Frederick Walls

Professor Vlahovic-Jones

ENG 226

8 October 2021

Find Your Wings

In almost every story known to man, there's a hero involved. One could argue that every

story absolutely needs a hero. A story without a hero just isn’t as engaging as a story that

contains one and follows their journey. Stories are meant to strike a feeling or an emotion. The

stories that do this best incorporate a relatable hero, oftentimes the protagonist of a story. This

method of storytelling has been marked back to ancient times. A major reference to this is found

in Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”. In Campbell's framework, there are

hundreds of examples of stories that help the reader understand the comparisons between every

hero in their own unique story, also coined as the ‘Hero’s Journey’. This can be applied to

ancient myths like the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’, one of the oldest stories to date. The story fits the

structure of the three stages of a hero’s journey including the Departure, the Initiation, and the

Return. Every hero may not start off as one initially, but they begin their journey to become one

with a Call to Adventure; an opportunity, disguised as a coincidental encounter that may lead to

challenges and uncharted territory for an individual. This is essentially a Call for Adventure.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the story introduces King Gilgamesh as an anti-hero. He

followed the main character and his portrayal as an unlawful King of Uruk who treats his

workers terribly and takes advantage of women sexually. The insecurities spewed out of

Gilgamesh as it is noted that it bothers him how he came from divine parents who were Gods,
yet is still considered a mortal. With the knowledge that he is the superior being in his

environment, Gilgamesh is at first an arrogant and harsh ruler, but his friendship with Enkidu

and Enkidu’s ensuing death show Gilgamesh that even the greatest heroic feats cannot transcend

mortality. Throughout the story, Gilgamesh’s understanding of what brings meaning to life is

transformed.

There are two instances that the reader could interpret as the Call to Adventure for the

Hero's Journey. The main one would be when King Gilgamesh tells Enkidu, his first real

companion, that he must go into the ‘Cedar Forest’ and slay Humbaba, a beast who guards the

Cedar Forest. Gilgamesh feels as though he must slay him in order to prove how great he is and

make sure that everyone knows his name and remembers him. “'I will conquer him in the Forest

of Cedar: let the land learn Uruk's offshoot is mighty! Let me start out, I will cut down the cedar,

I will establish for ever a name eternal!'”(George 20) This isn't much of a 'call' as Gilgamesh

embarks on this journey for more egotistical reasons, rather than for the justice of others. This

being so, it opens up the gates for more growth to occur for Gilgamesh.

The second instance comes along after the death of Enkidu and the first real loss that

affects Gilgamesh and his thinking. Gilgamesh’s grief over Enkidu’s death forces him to face

the reality of his own eventual death. This fear drives him to begin an adventure that transfers his

spiritual center from his “ordinary world” to a world that is completely unknown to him; the

world of his ancestor Utnapishtim, the only mortal granted immortality by the gods.

“[my friend] Enkidu, [whom I loved so dear,] [who with me went through every danger:]

[the doom of mortals] overtook [him.] 'Six days [I wept for him and seven nights:] [I did not

surrender his body for burial] until [a maggot dropped from his nostril.] Then I was afraid [that

I too would die,] [I grew fearful of death, so wander the wild.]” (George 81)
 The Call to Adventure separates those from growth and stagnation. Anyone willing to

take calculated risks and show resilience through loss is built to become a hero. Campbell views

that the trials and tribulations a hero goes through are necessary growing pains in order to fully

maximize their potential.

“The first stage of the mythological journey … signifies that destiny has summoned the

hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone

unknown. This fateful region of both treasure and danger may be variously represented: as a

distant land, a forest, a kingdom underground, beneath the waves, or above the sky, a secret

island, lofty mountaintop, or profound dream state; but it is always a place of strangely fluid and

polymorphous beings, unimaginable torments, superhuman deeds, and impossible delight.”

(Campbell 53). Gilgamesh needed to be challenged physically and mentally. To be matched

physically by Enkidu humbled Gilgamesh, and made him respect a counterpart for the first time.

To have fear creep into his consciousness enroute to encountering an undefeated creature in

Humbaba, it made him realize that he wasn’t as almighty he may have thought. Enkidu, his sole

companion, helped him get past his fear.

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Princeton, NJ: Princeton U Press, 1990.

Print.

George, Andrew. The Epic of Gilgamesh, Wrights Lane, London, England, Penguin Books,
1999. Print