Summary:
The character Gilgamesh from The Epic of Gilgamesh and the character Scrooge from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol grow during their respective storylines, and each experiences a number of changes in his character. Through a series of trials, the readers see both Gilgamesh and Scrooge transform from powerful yet selfish individuals to possessors of kindness and empathy.
Gilgamesh's' and Scrooges' Character Changes
The character Gilgamesh from Epic of Gilgamesh and the character Scrooge from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol grow during their respective storylines and experience a number of character changes. Through a series of trials, one sees both
Gilgamesh and Scrooge transform from powerful but selfish individuals to beings
possessing kindness and empathy.
In the beginning, Gilgamesh is a fantastic athlete and warrior. As one would expect from an individual who is two thirds god and one third man, his beauty, strength and courage surpassed all others. He built great walls for his city and temples for the gods. Gilgamesh's flaw, however, is that he is a poor king. He is known for sleeping with virgins before their wedding night, stealing children, and exhausting his men.
Upon complaints from the people of Uruk, the god Anu works with the goddess Aruru to create a rival for Gilgamesh. This rival, Enkidu, proves to be a challenge for Gilgamesh. Once Enkidu earns Gilgamesh's respect in battle, Gilgamesh accepts Eniku as a friend. This fight between Gilgamesh and Enkidu gives Gilgamesh a small but necessary taste of humility, since he now realizes that he has met his match. More importantly, the friendship that is formed after their battle eases Gilgamesh's lonesomeness and is the first step towards his socialization.
The next improvement that we see in Gilgamesh involves his voyage to the Cedar Forest where he and Enkidu kill Humbaba. Gilgamesh's motives are both for his personal gain and for the good of his people. Gilgamesh is honored for his actions and the people of Uruk enjoy the newly opened Cedar Forest. The destruction of Humbaba and opening of the Cedar Forest provides more resources for the people of Uruk and betters their lives. Here we see Gilgamesh uncharacteristically thinking with others in mind. Right when Gilgamesh seems to be making progress in becoming a better king, however, he returns to a state of selfishness after Enkidu's death. Rather than remaining in Uruk, as he should, he travels to find Utnapishtim in search of immortality.
During Gilgamesh's search for immortality, we once again see improvement in his character. When Utnapishtim offers Gilgamesh a rejuvenating plant, Gilgamesh plans to give it to the elderly in Uruk rather than keeping it to himself. Here we see that Gilgamesh has been humbled. Although a snake steals the rejuvenating plant, Gilgamesh still learns a great deal from his journey. From Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh learns a great deal about immortality as well as responsibility. This knowledge is the final step in Gilgamesh's transition to a good king. When Gilgamesh returns back to Uruk, he takes pride in his city and accepts that he cannot claim true immortality
Gilgamesh's transitional points can easily be compared to Scrooge's in Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Just as Gilgamesh is a selfish and uncaring king, Scrooge, is a grouchy and apathetic businessman. He is very wealthy but is coldhearted, overworks his employees, and yells at charity workers. Like Gilgamesh, it takes a number of trials for Scrooge to become a better person. Only after Marley and three Christmas ghosts visit him does he realize that he has the potential for happiness. The ghosts show Scrooge just how selfish and bitter he is by forcing Scrooge to observe his life from three perspectives: the past, the present, and the future. Because Scrooge realizes that he is not happy with his ways and fears being chained as his partner Marley, he promises to become a more loving and happy person. Just as when Gilgamesh returns to Uruk as a proud and caring king, Scrooge awakes on Christmas morning a changed man. He now donates to charity and keeps the spirit of Christmas alive in his heart.
This is the complete article, containing 622 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
