PAGE CREATED: April 23, 2001
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© 2001 dragonstar14@hotmail.com
Get your own Free Home PageHere is the paper that I've been working on for most of this past semester. In my Senior Sminar class I was assigned to take one paper from my portfolio and revised/rewrite it, in effect try to expand on the idea that I had originally come up with.
So, back when I was a freshman, I had taken a course called "Epic and Romance" in that class we read The Epic of Gilgamesh and subsquently wrote a paper on it. After that it ended up my portfolio and was forgotten about. Then I enrolled into Senior Seminar, my final requirement as an English major at SUNY Fredonia.
Over the course of the class I worked to perfect the paper I had writtened back in the Spring of 1998. When I decided to work on the Gilgamesh paper, the plan was to take the paper, which had gotten me a C orginally, and expand on that idea. But after a while I realized that I couldn't possible revised/rewrite this paper as an academic paper. There was too much too done, I needed to find an easier way to express the topic in the paper.
Once I discussed the paper with my professor, Dr. Sadowski-Smith and realized that I could revised/rewrite my paper in the form of a dramatic monologue. I'm a writer by nature and to be able to utilize my skills is more to my advantage than trying to be academically professional. So I decided that I would take Gilgamesh, the main "hero" of the epic and have him tell the audience how it felt to loose his best friend and brother.
This paper is the hard work of a semester's aim to better my writing. Please feel free to read, and then roam the rest of my pages... :-D
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Cynthia Clark
4/6/2001
Senior Seminar: Advanced Writing
Dr. Sadowski-Smith
Portfolio Rewrite
This is the story of Gilgamesh that most people do not hear about; the original story of Gilgamesh that is told is the “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” written around the third millennium B.C. around the time of Sumeria.
As you may or may not know, Gilgamesh was a king of the city, Uruk, located between the two mighty rivers in Mesopotamia, the Tigris and Euphrates. Gilgamesh was a violent and ruthless king who would challenge his subjects to duels, and because Gilgamesh is half god, half mortal he would always win these duels. After too much dueling the people of Uruk came to fear him, and there was no one to fight him anymore.
The Gods saw this and devised a plan to send an equal, a man like Gilgamesh down to Uruk, in essence to tame the king. Here we introduce the savage, Enkidu. Enkidu was a man that was created by Aruru, the goddess of creation, he was a wild and savage man of the field. He was one who roamed with the beasts and considered to be a god to the animals.
Enkidu while the answer to the problem of the uncontrollable Gilgamesh, but what transpired in the epic ended up not only calming Gilgamesh, but also nearly breaking his spirit completely.
The Enkidu idea worked so well that Gilgamesh found himself with a friend, a person who made him feel alone, because Gilgamesh was half man, half god and Enkidu was also half man, half god. After they had befriended each other, Gilgamesh had set off to prove that he was powerful and Enkidu traveled with him.
There was two tasks that Gilgamesh and Enkidu fought and won, the Humbaba, guardian of the Cedar Forest and the Bull of Heaven, the creator droughts. Gilgamesh saw these tasks as ways to prove his power and with Enkidu he felt like he could challenge the gods and win.
Gilgamesh fought these battles, ultimately, because he thought that he was doing good. To kill the Humbaba and the Bull and rid the world of evil and erect a temple to the gods, in their honour, that was Gilgamesh's plan.
It was innocent, but what Gilgamesh failed to realize was that he wasn’t all that he thought he was. He cowered at the Humbaba and his sword broke during the fight with the Bull. Both times Enkidu came to Gilgamesh’s aid, from this Enkidu ended up dying, because of the jealousy of Ishtar, the goddess of love.
The Bull had been a pet of Ishtar’s and she sought Gilgamesh, who was the lead cause of the Bull’s death, but Ishtar was vindictive of Gilgamesh as he was her betrothed and Gilgamesh found more comfort with Enkidu than she, the Goddess of Love. So she aimed her wrath against that which Gilgamesh loved which was Enkidu. Thus is the death of Enkidu.
