People Change People
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale read throughout time about the ancient King of Uruk, Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is a selfish king who is stronger than any man because he is two parts God and one part human. With his strength, Gilgamesh abuses his power causing the people of Uruk to lament. Hearing these laments, the Gods created Enkidu for Gilgamesh, to be his equal in all aspects. Throughout Gilgamesh’s interactions with Enkidu, Enkidu changes Gilgamesh to become a better person and to be a better king.
In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh abuses his power by raping brides after their marriage. In the text, it states "His lust leaves no virgin to her lover... The king to be first and the husband to follow… The bride waited for the bridegroom…” (Gilgamesh 13) From this quote, it demonstrates that
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However, in the text it states “Come here and see this marvelous plant. By its virtue a man may win back all his former strength. I will take it to Uruk of the strong walls; there I will give it to the old men to eat. It's name shall be ‘The Old Men Are Young Again’ and at last I shall eat it myself and have back all my lost youth.” From this quote, it shows that Gilgamesh has become a more compassionate king by placing himself as last to eat this marvelous youth- reviving plant that he worked so hard to look for. Generally, when a person works hard to gain an item that s/he has been looking for a long time. They will often keep it for themselves and not think of sharing it with others. Nonetheless, Gilgamesh decides to share this marvelous youth reviving plant with the old men in his kingdom and plans to revive his youth last. This detail shows that Enkidu changed Gilgamesh for the better because before Gilgamesh met Enkidu, Gilgamesh only thought about himself and demanded to be