Essay 1
A Hero is Two Parts
Every story has a hero, and every storyteller has an idea about what a hero should be. Some heroes lead through quite wisdom; others fearlessly lead their troops into battle. What makes the ultimate hero is the secret dialogue that pasted between authors since stories where first told. The Epic of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian classic dating back as early as 600 BCE, tells the story of one of literature’s first heroes. However, this work is unique in that Gilgamesh, the protagonist, does not play the ultimate hero alone. Instead The Epic of Gilgamesh describes perfect hero is two parts of one whole—Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Both men exhibit obvious traits of a good leader and hero, but taken alone, they both seem to be missing something. Gilgamesh for example is literally endowed with courage by the gods (Sanders, 2). He is fearless and unstoppable in his conquests, shown well through his attack on the previously undefeated Humbaba. He fears not his own death, not because he has made peace with it, but because he has confidence in his success. He boldly proclaims, “’Immolation and sacrifice are not yet for me, the boat of the dead shall not do down, nor the three-ply cloth be cut for my
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In it, characters value their legacy as heroes more than they value their own lives. As result they choose each action based on the glory it will earn; the end goal is immorality through their legacy. This was a relatively common viewpoint in ancient Greece, where the story originated However, across the Asian continent followers of Confucius had a much different idea of glory. Confucius taught in the Analects that action is done for the sake of the good it will bring. Any glory that comes from it is unasked for. This is strikingly different than the ideas found in the Iliad. For Homer, the reason for action is immortality; for Confucius the reason for action is the action