In the Epic Gilgamesh and New York Times Article,“New Afghan Corruption Inquiries Frozen”, there was a common theme of mistrust due to changing perceptions. In the New York Times Article, I notice similarities between the mistrust of Enkidu by wild animals and the Afghan Administration and their Anti – Corruption Officials. Enkidu is view different by the animal afterward more like a man and less as part of the wild after meeting Shamhat. The Anti -Corruption officials similarly are view as a tool to check their power by Coalition by the Afghan Administration.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu loses the trust of the animals after he has sex with Shamhat. “His Lust groaned over her; for six days and seven nights Enkidu stayed aroused, and had intercourse with the harlot until he was sated with her charms. But when he turned his attention to his animals, the gazelles saw Enkidu and darted off, the wild animals distanced themselves from his body.” (p.63, l. 166-173)
As cited in the last paragraph of the New York Times Article, “A prominent Afghan businessman who knows Mr. Karzai well said he was just stalling. “The Americans are damned,” he said, referring to the Salehi case. “It’s about sending a signal: the fact that the guy got away means it’s a toothless tiger.”’
The difference of how some is perceive comes from either one party gaining new knowledge that is different the other party does not understanding. For when Enkidu meets Shamhat who introduce him to the world of man and the animals perceive him differently. In the case of Anti-Corruption officials, the perception may be that they are the tools of the west but in their eyes the officials might see that in order to be able to govern efficiently, certain activities must be weed out so the people can trust their government again. It is through whomever’s eyes you are looking through that becomes your perception of the event, place or thing.
Sources:
Damrosch, David and Pike, David L. 2009. Longman Anthology of World Literature The Ancient World, Vol. A 2nd Edition. “The Epic of Gilgamesh” p.56-97
Nordland, Rod and Rubin, Alissa J. 2010. “New Afghan Corruption Inquiries Frozen” nytimes.com, September 14 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/world/asia/15afghan.html?pagewanted=1&ref=asia
