Gilgamesh, Beowulf, And Young Goodman Brown

The relationship between male figures in stories such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, both by anonymous writers, and "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne not only highlight the importance of male bonds in literature and across cultures, but also help to provide balance and guidance to titular figures. Each of these stories depicts a journey, enlightenment, and transformation, which help to drive the story forward.

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the relationship that is formed between Gilgamesh and Enkidu is one of a kind and necessary for the continued existence of Uruk. At the beginning of the epic, Gilgamesh was considered to be a tyrant. The men of Uruk claim,

Gilgamesh sounds the tocsin for his amusement, his arrogance has no bounds by day or night. No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all, even the children; yet the...
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