Free Essay Sample «Gilgamesh and Enkidu»

The friendship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh began in a strange manner. First, they treated each other like the worst enemies; none of them could understand and except the life of another. However, after they fought almost to death, something has changed in their perception of each other. Enkidu and Gilgamesh could realize the strength and determination of each other, and, after that case, they became very close friends. Enkidu and Gilgamesh were created as opposites to each other; naturally, they could never be friends, though they did. Enkidu was created to embody negative, wild and animal beginning, while Gilgamesh was the embodiment of good and light beginning (Mitchell). These two characters had no chances to become friends because they performed opposite roles in the world. Nevertheless, Gilgamesh could show another way of life to Enkidu; as a result, the last one agreed to follow his new friend’s advice.

When gods got to know about it, they did not like the fact that Enkidu and Gilgamesh became friends. In order to change that fact, gods killed Gilgamesh; he was dying during six days, and all this time Enkidu did not leave his friend. When Enkidu buried Gilgamesh, he became a wanderer and traveled alone around the world. The death of his friend depressed him so much that he could not accept it and started thinking about contemplating the meaning of life. He knew about a plant that could give the eternal life, but when Enkidu almost got it, the plant faded. After the death of Gilgamesh, everybody says about his significant contribution to life and what he did to Enkidu.

The friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu can be examined from many points of view; it can be viewed as the equilibrium in the world, the opposition between good and evil, the role of friendship in people’s life and others. Hence, as it was said above, Gilgamesh and Enkidu demonstrated two opposite forces of the world. They were created by gods to bring the balance in this world and thus, they should always be enemies. However, when Gilgamesh and Enkidu wanted to change that fact, a disaster happened and led to the Gilgamesh’s death (Tigay). In fact, such friendship was impossible not because the characters were too different, but because the existence of this friendship did not correspond to the principle of life in the world. Every piece in this world has something that is opposite to it; this is the way the world can exist. Despite the fact, that evil is always demonstrated as an awful force and good is a positive one, they cannot exist without each other. However, this existence should demonstrate the contrast, but not similarity.

When Enkidu and Gilgamesh met for the first time, they were the embodiment of these two forces, and the world was in a harmony. However, when they became friends, they changed the balance in the world. Enkidu decided to change his way of life and joined Gilgamesh, though it was impossible because it was crucial for the whole world. One may also compare the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu as the existence of evil and good. These two forces should always exist, because without evil, there cannot be good and vice versa. Hence, there should always be an opposite force that will encourage the other force to grow; this is the manner the world exists and moves.

The relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh can be also observed from the point of view of human relations and the impact of friendship on life. Before Enkidu met Gilgamesh, he was cruel and wild; the friendship is what made him take a look at the world from another angle and change his mind. According to this fact, it can be said that a phenomenon of friendship makes people see the world wider. The fact that Enkidu cannot accept the fact that his friend was dead, states that his perception of the world was different. Earlier, he would probably ignore the fact of one’s death or did not pay so much attention to it. However, after Gilgamesh’s death everything has changed; even Enkidu was not the same. Moreover, it is said that Endiku became a wanderer and started walking around the world, thinking about the sense of life. Then he knew about a plant that can give the eternal life. One cannot say for sure, why Enkidu became so concerned about the sense of life and immortality, though he saw many deaths and killed people and animals before.

The reason why Enkidu was searching for a plant can probably explained by his unwillingness to accept the balance that exists in the world. Hence, it can be said that a friendship was a point of no return for Enkidu; since he became a friend for Gilgamesh, he decided to change his life. Indeed, the meaning of friendship in people’s life plays a significant role. For some people, friendship is even more important than life or duty, it is the biggest value in the life. The story about Enkidu and Gilgamesh introduces many aspects of life; the issue of morality, the struggle between good and evil and the friendship as a thing that can make a difference in a human’s life.