Examples of Essay Prompts on “Gilgamesh and Enkidu” The Dynamic Duo: How do the contrasting qualities of Gilgamesh and Enkidu contribute to the strength of their friendship? Explore the specific traits and behaviors that make Gilgamesh and Enkidu such a unique and complementary pair in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Impact of Pride and Humility Analyze the role of pride in Gilgamesh and Enkidu's character development and their friendship. Discuss how Gilgamesh's pride and Enkidu's humility shape their decisions and interactions throughout the story. Gods, Mortals, and Friendship Examines the influence of divine and mortal qualities on the personalities of Gilgamesh and Enkidu and their friendship. Consider how their partial divinity and humanity influence their moral values ​​and worldviews. The Evolution of Gilgamesh Trace Gilgamesh's character arc from self-centered ruler to wise and compassionate king, highlighting Enkidu's role in this transformation. Explore how Enkidu's presence and eventual death impact Gilgamesh's personal growth and leadership qualities. Lessons from the Immortality Quests Analyze how Gilgamesh's quest for immortality ultimately shapes the moral of the story and the legacy of his friendship with Enkidu . Examines themes of mortality, friendship, and the human condition in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh and Enkidu Essay Example In the book, Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh and Enkidu Set out on an adventure to kill Humbaba. The two characters, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are completely opposite from each other and this helps them overcome a tough challenge. Gilgamesh, the epic hero, and Enkidu, the foil, have many character traits that help motivate each other. Gilgamesh had multiple great qualities such as heroism, perseverance, and loyalty. He also has multiple flaws that have slowed him down such as pride, hypocrisy, and selfishness. Enkidu also had many great qualities. His qualities ranged from confidence, omniscience, and leadership. Gilgamesh's two main qualities shown in the book are his overflowing pride and his perseverance. Because of his pride, he does not listen to Enkidu. This is a serious flaw of the book. You can also see Gilgamesh's perseverance when he discovers that the results of this challenge may not go his way. Even after finding out, he continues to pray to Shamash. Enkidu's two main qualities shown in the book are his leadership and his loyalty. His leadership can be seen when the Elders of Uruk tell Gilgamesh to let Enkidu lead and he willingly takes the lead and leads them into the cedar forest. You can also see Enkidu's loyalty when Gilgamesh has a dangerous idea and Enkidu helps him walk away from the idea because they are great friends. If Gilgamesh were a modern epic story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu would have to gain some new characteristics. Gilgamesh would have to have a social media page where he would post all of his accomplishments, would rely poorly on texts or emails, and would always have to be too distracted by his phone to listen to what Enkidu has to say. Enkidu was sent to Uruk to fight Gilgamesh according to the wishes of the gods to whom the people of Uruk prayed. The fight had led to a friendship that no one in town had seen coming. Gilgamesh and Enkidu had enough similarities to keep them close, and enough differences to keep them sane. One similarity they had between them is that they were both halfway between a god and a human. Being one-third human meant they both lacked the quality ofmorality, and therefore they were not invincible like the gods who created Enkidu, and like the gods that Gilgamesh wanted to be and thought he was. Another similarity was that they had divine qualities and were both extremely strong. This was proven when they decided they would defeat Humbaba, a demon who exists to protect the mortal forest. No one would have thought of taking on this task, but both Gilgamesh and Enkidu wanted their names to live forever, as well as thinking that they were doing what the gods desired. These similarities allowed their friendship to flourish as their similar qualities pushed each other forward. Gilgamesh and Enkidu also showed many differences, both before they were friends and while they were friends. Gilgamesh is two-thirds god, while Enkidu is two-thirds beast. This may have created a difference in how each treated women and nature. Gilgamesh considered himself a god and it showed in the way he treated the people of the city and the way he behaved with women. Since Enkidu was part animal, he respected nature and therefore had different morals than Gilgamesh. Enkidu respected normal moral ethics while Gilgamesh was attracted by lust, wealth and mortality. This shows how different Gilgamesh and Enkidu's personalities are, but how that can make them great friends, as opposites create different thought processes, just like relationships in real life. Another key difference between the two characters is that Enkidu can interpret Gilgamesh's dreams, while Gilgamesh cannot. This keeps Enkidu as an important part of the story in a couple of different ways. Enkidu interpreting Gilgamesh's dreams kept Gilgamesh sane, as he awoke from dreams second-guessing himself and their plan to kill Humbaba. Enkidu would assure Gilgamesh that dreams are all a good thing and that they are an omen that their quest will be rewarded. Dream interpretation also allowed Enkidu to be more of a brotherly and family figure to Gilgamesh, as he would calm his mind by telling him that everything would be okay. Without this quality, Enkidu would only be in the story for his strength to try to defeat Gilgamesh in the beginning, and then to help defeat Humbaba and would not get as much attention as Gilgamesh. In real life, no two people are the same. , yet they can still be great friends. In most cases, differences between people are what strengthens a friendship as different perspectives can keep you out of trouble. The similarities and differences between Gilgamesh and Enkidu are no different and help move the narrative forward and strengthen their friendship. All of Gilgamesh's weaknesses were filled by Enkidu's strengths, and all of Enkidu's weaknesses were then supported by Gilgamesh's strengths. This was seen when they searched for Humbaba. Both Gilgamesh and Enkidu are very strong, to the point that Enkidu thought he was stronger than Gilgamesh. Even though they were both strong, Enkidu had second thoughts about fighting Humbaba, while Gilgamesh was never afraid because that's how he lived his life. Ultimately, they killed Humbaba, but having someone who might think of a situation differently than you do, as Enkidu did, can strengthen the relationship by making sure the decisions made are in the best interests. The most important part of their friendship was that Gilgamesh saw Enkidu die. Gilgamesh then realized that he wanted to be different from Enkidu in some sense, being immortal. This pushes the narrative forward as Gilgamesh goes on a long journey to seek out how to become immortal. The journey creates the moral of the story, as Gilgamesh has gone through many hardships in pursuit of immortality, only to find himself.