Since Gilgamesh, who hails from Western civilization, has only one life to live, and presumably that one life is very precious to him, he is far more likely to have his companions fight his battle(s) for him, far more likely to place them in immediate danger, and far more likely to think first of saving his own skin than does that of Monkey. Monkey, hailing from the Eastern tradition, loves to jump into the fray, bravely fighting his adversaries and leading his companions into the midst of challenges that Gilgamesh seems totally afraid to confront.
While Monkey is maniacally fighting the demons, monsters and gods placed before him (usually taking on the role of instigator), Gilgamesh is hiding from Humbaba the Terrible in the Cedar Forest. He does not actually fight the guardian of the forest until his traveling companion exhorts him to be brave.
Though each hero approaches his conflicts in a totally distinct manner, the goal that both are seeking is immortality. "Monkey answers that, like Gilgamesh seeking wisdom from Utnapishtim, he has come to learn the secret of...
connecting the reader with the time period in which it was written. This is why the writings of the distant past, even in translation, are among the most fascinating to modern scholars. Anthropologists such as Saussure, Joseph Campbell and others were seminal in uncovering mythological themes in ancient texts. As archeology supplemented legend, the literary world found evidence that the mythical worlds evidenced by the works of antiquity was
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