Gilgamesh XII

This was a very unusual ending, because Enkidu is already dead, yet he appears again and goes to Nether World to help his companion Gilgamesh. How did this happen? I don’t really know, but if we read the notes at the end of the book, we can get to the conclusion that the part of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and their adventure in the Nether World was actually a poem. Even though it was really nice to see Gilgamesh and Enkidu together again, as the old companions they used to be, in a way it’s as if it was a summary of the whole story, but a different version of the characters. Gilgamesh is there and Enkidu goes to help him, only this time Gilgamesh cares much more for Enkidu´s wellbeing, not like it was before, when he was really selfish and proud, but Enkidu didn’t follow his advice. Enkidu used to be the brave one and still was only this time he was less humble and caring, but still went to help Gilgamesh. Just like the story, Gilgamesh felt sad and missed his friend, only that unlike the book, in the poem he was able to actually save him. To conclude, we see how the theme of this story was the companionship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and just like at the very beginning, since when they first meet: “Gilgamesh and Enkidu, companions, tried to embrace, and kiss one another, companions.” (90)