Here we find out how the gods feel that the things Enkidu and Gilgamesh have done, such as killing Huwawa, cutting down the tallest cedar in the Forest, and killing the Bull of Heaven, is a disrespect to them and decide one of them must die. I find that is is really unjust how only one of them is punished directly when they did all of those things together and encouraged by Gilgamesh, although because of Enkidu's death and suffering, Gilgamesh seems to be really hurt and lonely and feels guilty. They decided Enkidu should be the one to die because the god Enlil said that Gilgamesh, who was the gifted one, should not be punished. I think this might represent how nature clashes with civilization. Here we have the perfect example of how when the wilderness is civilized and is forced to live like we say, it doesn't matter to us that we are totally changing their way of life and everything they have always known and even turning them against their Mother Nature, as we see is what happened in the Cedar Forest and with the gazelles, That the consequences may be severe for us as well as for them.
Towards the end of the tablet we see that Enkidu kind of blames Gilgamesh, the harlot, and everyone who took him away from nature and the creatures for what is happening to him now. He feels that everything would have been perfect if he had never come to the city, and by what I can tell from his dream, he feels abandoned by Gilgamesh as he is being the only one punished. I also think that is really unfair, but I think that he has fulfilled his purpose of being 'the companion' and must now die to continue towards the future.
This video shows how the image we have of civilization today is slowly killing our world, the cultures, and the people in it.
Tablet VIII:
In this Tablet we are showed how much Gilgamesh misses and mourns for Enkidu, he orders everything Enkidu ever knew to weep for him and he builds a statue of Enkidu so that he can rest in peace as a god. This shows me that Gilgamesh is not that much of a coward or a baby as I used to think, he recognizes everything Enkidu did and that he couldn't have done all that without him, and he starts realizing what he will do without him. I really like that we are shown a more sensible side of Gilgamesh, and that kind of greaving that is only common for anybody after losing a loved one.
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