Humbaba's Repetition In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Two understand how the gods influenced our hero, Gilgamesh, one must first look at the various ways the gods meddled into his life. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale of a half-mortal man whose quest to break his own boredom turns into a tale of friendship, immortality, and kingship. However, his tale would not have been able to happen if it was not for the influence of the various Sumerian deities. After the people of Uruk complained to the gods about Gilgamesh’s child-like behavior, the goddess Aruru creates the man that will become Gilgamesh’s closest friend, Enkidu. Enkidu was created as an equal to the king so that Gilgamesh would have a way to occupy his time. Unfortunately, after the two friends defeated the giant Humbaba, a terrible demon creature, the god Enlil becomes enraged, but despite Enlil’s best effort, he is unable to punish the two.

In The Epic of Gilgamesh the lines that are repeated at the beginning and end of the epic show that only immortality a human can gain lies in creating things that last beyond a person’s lifetime. While at the beginning of the epic Gilgamesh is seeking eternal life, when he concludes his journey he realizes that he has created an enduring legend through the foundation of his city, Uruk. Through this legend, Gilgamesh can live on in the memory of his people, long after he has passed away. The epic is able to convey this message multiple ways. The opening lines immediately introduce and impress upon the audience the importance of Gilgamesh, and the significance of his kingship. The epic continues on to describe the city of Uruk, with special consideration given to the walls surrounding Uruk. 3. Finally, the ending repetition of the lines shows that Gilgamesh has become aware of the legacy he has created in Uruk, and and accepts that in lieu of immortality. okay so these are the three? points you are talking about in your paper? make sure they match up with your paragraphs proving them and are not so vague

The short epic revolves around the namesake character Gilgamesh, who regularly acts impulsively using his intuition and instincts without heeding the advice and wisdom of others. The adventures and downfalls of Gilgamesh illustrate why using reason matters so much. Gilgamesh’s propensity for rashness can be seen early on in the epic when he meets Enkidu and immediately decides to go after the monster Humbaba. Once he decides to go, nothing can persuade him otherwise (Gilgamesh 109-110). Even when Enkidu, who lived in the area where the monster guards, tells Gilgamesh “The haunt of Humbaba is a hopeless quest (110),” Gilgamesh remains steadfast in completing his conquest of the monster. When the elders hear about their king’s plan they sternly tell him:

This explain that Enkidu is trying to point out how dangerous Humbaba is. Gilgamesh didn’t care how powerful Humbaba is because he believe that he could take anyone down, he didn’t care about Enkidu thoughts of Humbaba. “Gilgamesh opened his mouth to speak,/ say [to Enkidu:]/ why, my friend, do you speak like a weakling?/ with your spineless words you [make me] despondent.” (19). This shows that Gilgamesh is arrogant and immature, thinking he could defeat the monster himself without having any fear. Gilgamesh went back to the Uruk to make an announcement of battling Humbaba the vicious monster. Gilgamesh said, “I will conquer him in the Forest of Cedar:/ let the land learn Uruk’s offshoot is mighty!/ let me start out,/ I will cut down the Cedar./ I will establish for ever a name eternal!” (20). Next, Gilgamesh and Enkidu climbed up the hill into the forest to find Humbaba. They end up on the hillside to rest before the battle. Gilgamesh had his first dream, “[My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened ?]/ [Did you not touch me? Why am I startled ?]/ [Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?]/ [My friend, I have had the first dream!]” (30). This symbolize fear, for the first time Gilgamesh experiencing the feeling of being afraid. Gilgamesh suddenly changed as he went onto a Journey to the Forest of Cedar. When Gilgamesh continue to see Humbaba knowing that he is

Gilgamesh was a very intelligent leader. He shows throughout the entire epic a sense of foresight that keeps him safe and his city powerful. It is known, that a good leader must prove that he is powerful, and that he can defend his people in the best way possible. Gilgamesh knew that by fighting the terrible beast Humbaba he would prove to his people that he was strong and powerful and could out wit even the strongest beast. He tells Enkidu that, “All glory will be ours if now we conquer this unprecedented foe and risk the woe that frightens others.” He also shows foresight by respecting his mother’s wisdom when she told him that Enkidu was his true friend. Additionally, throughout the entire epic Gilgamesh looks to his mother, “who is wise and worries not,” for advice and counseling on things to do and the right paths to take in his life. Looking to those who are wise and more intelligent, is

Gilgamesh is not a completely flawed character; he possesses, and obtains through his adventures, many positive qualities or virtues. For example, he is courageous. This virtue is evident during his battle with Humbaba. This forest giant is a fearsome adversary, aided by the gods, with a considerable size and strength advantage. Defeat of Humbaba takes the combined efforts of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. To succeed, Gilgamesh had to gain the courage to undergo this task. Enkidu rallies his friend by saying, “O Gilgamesh, remember now your boasts in Uruk. Forward, attacks, son of Uruk, there is nothing to fear.” (Sandars 20) With this, Gilgamesh’s “courage railed” (Sandars 20). He defeats and eventually kills Humbaba for which he is subsequently praised.

The maturation of Gilgamesh and his desire to acquire wisdom throughout his journey is quite apparent. By overcoming difficulties such as upholding Uruk, becoming friends with Enkidu, and various other scenarios, Gilgamesh proves that he did in fact grow up throughout the epic.

