The Oxford English Dictionary defines “civilize” as “To bring…to a stage of social development considered to be more advanced, esp. by bringing to conformity with the social norms of a developed society.” The transition from going from living in the wild to civilization is very complex as we have seen in The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Benjamin R. Foster. Enkidu learns to be more civilized through Shamhats seduction, role reversal, and his encounter with Gilgamesh, but in the end he regrets even becoming civilized. Was it worth it to become civilized just to die in the end?
Gilgamesh was actually the first one to attempt to have the Shamhat civilize Enkidu. This was by having him make love with the Shamhat. Gilgamesh tells the hunter whoose traps are being interefered with by Enkidu that, “…When he
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This is where he makes his first friend who he will cherrish for a very long time. Enkidu enters the village challenging Gilgamesh in a test of strength. He had heard so many stories on his journey to Uruk that he wanted to see if he is a worthy challenger. After hearing of the wedding, Enkidu heads out to go see Gilgamesh. The translator proclaims that, “Enkidu was walking infront, while Shamhat behind him”(15). This shows gender dominance in a civilized Mespotamian culture. As in where the male gender is more dominant. By walking infront and instead of behind Enkidu shows that he is more dominant than Shamhat. This is an example of a civilized man. After wrestling and losing to Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh befriends Enkidu. When becoming friends with Gilgamesh, Enkidu developed a feeling of love, in which he didn’t have before living in the wild. A social norm in this period would be slaying beasts and monsters, as an activty. This bond these two friends make are unbreakable until the Gods intervene and this is when Enkidu questions if it was worth becoming civilized just to die in the