Traumatic experiences that cause severe emotional distress often transform a person’s “self.” Specifically, through traumatic experiences the self transforms by becoming less selfish and more reflective of their actions and their past. Human beings have both an absorbed self, the part of us that is primarily concerned with our own well being, and a reflective self, which is our ability to reflect on how our actions affect others. When we withstand a traumatic experience, parts of the absorbed self fades away, while the reflective self matures. We become less selfish and more compassionate towards others. Three literary works -- The Epic of Gilgamesh, Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Plato’s Phaedo, -- show this transformation of self.
In The Epic Of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh transforms himself from an unruly king who is unaware of his own death into a compassionate friend who reflects on the idea of his death. This transformation in self derives from the gods’ creation of Enkidu. Enkidu is created to match Gilgamesh. Before Gilgamesh meets Enkidu, he is characterized as a reckless leader, who “tramples his citizens like a wild bull ”(Mitchell 2004: 72). He neglects to think about his mortal side, and rules his people as if his days did not truly count. Once Enkidu comes into his life, Gilgamesh’s unjust actions stop. Although Gilgamesh is still stronger than Enkidu, “they walked side by side, they truly became friends ”(Mitchell 2004: 90). This is a significant for Gilgamesh because moment he had never had a companion.
Before Enkidu, the king of Uruk, had been unchallenged physically and completely alone. For the first time in his life he had a relationship with love and purpose. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh is traumatized. This is the closest Gilgamesh comes to death. True, he had been around death many times before, but he had never cared about the person who had died. Enkidu’s death brings a transformation in Gilgamesh. He weeps for days and says “ my beloved friend is dead, he is dead, my beloved brother is dead, I will mourn as long as I breathe, I will sob for him like a woman who has lost her only child (Mitchell 2004: 151).” At the beginning of the Epic, Gilgamesh is selfish and kills others at will. Now, Gilgamesh is on the other side of death. He is no longer and brutal murderer, but rather a person who is able to mourn the death of a loved one. He transforms from a selfish king into a loyal friend. This traumatic event also forces him to reflect on the concept of death. On Gilgamesh’s quest to outlive death, he speaks with Utnapisthim, who helps him realize that he has taken everything for granted. In the last few lines Gilgamesh says to Urshanabi, “This is the wall of Uruk, which no city on earth can equal. See how its ramparts gleam like copper in the sun” (Mitchell 2004: 198). Gilgamesh now has the ability to reflect on and appreciate all that he has. Through the traumatic experience of losing Enkidu, he becomes less selfish and more reflective, making him a better king. He is better king because he is more appreciative of his the land he rules, and will do more to protect, rather than his old patters, which consisted of inflicting suffering on his people

Unlike to Gilgamesh, Oedipus’s transformation in self leads to Oedipus becoming a vulnerable and exiled king. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus is a naive person. His title as king puts him into a state of denial. When the oracle makes it clear that Oedipus is the cause for all the suffering, he fails to accept that it could be him. He loved his role as king and could not accept the possibility of losing his crown. This was both selfish and non-reflective because the people of Thebes were all suffering because of his inability to notice he was the cause of the plague. Oedipus’s traumatic moment comes towards the end of the play when he can no longer deny all the suffering he has caused. He says, “Now everything is clear -- I lived with a woman, she was my mother, I slept in my mother’s bed, and I murdered my father” (Sophocles 1978: 83). As Oedipus comes to this haunting realization, he reflects on his is complex and tragic situation: “what place am I where? Not here, nowhere I know ” (Sophocles 1978: 83). He feels as though he has no true place to live because his home had turned out to be a lie. By reflecting, Oedipus realizes that he has caused pain for the Theban people, and he banishes himself from Thebes. Oedipus is a prime example of a man whose traumatic experience leads him to reflect and to commit a selfless act.
Although, the self does not necessarily vanish when we die. In Plato’s Phaedo, Socrates suggests that there is a self that continues after we die. This self is the most transformative and the most reflective, because only our transcendent soul can examine our life on earth. He says, “ we can only attain knowledge after death” (Plato 2002:103). He affirms that our true and wholesome, reflective-self is only developed once our bodies are separated from our soul. Most people often viewed as a traumatic experience, and through this traumatic step our soul leaves the body and we become more reflective. This is another example of the reflective-self developing over time, but in this context Socrates argues that it truly develops after death. It develops after death because our life on earth is just a step in the development of our soul. Our soul then reflects on our life on earth and evaluates if we are good people. This reflection of the soul is one of is a change in our reflective self.
Through traumatic experiences we become more aware of the world. We understand that most people are not immune to the trauma that comes along in life and that no one can escape death. These traumatic experiences force us to change. Our reflective selves also force us to keep others in mind. As we see in both Gilgamesh and in Oedipus the King, characters reflect on their traumatic experience and become less self indulgent in the process. Gilgamesh not only mourns the loss of a friend, but also learns to appreciate everything that he has. Oedipus, too, reflecting on his traumatic past, sacrifices himself in order to save his people. In Plato’s Phaedo, Socrates examines the soul but argues that death is the only traumatic experience that can truly change the self. First, the trauma we endure on earth forces us to become more reflective and less selfish, hopefully making us a better person. Then we die, and our souls examine our life on earth transforming us into our most reflective self.

Bibliography
Mitchell, Stephen, trans, 2004. Gilgamesh: A New English Version. New York: Free Press. [Authors name not known]
Sophocles,1978. Oedipus The King: New York: Oxford University Press. [Sophocles]
Plato, 2002. The five dialogues: Second edition: Hackett Publishing company. [Plato]