Epic Of Gilgamesh Analysis

The Epic of Gilgamesh by Donna Rosenberg revealed the tale of the two-thirds god and one-third mortal king, Gilgamesh, whose biggest fear was the common fate of all human beings - death. Throughout his journey to find immortality, the story portrayed various examples of different categories of archetypes that influenced the passage, and added to the overall meaning of the text. The most important archetypes that impacted the plot of the story include Gilgamesh’s heroic characteristics, Enkidu’s death, and the idea of immortality. The hero archetype is a very important example presented all through the story as it represents Gilgamesh’s heroic characteristics. The fact that “Gilgamesh was two-thirds god and one-third man… he was as willful
“Ever since Enkidu died, I have felt that he took my life with him on his journey to the House of Darkness and Dust” (Rosenberg 195). Enkidu’s death stripped Gilgamesh of his innocence, and proved that Gilgamesh had the same tragic fate as Enkidu as long as he was mortal. Looking at the overall meaning of the text, this climax really changed the pace of the passage, and showed Gilgamesh’s vulnerability. “‘I must travel as quickly as my feet will take me to the home of Utanapishtim… he has found everlasting life’” (Rosenberg 191). Other than his loss of innocence, Enkidu’s death also caused Gilgamesh to gain willpower, and determination to go on his almost impossible journey to find the secret of avoiding death. Moreover, the quote explains how desperate he was to become immortal, since the idea of being able to live forever was the one last thing he needed as a man to be the mightiest, and everlasting king of Uruk. Overall, the unbreakable wound is one of the key archetypes which stands for Enkidu’s death and how it changed Gilgamesh, that really stressed the way that Gilgamesh felt about being