Is Gilgamesh literally 1984?
Jasper Turnidge
Even though Gilgamesh was written ~4000 years ago, it’s surprisingly similar to George Orwelle’s 1984. Gilgamesh tells the story of Gilgamesh, a demigod-esque king and how he meets Enkidu, kills the evil creature Humbaba with him, and then grieves after Enkidu is taken away from him. 1984 follows Winston, a man living in a totalitarian dystopian society. It shows Winston become frustrated with the society and attempt to rebel, followed by Winston getting caught and severely punished. Gilgamesh and 1984 are quite similar in terms of characters and general plot, however they vastly differ in terms of conflict.
Gilgamesh is surprisingly similar to Big Brother, the leader of the Party which is the abusive ruling class of Oceana, in that they’re both harsh, demigod-like leaders that have so much propaganda surrounding them that it’s unclear what’s actually true about them and what isn’t. Gilgamesh is the king of great-walled Uruk and is described as either perfect or a dictator, depending on what mood the author is in. The narrator describes, “Surpassing all kings, powerful and tall beyond all others...two-thirds divine and one-third human...huge, handsome, radiant, perfect...He is king, he does what he wants, takes the son from his father and crushes him.” In 1984 Big Brother, the “Leader” of the Party is almost a god-like figure with the massive posters saying, “Big Brother is watching you”. There’s so much propaganda surrounding him that in fact it is later revealed that Big Brother isn’t even a real person. Both Gilgamesh and Big Brother are oppressive leaders with a massive amount of misinformation surrounding them. However, this isn’t the only similarity that 1984 and Gilgamesh share.
From the perspective of Enkidu, the plot is quite similar to 1984 in that they meet a character who they think is making their life better but in the end ruins it. Enkidu is roaming free in the wild until he meets Shamat and by extension Gilgamesh. Originally Enkidu is much happier, but later Enkidu ends up getting killed because of Gilgamesh. Enkidu curses the Trapper who introduced him to Shamat, “As for that wretched trapper who found me when I was free in the wilderness-because he destroyed my life, destroy his livelihood...”. In 1984 Winston meets a character named O’Brien. Originally Winston believes O’Brien to be a good friend and the quality of his life increases meaningfully. However, in the end Winston ends up suffering severe loss because of O’Brien. In both texts a character meets another character and ends up later suffering huge consequences because of it. While 1984, and Gilgamesh are pretty similar, it would be inaccurate to say that they are without differences.
Gilgamesh and 1984 have very different sources of conflict and motivation in that one of them has a big monster as the main enemy, and one of them has a massive system as the enemy. In Gilgamesh, the main enemy is Humbaba, a monster who is known in the community for being really evil and scary. While Humbaba is a very powerful enemy, Humbaba is one creature and it seems plausible that Gilgamesh could defeat them. As a reader, it almost seems likely that Gilgamesh is going to beat Humbaba given that he’s the main character. Before he leaves on his quest Gilgamesh announces, “Hear me, elders of great-walled Uruk. I must travel now to the Cedar Forest, where the fierce monster Humbaba lives. I will conquer him in the Cedar Forest. I will cut down the tree, I will kill Humbaba, the world will know how mighty I am...” (p. 94). While Humbaba is a mighty foe, the goal is simple, just to kill Humbaba. Gilgamesh is also doing this because he wants to, it’s not like Humbaba is actively threatening him. In 1984, the primary conflict was between Winston and “The Party”. The party is the elite ruling class in Oceana. They have ruled for generations and have slowly taken away the rights of most citizens until now they’ve got to the point where if you literally even think about rebelling against the government you’re arrested. While in Gilgamesh he’s choosing to fight Humbaba, in 1984 Winston is just born into one of the most dystopian systems imaginable. This means that while the reader is much more likely to sympathize with Winston than Gilgamesh, it seems like Gilgamesh has a chance. In 1984 it doesn’t really seem like Winston ever really had a chance at beating the system.
While Gilgamesh and 1984 differ vastly in conflict, the characters and general plot are pretty similar. Gilgamesh is like Big Brother in that he’s an abusive demigod-like leader with a lot of propaganda. Enkidu undergoes a pretty similar experience to Winston in that he meets a character who changes his life and in the end causes him great loss. However, Gilgamesh and 1984’s conflict feel much different in that in Gilgamesh it seems likely that the protagonist will win while in 1984 it seems hopeless from about chapter 2. While it would be a stretch to say that 1984 is directly influenced by Gilgamesh, some ideas of the hero's journey that were established in Gilgamesh can definitely be found in 1984.
