Comparing Monkey's Journey In Monkey And Gilgamesh
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A journey is a trip from one point to another; it can be something personal or something adventurous. The end of a journey marks accomplishment and success to a task but with that experience is achieved by numerous transformations throughout the journey. Two great kings, Gilgamesh and Monkey, set out on their journeys to find immortality but on the way they transformed which changed their lives forever. They learned from their mistakes and accepted their lives the way they were. Both Monkey and Gilgamesh set on the same journey, to find immortality, but ended up with different results.
Gilgamesh was powerful, terrifying and aggressive king and his subject did not like him at all. “Gilgamesh lets no son go free to his father. By day and by…show more content… They set of f in search of immortality but end up with different results at the end. Monkey started off proud and aggressive but then he decided to be loyal to Tripitaka and focused to protect him rather than thinking about being immortal. He went out of his way to make sure that Tripitaka was safe, which showed that he began to think about others rather than just himself. At the end of the journey he achieved the rewards for his loyalty for Tripitaka. The Emperor than says, “But fortunately, when the time of your retribution was ended, you turned your heart to the Great faith and your endeavor to the scourging of evil and the promotion of good” (393). This shows that even the emperor saw sincerity in monkey’s efforts and promoted him to be “Buddha Victorious in Strife” (Ch’eng-en). At the end of the journey, monkey was no longer a playful, mischievous, powerful, out-of-control monkey but he was a powerful, faithful Buddha. Monkey began to see himself worthless in front of other people, which in return opened his eyes. He became aware that immortality is not the main thing he needs in his life which paid off at the end when he attained…show more content… When they started the journey, they were seen as very powerful but demanding characters but towards the end of each journey they evolved to be very giving and contented characters. They began to help others rather than think about themselves. Each character evolved and transformed over time to overcome their fear about death. The end of every journey makes the success and the achievement of a task and both these heroes ended their journey successfully, each learning a lesson or two about life. Not all journeys end in the same manner and thus Gilgamesh and Monkey both had different results at the end. Monkey attained what he wanted and became a Buddha while Gilgamesh didn’t get immortality but got experience. Overall, both journeys taught a