1. Utnapishtim first appears on page 175 in book 10 on lines 15-16.
2. Utnapishtim was king of the ancient city of Shuruppak. He was told by the god Ea to build a large ship to survive a flood that was to be sent by the gods. He built the ship, gathered humans and animals to fill the ship and survived the flood. For this the gods granted him eternal life.
3. Utnapishtim can be compared to Enkidu for the way each interacts with Gilgamesh. Both of them try to stop Gilgamesh from doing things that would harm him and both of them tried to convince Gilgamesh that the gods favored him. Utnapishtim said, "You are made from the flesh of both gods and humans, the gods have lavished you with their gifts..."(176-177) Enkidu said, "He stands for the very god who has helped us, bright Shamesh, our protector, load of the sky, who in every danger will come to our aid".(115)
4. I believe that Utnapishtim is a hero because of his actions during the flood. He was able to save mankind and many animals with the arch that he had made. One thing in our class discussion that made a hero a hero was the fact that they "saved the day" and that exactly what Utnapishtim did
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I agree with your view of Utnapishtim, in fact I was in the process of writing a similar blog when I saw your post. Utnapishtim may be one of the most heroic characters in Gilgamesh. Upon hearing a god’s whisper, he built a boat to hold “…all [his] family, all [his] kinfolk, all kinds of animals, wild and tame, craftsmen and artisans of every kind” (184), to as you said ‘save the day’. Then, when the flood waters receded, he sent offerings to the gods, showing no enmity for their attempt to destroy mankind. “I slaughtered a sheep on the mountaintop and offered it to the gods, I arranged two rows of seven ritual vases, I burned reeds, cedar, and myrtle branches” (188). He did not ask for greatness, but when greatness was asked of him he arose to the occasion.
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