The famous Italian priest Thomas Aquinas once said, "There is nothing on this earth that is more prized than true friendship." What effect does the loss of a friend have on a human being? In Herbert Mason's retelling book Gilgamesh: A verse narrative, the concept of friendship and death in Sumerian society is a major theme. The main character - Gilgamesh - is a tyrant king and the only one who befriends him is Enkidu. However, Enkidu dies and his death brings pain and loss to Gilgamesh, but it also becomes motivation for Gilgamesh to become a better person and teaches the king life lessons about the importance of friendship and death. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayWhen Enkidu takes his last breath, Gilgamesh is drowned in grief and depression. Memories of their friendship take over him. Enkidu, struggling in his last moments of life, witnesses his bitter tears: “You are crying. You've never cried before./ It's not like you./ Why do I have to die,/ Are you going alone?/ Is it like that with friends? (Masone, 50 years old). Perhaps too late, but Gilgamesh realizes how the loss of his soulmate will leave him alone forever. This sudden recognition makes him cry, to which Enkidu says, "It is not like you." As Gilgamesh struggles with melancholy, he: "...wept bitterly for his friend./ Now he felt singled out for the loss/ Apart from all others..." (53). The evil and careless king, whose only joy in life is sleeping with someone else's bride, is shedding tears. This major change indicates how Enkidu influences Gilgamesh's personality and emotions. A feeling of emptiness and meaninglessness begins to penetrate his soul: “Gilgamesh wandered through the desert/ Alone as he had never been alone/.../ He was no longer a king/ But only a man who had now lost his way” (54). What is life without Enkidu? What is life without a soulmate? This is what Gilgamesh wonders as he reflects on the death of his best friend. His loss soon becomes so painful that it gives him illusions: “He could almost touch his friend,/ He could speak to him as if he were there:/ Enkidu. Enkidu” (60, 61). The hallucinations soon vanish: «But suddenly the silence/ It was deeper than before/ In a place where they had never been/ Together» (60.61). The phrase “Deeper than ever” perfectly describes how Gilgamesh's mood blooms for a moment, but then is dragged down when he realizes that what he has seen are simply illusions. If not because the image of Enkidu in his memory is so vivid, how could Gilgamesh have such a vivid hallucination? The loss of his only friend has distorted his mind, transforming him into a depressed man and no longer an apathetic and ruthless king. Enkidu's death not only brings agony and pain to Gilgamesh, but also becomes his motivation. Because of Enkidu, he is motivated to find the key to immortality and bring it to his soulmate, even though he recognizes that it is nearly impossible: "Perhaps mad, he tried / To bring Enkidu back to life" (55). Grief and loneliness have tortured Gilgamesh for so long that he must do something to stop: “To end his bitterness,/ his fear of death” (55). He transformed his life into: “…a quest/ To find the secret of eternal life” (55). Before Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh's life purpose had no meaning. But now his life becomes a mission for something else, much more than he ever thought. Gilgamesh also becomes more mature and less selfish: he cares for someone else besides himself. His development of altruism is also demonstrated through his self-sacrifice. Gilgamesh says,.