Within the passages where Enkidu was eating with the gazelles and cohabitating with them, the nature represented his youth. In the text it says that he was innocent of mankind and this is also representative of youth. Enkidu also did not have any skills for work in culture or cities and instead lived on the land with the gazelles. Enkidu was very much the opposite of Gilgamesh and this gentleness could be seen in his living with the gazelles. Gazelles are very gentle creatures and timid. If Enkidu was gentle enough to live with them, then these passages represent the coming together of gentleness in nature (Enkidu) with arrogance and ego (Gilgamesh) in culture.
This isnt to say that all of culture was egotistical or arrogant since only Gilgamesh portrayed these virtues. The rest of the townspeople in the city were obviously trying to live decent lives otherwise they would not have been bothered by Gilgameshs actions and oppression. This is the reason why they prayed to the goddess in the first place who made Enkidu to contend with Gilgamesh to relieve the city of his behavior.
The forest represented in the Epic of Gilgamesh is the depths of land that Gilgamesh wishes to explore. Since Gilgamesh wishes to establish a name for him, he decides upon one of the worst foes in all of the land. The forest is known by the city and townspeople to be off limits due to Humbaba, the protector of the forest. Not a single sole of the townspeople, as mentioned in the text, wishes to explore the region since it is over 10,000 leagues in every direction, according to the counselors of Uruk. The counselors are represented as wise men and try to convince Gilgamesh against fighting Humbaba, as Enkidu also attempted. Instead, Gilgamesh was fixated on creating a name for himself through the entering of the forest and defeating Humbaba, the protector.
The Bull of the Heavens was brought down by Ishtar to have revenge against his words against her. The Bull of the Heavens is one way that the Epic of Gilgamesh portrays natural events in nature. The snorts that the bull puts out across the land results in earthquakes where the text says that cracks are formed and many fall into them and die.
The flood also represents nature and the destructive forces that can be seen throughout. During the time of the flood, as told through the Epic of Gilgamesh, the city of Shurrupak was destroyed. The flood has been documented in several pieces of literature from different regions. The destructive force of nature was captured in the text of The Epic of Gilgamesh. The culture of that time period was represented through the text also. The people seem to believe that the people of that city were unruly and not fit to live according to the gods within The Epic of Gilgamesh.
Throughout the text, it seems that the favor is slighted toward Gilgamesh or culture. Gilgamesh representing culture could also be seen through his desire to explore, conquer, and make a name for himself as many nations before him wished to do. The scene with Humbaba was an example where the text favors Gilgamesh over nature. Gilgamesh had prayed to the god, Shamesh, while entering the forest for victory. Gilgamesh was able to conquer Humbaba from the guardians and the winds that Shamesh sent to help him win the fight. If the winds had not have come, Gilgamesh and Enkidu would have been toasted.
Also in the text, the crossing of the death waters was still partaken. Even though Gilgamesh destroyed the tackle upon which Urshanabi would travel across, he ordered Gilgamesh to cut down the cedar to make poles. These poles were then fastened to create a boat for them to sail upon. Gilgamesh overcame nature by using the trees to provide a way to reach Utnapishtim even though he had already destroyed the method in which he could travel. The text in the Epic of Gilgamesh shows that other ways and means of overcoming nature were prevalent for Gilgamesh to use. He either had to know how to use them or learn from others, which he did from Urshanabi.
This is representative in culture where values and traditions are passed down from generation to generation. In culture, work is often passed down also. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the culture could be seen from Gilgameshs learning not only of the way to get across the ocean differently but also of many life lessons. The lessons that he learned involved the quest for him to obtain everlasting life. Although he desired to reach this through different means, he was not awarded it. He overcame a lot in nature but did not overcome the nature of death.
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