1.I did not see a real defined Journey in the story of Gilgamesh but I do think there are certain aspects of the story that can be compared to the story line of a Hero’s Journey. Gilgamesh, who has the attributes to be a hero I thought, befriends Enkidu who seems to be almost the exact opposite. The story unfolds and the two become good friends fighting off the evil Humbaba together.  The two conquer triumphs together but in the end, Enkidu chooses to sacrifice himself when the gods punish them and I thought that this was fairly admirable or heroic.

2.I thought that the four functions of mythology were very alive in the story as this is a very old read and it still is able to capture people today. The transformation of the characters was easily identifiable as the story progressed and we saw the characters grow into more admirable people.  I think this makes it easy to relate to as people as we go through struggles in life as well and we are either able to accept and grow from them, or let them define and ruin us.

3. I find Gilgamesh’s journey to be a success even though it was he did not return with the Plan of Everlasting Life but he did not come back completely empty handed. He returned as a grown man in attitude that developed a sense of humbleness and learned that swallow his pride. He gained a loving friend and brother in Enkidu and learned that there was way more to life then just thinking about himself all of the time.  I thought this story had some very good life lessons that almost everyone would be able to relate to at some point or another and showed some good traces of a Hero’s Journey in it.