The Epic of Gilgamesh

I think the travels of Gilgamesh and Enkidu were probably the least interesting part of this section. It was a small section, but they did almost the exact same thing every day. In general, when someone goes on a journey there’s danger and fighting, but this was very simple. The dreams were the most exciting part of this, and they were just kind of intense.

I really like the descriptions used throughout this epic. Everything seems vibrant and full of life. There’s also a surprising amount of specificity. There’s a lot of specificity mentioned in relation to distances and heights, but what surprises me is that there are also general descriptions, with scenery and color.

Enkidu and Gilgamesh have an excellent sense of teamwork. I think is obvious in many different ways: when they are traveling to take down Humbaba, when they are traveling to take down Ishtar, and the actual combat with Ishtar. They both communicate while they are attempting to bring Ishtar down. They also plan out how to destroy him before they actually make it that far.

It’s really interesting that as interested in treasure and glory as Gilgamesh is, Enkidu never really has that same kind of drive. It seems like he could honestly care less whether or not he has anything of the same things Gilgamesh seems to crave.

Enkidu is kind of dramatic. He spends multiple pages basically romanticizing his death. So far, I believe that’s the most anyone has talked at one time throughout this epic. I was expecting a dramatic battle to the death, but I certainly wasn’t expecting Enkidu to simply drop dead from illness. That makes his monologue significantly more dramatic. Also, it’s kind of depressing that he doesn’t die in battle, because as he says, no one will remember him. I’m impressed, however, by how much Gilgamesh mourns his friend. The second longest amount of time is spent with Gilgamesh incessantly praising his dead friend. Gilgamesh also is dramatic, so it doesn’t seem quite as unexpected as it was when Enkidu did the exact same thing.

I think it shows how much Gilgamesh appreciated his friend in relation to how after he’s done mourning, Gilgamesh decides to wander aimlessly for a while. However, it’s probably not a good idea for this scorpion thing to continue to compliment Gilgamesh, as it already seems whatever anyone says goes to his head. However, as much as every single person Gilgamesh seems to mention about how amazing he is seems to give substantial evidence that he is probably as impressive as everyone makes him out to be.

I’m kind of wondering about the significance of lapis lazuli. This is something incredibly specific that they’ve mentioned many times.

I’m slightly concerned about how willing Gilgamesh is to listen to this person, just so he doesn’t have to worry about death, at least temporarily, and hopefully in the long run. I am impressed, however, with how much of a hard worker Gilgamesh is. He does all this work on his own, with no guarantee of an outcome of immortality. He obvious really wants immortality, but if the main reason is because of Enkidu dying, then at least that is slightly redeeming. If the only reason he wants it, however, is because he wants to be immortal and is using Enkidu’s death as an excuse, then there is absolutely nothing redeeming about that whatsoever.

I’m disappointed with how the most exciting parts are when all that is happening is excessive monologue. I’m interested to see where this goes from here. The title for the next section seems like an interesting segue.