Here we see Gilgamesh in his lament over the death of Enkidu, because he now realizes his mistakes and is trying to seek forgiveness from Enkidu. Gilgamesh thinks that Enkidu is mad at him for the battle with the Bull of Heaven.
You can only tame a stormy heart so much before all it becomes a figment of what it was, here we see how Gilgamesh is left to lament over Enkidu’s death that he believes he has caused.
“We were strong together; weak when we were apart, but strong together.” Gilgamesh stood and looked at the sun, rising high in the sky, lamenting his fallen brother and friend. “I see him there now, out there among the beasts, out in the fields, running with the ibex and antelope.
“I remember the first day he walked into Uruk. He walked in with his head held high and that Harlot hanging off of his arm. Ninsun! I was jealous; he had all the attention of the people of Uruk, MY people. Everyone seemed to rush towards him in a wave, wanting to see this savage turned civil.” Gilgamesh stopped and stared out at the sun, almost looking through it, but not burning his eyes on its hot glow. There was the old Cedar Forest in the distance. You could see a tear welling up in his eyes, though he fought to keep it down.
“All I could think of was throwing him out of Uruk. It was Ninsun, my mother, who told me that Enkidu was for me. Imagine that? She had that thing made for me, that horrible beast that loved to wander with the other lowly beasts in the field. That was supposed to be my companion? I knew that I was lonely; being a half god is not easy on a person, but this, this Enkidu was supposed to be my companion?” He stopped again, a tear fell slowly don his cheek. Staring across the once plentiful Cedar Forest, Gilgamesh watched as a herd of ibex ran across the now empty field.
“Everyone was so struck by Enkidu, that I had to eventually see what the deal was. Besides, I had no one left in Uruk willing to challenge me to a fight. They had all died or left, because of the arrogance that I possessed back then. So, maybe this Enkidu would be worth the time to train and be made into a man. He was a man to fight me. I guess I wasn’t looking at the big picture. I was missing something, something so crucial that I didn’t realize it until after Enkidu was gone.”
Gilgamesh watches from up in his tower in the centre of Uruk at the people, busying their days with the chores that make up their lives, fulfilled, while Gilgamesh is left alone in his tower. “I was wrong to think that I was the only one with the power, that I had such an ego pains me now, because Enkidu showed me that what makes a person popular is compassion, not brute force. Though I didn’t see that right away and now…” Gilgamesh chuckled to himself, lost among the people scattered below.
“I see how the people were before Enkidu came and how they acted after. They were afraid of me, because I was so violent to them, so violent at being a god stuck among men, all this before Enkidu. After he came, they respected me. Sigh! I guess Enkidu was the key; I just wish he didn’t have to die. But that’s what happens when you kill a goddess’ pet.” Gilgamesh sighs again, his thoughts on Enkidu and the past incidences that came about his death.
“I was just doing what I thought was right, ridding the world of evil, and proving to the world that Gilgamesh was something that could be good. In that quest I lost what was most precious to me.” Gilgamesh fingers a swatch of cloth, the shirt that Enkidu wore when they went to fight the Bull of Heaven.
“I knew what the Bull meant to Ishtar and I knew that she would retaliate somehow. Oh Enkidu! I’m sorry. I was just trying to prove that I was powerful and could rid the world of evil. The Bull, he was drought that was bad for the farmers, they didn’t need a drought in the middle of arid wastelands of Uruk, ” Gilgamesh bends over to cry; no one was there to say that the King of Uruk shouldn’t be weeping. The people down in the market barely noticed the tears that Gilgamesh shed for his friend.
“Oh, I was so stupid to think that my pride wouldn’t get in the way. Thinking that I was invincible, that was wrong. That was what cost me Enkidu. The one friend that I had, the one friend that my mother gave to me, the one friend that made me feel less alone, despite the fact that I had perceived him as savage when I first saw him." Sigh!
