In the literary story about Gilgamesh, the other protagonist in the story is Enkidu. The protagonist in the story is a character who plays a major part in the story and enters some sort of clash due to another character in the story called the antagonist. The protagonist of a particular text is the charterer that the audience is likely to sympathize more with. Thus, Enkidu is a secondary protagonist of the story and his character almost overshadows that of the main protagonist.
One character that is descriptive of the protagonist is the fact that he defeats the adversary facing him (Woloch, 2003). Enkidu in the story is used to tame Gilgamesh, and he succeeds and as much as this was not what his initial task was, he still improved the lives of the people of Uruk. This makes him a protagonist. His character in this case is developed as an equal to Gilgamesh and is the one brought to deliver the people from the hands of the tyrannical Gilgamesh. This aspect makes him appear like the savior the people prayed to the gods for and in the end their prayers were answered. His role in the story almost overshadows that of Gilgamesh, who is, in fact, the first protagonist because of the fact that the audience’s sympathy now shifts to Enkidu from Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh, on the other hand, is a tyrant and mistreats his people but things change when Enkidu arrives at Uruk (Foster, 2001). The interaction between the two characters results to change in Gilgamesh and, as a result, instead of Enkidu defeating Gilgamesh, he changes him and a friendship develops between them. The fact that Enkidu transforms Gilgamesh and makes him better makes him a better protagonist than Gilgamesh whereby his roles becomes better than that of Gilgamesh and even overshadows it as the main protagonist (Woloch, 2003).
The attitudes as well as the personalities of the two characters are also an important aspect from the poem. Gilgamesh is seen to be boastful, harsh, tyrannical and even made the lives of the people of Uruk hard to the extent of seeking help from the gods (Foster, 2001). As for Enkidu, he is a savior from the gods, however, he puts asides his initial task of defeating Gilgamesh and makes friends with him. From this point of view the role of Enkidu as the protagonists becomes more major than that of Gilgamesh and almost overshadows it (Woloch, 2003).
Enkidu overshadows Gilgamesh due to the milestones he has made in his life. He comes from the wild to live side by side with the king. Enkidu is a wild man who lived with animals and later became the king's companion. Gilgamesh, on the other hand, is born in the lap of luxury, his mother is a goddess and he is believed to be partially divine. His achievements pale in comparison to those that Enkidu has made throughout the story. Gilgamesh exploits the people his rules and, as a result, they pray to their gods for a solution. The gods answer them by giving them Enkidu (Foster, 2001). The fact that Enkidu is introduced into the story to help end the oppression caused by Gilgamesh make him assume the role of protagonist that overshadows that of Gilgamesh.
Works Cited
Foster, Benjamin R..The epic of Gilgamesh: a new translation, analogues, criticism. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.
Woloch, Alex. The one vs. the many minor characters and the space of the protagonist in the novel. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2003. Print.
