Greed vs. The Savage

After I read the three stories I found it easy to find fault among the three savages: the Cyclopes, the Giant, and Enkidu. Cannibalism, lawlessness, closeness to nature, etc. are a few of the obvious traits that make the ‘wild-men’ wild. It is curious that in all three of the myths and fairy-tales there is no mention of the human ever being at fault. It was only after a human had instigated a conflict with the savage that we have any inciting incident at all. Greed among the human characters is common to all three of the stories. In the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk it is Jack who steals from the Giant, not only once but several times. Now I don’t care how poor little Jack is, beyond stupidity it is only greed that drives Jack to return to the cave and steal a gold laying goose and a talking harp. I suppose thievery is justified if you’re stealing from a savage Giant, but I must admit not much has changed today.

It is Odysseus’ pride in “Cyclops” book IX of The Odyssey that is responsible for getting his men killed; Odysseus’ need to seek out ‘uncivilized savages’ and pillage the cave of the Cyclops put him and his men in unnecessary danger. Odysseus was greedy and demanded resources and respect from the Cyclops because he was a mighty warrior. Odysseus was not satisfied with just the few wheels of cheese he could make out with before the Cyclops would return, no, he went against the men’s wishes and ultimately got a few of them killed. In the Epic of Gilgamesh it is Gilgamesh’s greedy lifestyle that incites the story to begin. Gilgamesh must have all the virgins and all the sons. Despite Gilgamesh’s vulgar Las Vegas edge he is still the most widely respected mortal in Uruk. Even Enkidu, created by the Gods to give Gilgamesh a taste of his own medicine is seduced from nature (and godliness) by the mortal indulgences of a weeklong romp with a bare-breasted woman. Honestly, humans never take any responsibility for their actions and it’s always the ‘savages’ fault. So in the savages’ defense, Jack was a little punk, Odysseus was an arrogant ass, and Gilgamesh was a jerk.