terror in the body of Gilgamesh/seized hold of him from within and held him there/in terror. But then, in terror, he went foregoing (Ferry 50). These two monsters are just two of the challenges Gilgamesh needs to overcome during his journey. Enemies and tragedies are excessively components of initiation. Campbell describes enemies as something out to get you, and sometimes trying to kill you. An enemy that Gilgamesh encounters is Ishtar.Ishtar wants Gilgamesh to be with her, however he denies her request and devalues her. necrosis and anger lead Ishtar to her father and asks him for the diddly-squat of Heaven. Give me the dickhead of Heaven that I may punish/Gilgamesh the king, who has found out/and told about the foulness of the goddess. /Give me the Bull of Heaven with which to kill him (Ferry 32). Enemies are part of the heros journey to find out the heroes a lesson. Gilgamesh learns actions contrive consequences and to respect saintly places. Kings dont al instructions remember things through before they act, and their ego gets them into trouble.Gilgameshs companion dies as a way to teach Gilgamesh that death is more the right way than anything else, and even a king shadowert save him. Through the disaster of Enkidus death, the hero, Gilgamesh, grows and becomes a diff erent ego. Another element of initiation is the belly of the whale. It shows a hero is serious and willing to die. The hero is a impertinently person, who is focused after been through hell and back. After Gilgameshs companion dies, he becomes very depressed. He made his way, companionless, to the stop/of the second league. short getless, black. /There was nothing behind or before, nothing at all (Ferry 51).Gilgamesh is in a serious state of depression. The enunciate choice of complete swarthiness is tidy because there is always a light somewhere, and it is never completely dark. Complete darkness is the underworld. This is Gilgameshs dying part of his journey. He needs to go through this and when he comes out on the other complete he becomes a different individual. He becomes a new person from creation through hell and coming out. The next component to initiation is meetings. Campbell describes this as both meetings with the gods or meeting a temptress. Gilgamesh encoun tered temptress during his journey.Veiled Siduri is a tavern flight attendant who wants Gilgamesh to blend it up, have fun, and stay with her. She tells him, The keep of man is short. Only the gods/ rouse resilient forever. Therefore put on new clothes,/ a clean robe and a cloak tied with a sash,/ and lap up the filth of the journey from your body. / Eat and suck up your fill of the viands and drink/men eat drink your fill of the food and drink/men eat and drink. allow there be pleasure and spring(Ferry 57). Siduri tries to distract Gilgamesh from completing his journey, but luckily Gilgamesh resisted. Attonement with the father is yet another element of initiation in the heros journey.This is the moment in their life when they pee they need to let their old self go and understand how to become their own self. Campbell uses the term rebirth to describe this element. During Gilgameshs lonesome journey, he changed completely from how he used to be. He was always described as arrogant and oppressive to his people, but he matures during the events in his journey. When Gilgamesh speaks to Utnapishtim he says, ordinate me then, father, how it came about/that you were admitted to the company/of gods, who granted you stark(a) life(Ferry 65).Gilgamesh never normally listens to anyone, but after maturing, he now thinks he place learn from Utnapishtim. It is rare for Gilgamesh to ever listen to anyone else because he thinks he knows everything the best, but attonement with the father provides an explanation for why Gilgamesh changed. The last component of the initiation step to the heros journey is the ultimate boon. This is when a hero will end up getting what he wanted if he made the right decisions. Ultimately, Gilgamesh did not get what he was looking for at the end of his journey, but it was the journey nd lesson that was meaningful, not necessarily something tangible.When he finally got the plant, it was stolen from him about immediately. The lesson h e learned was that no division how hard a person whole works for something, it may be unattainable. He in like manner realized that there is no way to avoid death. Since all of the components of initiation the Tempter up to Gilgameshs journey, the endorse that he is a hero becomes stronger. The third and final step of the heros journey is the return. Uruk may not have changed while Gilgamesh was away, but he now sees the city in a different light.He accepts he will not have eternal life, but if he rules the city of Uruk well, it will continue to grow and live on after him. Although there can be some discrepancy on whether Gilgamesh is truly a hero, the answer can be found by examine Gilgamesh to the difference pieces of the heros journey. After analyzing every component of separation or departure, initiation, and the return, it is clear that Gilgamesh is proven to be a hero. Every step of Gilgameshs journey follows this model almost exactly, which provides strong evidence for this conclusion.