Gift Giving In Gilgamesh

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Gift giving is a concept that not only occurs in the three disciplines but also in our everyday life. The gift economy works when a person gives a gift and then expects the other person to reciprocate the gift giving and do something nice for them. This is significant because the concepts of gift giving and reciprocation is an endless cycle. This cycle of gift giving is seen in the disciplines we study (literature, art, and music). Literal gift giving is the actual giving of a gift in hoping that the receiver will reciprocate the gift. Literal gifts are often seen in in the literature novels, such as Gilgamesh and Beowulf. Metaphoric gifts show the significance and symbolic ways of gift giving. Metaphoric gifts are often seen in art and music …show more content…

“Gilgamesh bowed to his mother, the goddess Ninsun, and said I must travel now to the cedar Forest, I must journey to meet the fierce monster Humbaba. I must walk a road that no man has traveled, I must face a combat that no man has known, Dear mother, great goddess, help me in this, give me your blessing before I leave so that I may comeback from the Cedar Forest victorious and see your face again” (Mitchell 98). Gilgamesh often prays to the Gods for guidance and protection. He appeared to be a little afraid and needed the Gods to grant him protection and other good things. I feel like the main point of praying to the Gods is to keep them happy. Keeping them happy will ensure good fortune during the gift giving process. The last example of literal gift giving in Gilgamesh is between Ishtar and Gilgamesh. Ishtar wants him to be her husband, and she offers him gifts of a chariot and a beautiful home. Ultimately Gilgamesh refuses her gifts since she has been with too many other men and have fallen out of love with all of them. If Gilgamesh accepted Ishtar’s gifts then he would have had to reciprocate and give her the gift of his love back. He knew thatthis would not have worked out …show more content…

Secular music has been a metaphoric gift of personal expression for me. I started playing piano and taking lessons when I was 10. I started off with learning the basics, and as I got more advanced, I would play more complexed pieces. My favorite piano piece is Primavera by Ludovico Einaudi. To me this is a minimalistic piece and it allows me to lose myself in the song when I need to get my mind off of things and disconnect from the world. Another good thing about playing the piano is by knowing chords, a person can compose any music piece that expresses how they are feeling. Another song that is quite popular now days that represents the metaphoric gift of personal expression is 1-800-273-8255 by Logic. This song is about a person who struggles with their sexuality and calls the suicide prevention hotline expressing how they want to die. The person offering the emotional support then beings saying that they do not have to die today, and by the end of the song the caller is determined to keep fighting. This song has given me the gift of personal expression when I am sad. It shows me that even though many people are sad or struggling, there is always so many resources that are there to help them. It also reminds me to never give up and to keep

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