“I always seem to think about being alone now. It never was important before. It was never important to think of others, hell, I wasn’t even thinking of Enkidu when we went to kill that damnable Bull. But, here I am, lamenting my friend. I just hope that Enkidu has forgiven me of the sins that have plagued me as a half mortal, half god. I want him to know that I care for him.
“I can’t talk to anyone; they just don’t understand about being a god. That’s why I fought because at least I got people to see me, but what they saw was power and they were afraid of it. After that, I was just alone. That’s no way to live. Enkidu was the salve in that wound.
“I was given a gift, a gift to make my life better. That’s why we killed the Bull, but I really ended up killing Enkidu, with my crusade to rid the world of evil, while leaving my mark on the world, thus showing how powerful I was, but I’m not that strong, not if I kill my only friend. Now all I can do is to pay hommage to him at the temple and beg forgiveness.”
Gilgamesh walks over to an altar; he reaches down and picks up part of the sword that Enkidu used against the Bull of Heaven and along with the swatch of cloth preceded to the temple. His eyes were wide as he preceded through the market square to the temple and people moved aside to let the king pass. Stern eyed; Gilgamesh entered the temple to pay hommage to Enkidu.
“Oh, Anu! Blessed Father! I have come to pay homage to Enkidu, my friend and companion. I rest here on the altar Enkidu’s sword, that with which he fought against Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. Also for your approval, I pass this swatch of cloth from his shirt, and I ask if I may speak to my Beloved Enkidu? I seek forgiveness for being greedy, for squandering the love of Enkidu on the search for power." Gilgamesh lights some incense.
“I would rather die thousand times then know that I haven’t gotten the forgiveness of my best friend and companion.” The smoke from the incense blows off to the side, Gilgamesh nods and proceeds with his purification of his soul to his Beloved Enkidu.
“Enkidu, my friend! I come here to tell you that I am sorry for killing you. I was greedy and wanted power, and being half god; I thought that I deserved it. I didn’t realize that after you came, I didn’t need that power anymore or ever. But when we went to the Bull of Heaven I lost it, all I could see was the power I could possess if I killed the Bull, I could have had power over the gods.
“It may have been a huge victory over the gods, but it means nothing if you are not here to wrestle me or talk about the animals in the field and keeping me from being alone. I hope you can find it in your huge heart to forgive these sins.
“I plan to built a temple in your honour. I want to give you something; after all you have given me something to strive for in this world, goodness. Here in the temple of Anu, The Father, I want to offer you your sword, so that you can fight in the afterworld and this swatch of cloth to return the memory of Uruk to you, making your name something that people can remember, as I remember you and your greatness.”
For a moment no air seems to stir as the incense burns in quiet circles above Gilgamesh’s head and he bows his head on the altar. Then there is a gust of wind that blows the incense dust over Gilgamesh’s arm and warmth spreads over him. His eyes water and he sees in the distance a faint outline of Enkidu, smiling, holding the sword and wearing the shirt that he had wore on the day that he and Gilgamesh fought the Bull of Heaven.
Now the pain has left Gilgamesh’s eyes, the incense burns slows to the bottom of the dish, extinguishing itself upon the evening moonlight. Gilgamesh breathes deeply the last of the smoke from the incense. A smiles crosses his face, again he stares at where the apparition of Enkidu stood. He stands and begins the walk back to his tower, no longer alone he begins to hum a melody that he and Enkidu sung while on the search for the Humbaba. Gilgamesh is glad of his time here.
When he reaches the tower he stops, turns to look at the tower and then at the gates, which lead out to the desert, the land beyond the rivers, the massive desert of Mesopotamia. He chooses to head toward the desert, alone he ventures out away from Uruk, away from the tower, away from life, but onward toward Enkidu, onward towards to fields, towards his life.
PAGE CREATED: April 23, 2001
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© 2001 dragonstar14@hotmail.com
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