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Aaron Pieroni
10/5/15
Honors Mosaics I
First Analytical Paper
The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Screen Play
No story in history has gained such laud, or been around as long as The Epic of Gilgamesh has. This epic, despite being three-thousand years old, continues to be read and taught to this day, and for good reason. Apart from the awkward poetic style that this epic is written in the underlying story is gold. The Epic of Gilgamesh could make an excellent screen play and a fantastical, but marketable, movie. Unlike Monkey this epic has compellingcharacters, a relatable relationship dynamic and a familiar theme revisited with a new, and exciting plot line. With some minor tweaking to the backstory of the main characters and a rethinking of the story’s delivery this epichas the makings of an excellent screen play. This is in sharp contrast with Monkey which is too obscure and odd for the viewing audience of modern America.
The most endearing characteristics of The Epic of Gilgamesh are the two main characters that make up the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Gilgamesh, the central hero in the epic, is set up within the epic as a powerful king who possesses divine strength unmatched by any mortal human. This is not unlike Monkey, one of the central characters in Arthur Waley’s translation of Monkey. In both instances the central heroes possess superhuman strength and abilities,
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however the absurdity and ambiguity in which Monkey’s character is portrayed is rather off putting to myself and a modern audience. In the second chapter Monkey visits the patriarch to attain wisdom and without much practice and very little time he is able to perform magic. Odd as this may be the serious issue that arises from this section is the way in which the magic is explained, “He made a magic pass, recited a spell, shook himself, and changed into a pine-tree.” (Waley 27). How ridiculous. This same issue does not just arise in this instance but arises quite frequently with much less explanation then is presented here. Flying around, changing into various objects and living for hundreds of years really distracts from the story and kills the relatability of Monkey as a character. In Gilgamesh’s case he still displays absurd feats of strength but they never distract from the story in this way. In addition, unlike Monkey, Gilgamesh is not invincible. He is constrained by death and because of this he is haunted by his fear of it. In this way Gilgamesh shares the same fear of death just like every human being. From this a modern audience can much better relate to a rather strong King then a stone, monkey king who can perform magic and who is not constrained by life’s end. In truth, what is the point of following the journey of someone if there is no doubt to the ending of the story? If the character is truthfully the strongest being on earth then the possible outcomes of the story are singular. Furthermore, Gilgamesh is not the only character of this epic.
Enkidu is the best friend and travelling companion of Gilgamesh. Just like Gilgamesh he was created in a god like way and displays amazing feats of strength that surpass any mortal man they come into contact with. However, just like Gilgamesh, his powers are limited and he is unable to escape life’s end. More importantly the friendship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh displays a healthy, realistic relationship between two individuals that share a common goal,
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Immortality.Or at least in the sense that they will never be forgotten. This differs greatly between the relationship of Monkey and Tripitaka. In Monkey Tripitaka’s companion Monkey is forced to obey him if he wishes to be freed from under the fist of Buddha. Throughout Monkey Tripitaka is referred to as “master” by his disciples and in this way draws a divide between a modern viewer and the story. The idea of having a master in this sense is not common in today’s society and would come off as foreign. In the epic however Enkidu and Gilgamesh are close friends that care for each other and when death takes Enkidu Gilgamesh is cast into anguish. During his mourning Gilgamesh exclaims, “I shall die, and shall I not then be as Enkidu?” (George 70). This is a common response for any human when someone they care about has expired. They are not only upset over the loss of their loved one but they are also now fearful for their own life. Death strips away some of the security that most people build up around themselves. No longer can you view yourself as invincible or untouchable. Death is final and does not worry about who it takes. Furthermore, Enkidu’s death was the catalyst that spurred the deep seeded fear within Gilgamesh and drove the final half of the story. This is in quite a contrast with Monkey where the catalyst for the final half of the story was to fulfil the biding of an Emperor and a god that hold no sway over the viewer. Not only can the modern reader get behind the forward progression of the plot but they can also now get behind the changed character of Gilgamesh. This is due to the fact that most everyone understands the pain of losing a loved one and everyone has a tendency to route for an underdog, which Gilgamesh now is in the face of this daunting task. This task in question is to find a cure for death, a theme that is clearly still evident today. Today scientistseek out cures for various diseases, doctors instruct their patients on what to eat and how to exercise in order for them to lead longer, healthier lives,
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celebrities and their follows go under the knife to regain their youthful appearance in a vain attempt to defy aging. In Gilgamesh’s time story tellers would speak of, “This plant, Ur-Shanabi, is the ‘Plant of Heartbeat’, with it a man can regain his rigor.” (George 98). All of these methods are meant to combat one thing, the eventual decline of the mortal body. Some try to fight it, some cover it up and some spread hope that escape from it is possible. This theme is not the only one of kinds in literature either. The entire plot of the widely popular book and subsequent movie The Picture of Dorian Greydeals with the main character’s fear of losing his youthful appearance. Aging is something on everyone’s mind so it makes sense that a screen play and movie centered on this very subject would be relatable to any human audience. In contrast Monkey’s plot theme has more to do with the meaning of enlightenment and the proper actions of a followerof Buddha. This theme is rather foreign to myself and would most likely not click with a modern audience. To really make this appealing I would write the screen play to pull on Gilgamesh’s despair and fear of death much like a common person would, to bring home the point that this king, despite his strength, is nothing but a man just like you and me. When it comes to the outlandish creatures that Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight I would not omit a single one in the screen play. I would stay true to the original descriptions of each one but I would be forced to change the final death scene of Humbaba.
Humbaba’s death today would not have been received with the same appeal in which it would have been in Gilgamesh’s time. Before they slay him Enkidu says to Gilgamesh, “My friend, Humbaba who guards the Forest of Cedar finish him, slay him, do away with his power, before Enlil the foremost hears what we do!” (George 43). In this instance it appears as if Gilgamesh and Enkidu know what they’re doing is wrong so they must hide it from the gods. In
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fact what they’re doing would be seen as wrong by a modern audience. Humbaba is simply guarding his cedar trees and Gilgamesh and Enkidu set out to kill him so that they may be remember in song and story. In the past a hero was simply a powerful individual. Today a hero is someone who protects others. So to stay with the modern definition of a hero Humbaba’s character must be distorted to make him dangerous to others and a villain rather than a victim being hunted. Another issue that arises in this story is the backstory of both Enkidu and Gilgamesh. In Enkidu’s case he is created by, “The goddess Aruru, she washed her hands, took a pinch of clay, threw it down in the wild. In the wild she created Enkidu, the hero, offspring of silence, knit strong by Ninutra.” (George 5). This brings up the same ambiguity and oddity as Monkey does but not fully explain the magic behind the creation of Enkidu. In the adapted screen play Enkidu’s past will simply be unknown, a child raised by the wild. For Gilgamesh the screen play will omit the beginning travesties of the King, “It is he who is shepherd of the Uruk-the-Sheepfold, but Gilgamesh lets no daughter go free to her mother… Gilgamesh lets no girl go free to her bridegroom.” (George 3-4) This quote goes to show that Gilgamesh was not liked very much due to his harassment of the men and the rape of the women in Uruk. This is a characteristic of Gilgamesh that would not be tolerated by a modern audience and would completely alienated the character from the audiences’ hearts. In the screenplay Enkidu’s purpose will be to test Gilgamesh’s mite rather than to beat him up for being a bully.
With a few changes The Epic of Gilgamesh may just become the next blockbuster hit. The compelling characters of this epic share a special bond that draws in any common viewer. All while the essential theme of the epic possesses a strong, hold over the viewers’ deepest fears, the unavoidable face of death.