Assignment 7 - Book Report/Review Example

Some man who happens to be a hunter and is checking his traps in the forest encounters Enkidu running naked with the wild animals. The hunter hurries back home to tell his father about what he had seen. He is thus advised by the father to seek, from the great city of Uruk, one of the prostitutes serving the city’s temple, some woman named Shamhat, and go with her to the forest so she may have sex with Enkidu (George, 2003). This would helplose Enkidu’s strength and wildness completely. This so happened mainly because hunters and trappers complained much that Enkidu interfered with their hunting, and they went ahead to ask Gilgamesh to send Shamhat the prostitute to Enkidu.

Shamhat eventually meets Enkidu at a watering-hole where the wild animals had gathered; ends up offering herself to him and they have sex for six days and seven nights. Once he has experienced sex, the animals who happened to have been Enkudu’s friends flee. As he lost his strength and wildness, Enkidu also gained understanding and knowledge. He lamented his separation from the wilderness, so Shamhat offered to take him to the city where all the pleasures of civilization are found plus this was a plot to eventually introduce him to Gilgamesh, the only man who was worthy of Enkidu's friendship.

Gilgamesh has two dreams, a rock falls from the sky to earth so huge that Gilgamesh would never have attempted to move it. So many people gather and celebrate around the rock, and Gilgamesh embraces it as he would do to his wife, but his mother, the goddess Rimat-Ninsun, disapproves all this happenings. In the second dream, an axe appears at Gilgamesh’s door. It is equally so large that he would not even move it. Once again, people gather and celebrate around the axe, and Gilgamesh embraces it as he would doo to his wife, but his mother once more proceeds to disapprove it (George, 2003).

Gilgamesh asks his mother about the true meaning of the two dreams after he had woken up. He is told that a man of so much strength will soon land in Uruk and that he would embrace him as he would embrace his wife. The two together, as partners would end up performing so great things. Enkidu is eventually introduced to civilization by living with a group of shepherds that teach him how to look after flocks, eat, and speak properly and even to put on clothes. He then enters the city of Uruk during a wedding celebration whereby they come into a heated conflict of words with Gilgamesh.

This comes about when Gilgamesh claims the right to have sex first with every new bride on the day of her wedding as the king of Uruk. Gilgamesh is just about to claim this right when Enkidu steps into the city. Anger by this great power abuse, Enkidu stands and blocks the door of the marital chamber thereby blocking Gilgamesh's way from accessing the wedding celebrations. They two then fight ferociously until at some point Gilgamesh gains the upper hand. Enkidu concedes Gilgamesh's superiority and the two embrace and become very devoted friends (George, 2003).

The elders of the city of Uruk try hard to discourage Gilgamesh from his questto go to the forest. Eventually, they finally agree to go along with his quest. They place the life of the king in those of Enkidu, whom they insist will take the lead in the battle with the demon Humbaba and will make sure that Gilgamesh returns to Uruk safely. Gilgamesh's mother, who doubles as the goddess