Similarities Between Gilgamesh And Sunjata

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Your name English Literature (Classic and Modern) Course Instructor Date of Submission Gilgamesh and Sunjata Both the ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ by George Andrew and ‘Sunjata: A West Epic of the Mandes Peoples’ by Conrad David are two epic stories, derived from evident Sahelian sources with the apparent aim to further exalt the power of their heroes. This is common in the epics as they share the same tendency of integrating the local legends and use historical achievements to justify their heroic roles. Though the main characters in the two epics, namely Sunjuta and Gilgamesh share a number of traits in the respective novels, they also contrast in a number of ways in the heroic roles the play in the two books. The Epic of Gilgamesh’ by George Andrew introduces Gilgamesh as the King of Uruk. As a character, he is more of a god than a man considering his extra ordinary war and leadership powers. Gilgamesh was immensely strong, physically beautiful and very wise. During his reign, he built the magnificent…show more content…
Gilgamesh was proud and dictated his subjects because of his supremacy while Sunjata remained humble despite his abilities and achievements. Gilgamesh’s godly powers made him unstable and as a consequence he suffered from immoderation. Sunjata’s humility is witnessed during the burial of Sogolon. The king was against Sunjata’s idea of honoring his burial. Despite Sunjata’s position as a hero before the Mande people, he humbled himself and used other ways to convince the king and he succeeded in the end. Gilgamesh used his powers for his personal benefits to acquire wealth, oppress his subjects and even rape women who appealed to him. Sunjata had the interest of the Mande people first before his own. This is seen when he arrives home from hunting and learned about the captivity, he leaves immediately to go salvage
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