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I think the death of Enkidu really hit Gilgamesh hard. Although I did not expect to see such a deep-rooted friendship between the two characters, it is clear that the death affected Gilgamesh very intensely. He became so upset that he did not care what he looked like, he was upset and felt depressed, and he did everything in his power to respect his death. There was a statue made for him and Gilgamesh put his most prized possessions into Enkidu’s burial casket. I think that for the most part, the idea that I got from the reading was that the two were just partners in crime, and that Gilgamesh still had some sort of superior power. However, through the novel it becomes clear that this is not necessarily the case. It turns out that Enkidu was actually the one who decides how to kill the bull and Gilgamesh just went along with the plan. It was not as though he did any work in deciding how to go about taking on this challenge.

After his death, Gilgamesh is so upset that he doesn’t even want any material possessions anymore, which leads the reader to believe that he is becoming less selfish and self absorbed. This is out of character for Gilgamesh, who always feels that he is the ruler and he should have all luxuries in life. But as he is affected by the death of Enkidu, he realizes how insignificant these things are. This makes him seem more real and more human like, in that he realizes that there is more to life.

Instead, Gilgamesh strives to become immortal. Personally, I don’t think this is much better, because he is still striving to be, have, or do something that others can’t, and something that will give him infinite power over other beings. He once again resumes his role as a “God”, in that he wants to reign over others instead of be a simple man with no desires.