The gods also favored Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh prayed to Shamash for strength and safety when he and Enkidu were to travel in the cedar forest. Gilgamesh is then able to kill Humbaba regardless of the fact that Humbaba is a giant and some type of god. Gilgamesh and Enkidu are only able to slay this giant through the divine intervention of Shamash.

Again, reason dictates that if the elderly and wise recommend not traveling into the forest, he should not. Prior to Enkido’s introduction, Gilgamesh would have dismissed these words of wisdom as attempts to declare his weaknesses. His experience confronting Enkido, however, force him to evaluate his attempt to kill Humbaba leading him to fear the possibility of failure and the consequences that come with failure. While Gilgamesh is simply attempting to kill Humbaba, this journey subliminally represents Gilgamesh’s early confrontation with mortality. For instance, Gilgamesh dreams, “heaven cried aloud, while earth did rumble. The day grew still, darkness came forth, there was a flash of lightning, fire broke out. The flames flared up, death rained down” (George iv.99-106). His dream foreshadows Enkido’s dreams of death and Enkido’s death later in the text, introducing the concept that mortality ends in death. Right before he kills Humbaba, Humbaba states that he is not certain whether Enkido or Gilgamesh will die, but he is certain that death will come. By foreshadowing death, Humbaba reminds Gilgamesh that he is one-third human and therefore is doomed to the same fate as humans.

Gilgamesh just kills Humbaba to look stronger even though Humbaba is not doing any harm to anyone. Gilgamesh also kills the bull that belonged to Istar. When he kills the bull, he disrespecting the Gods by destroying their property. Another reason why these trials to not make Gilgamesh a hero is because they are not difficult for him. He is hardly struggling to complete them and being constantly challenged is part of beings a hero. Gilgamesh’s mentor is Inkidu. The hero is supposed to respect the mentor while Gilgamesh indirectly kills his. When Inkidu and Gilgamesh kill Humbaba the Gods kill Inkidu as a punishment. Not only did Gilgamesh hurt the Gods, but he also let his mentor die for his mistakes.

The author uses many literary devices in The Epic of Gilgamesh in order to describe the character of Humbaba, the one who guards the cedar forest, because he wants the reader to be just as fearful of the character as Enkidu, who is the speaker of lines 155-158 in the text. The character’s fear of the ugly beast is ironic because when Enkidu dies Gilgamesh too becomes afraid to die. Another reason I chose this short passage is that the author uses imagery and foreshadowing to hint to the reader what happens later on in the epic and I believe it is essential to the poem. The author also uses repetition in order to stress the idea that Humbaba is not to be tormented. Enkidu warns Gilgamesh not to go near the forest of cedars to kill Humbaba, but Gilgamesh laughs at him and asks Enkidu why he is afraid to die all of the sudden. The paragraph I chose also prepares the reader for unforeseen events that occur later on in the epic poem, including Enkidu's death.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a very popular epic that is difficult to understand at first, which is why there is different translations of the same book. Although Foster and Sander’s translations have a lot of similar words and the stories are basically the same, there are also a lot of differences between the two. One of which is more straightforward and easier to understand, whereas the other is more of an in depth thoughtful read for the reader. Both translations differences have their own particular reasons for doing so, and add to the depiction of the story. I feel like the translation in the Anthology is a more complex read, whereas Sander’s translation is much easier to understand.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a very popular epic that is difficult to understand at first, which is why their is different translations of the same book. Although Foster and Sander’s translations have a lot of similar words and the stories are basically the same, there are also a lot of differences between the two. One of which is more straightforward and easier to understand, whereas the other is more of an in depth thoughtful read for the reader. Both translations differences have their own particular reasons for doing so, and add to the depiction of the story. I feel like the translation in the Anthology is a more complex read, whereas Sander’s translation is much easier to understand.

Both Gilgamesh and Enkidu go to the cedar forest and cut down the trees and kill Humababa. Killing Humababa contributes a lot to Gilgamesh journey; when Gilgamesh kills Humababa he will be considered a hero in the eyes of the people. The people will love Gilgamesh because he saved them from the monster. Gilgamesh wants to feel honored by the people because he has done a great achievement. As Gilgamesh and Enkidu go back to the city of Uruk they face a monster named the Bull of Heaven. Bull of Heaven was sent by Ishtar father; Ishtar loved Gilgamesh, but Gilgamesh rejected her. Ishtar father sends the Bull of Heaven to kill Gilgamesh and Enkidu, but then they end up killing the Bull of Heaven. The Bull of Heaven is one of the obstacles that face Gilgamesh through the journey. When Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull of Heaven, it proves that they both have great power to kill two monsters one after the other.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a historic story of the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. The story depicts the short lived friendship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The story begins as Shamat the harlot seduces Enkidu and convinces him to go to the city of Uruk and meet Gilgamesh. From that moment on, the two were very close. They planned a trip to the forest of cedars to defeat the monster known as Humbaba so that Gilgamesh could show his power to the citizens of Uruk. However, Enkidu tried “vainly to dissuade” (18) Gilgamesh in going to the forest. Despite Enkidu’s plead, the two continued on their voyage to the forest where Humbaba lives. Once they arrived, they found the monster and killed him.