In order to be considered an epic poem there has to be a hero who goes on a journey and returns having obtained some object or knowledge that will help them throughout their life. This was also the argument of a famous scholar of Greek myth who said, “all heroic quests can be summarized in one verb: ‘to get.’” He also said that they must realize that there is something that they are lacking or receive some order to search for something. He believes that the only way for this quest to be a success would be for the hero to bring something back after having used force or a form of negotiation. In the epic of Gilgamesh, however, he goes on this quest in order to find immortality but he doesn’t come back with what he was initially searching for. …show more content…
I believe that this danger comes from the fact that by seeking immortality that he cannot obtain Gilgamesh isn’t cherishing every moment of life that he has available to him. This makes the quest even more important to Gilgamesh because he feels that his mortality wouldn’t matter anymore if he had the power to live forever like Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh failed the first test that Utnapishtim gives him that could’ve led him to immortality. “‘But you now, who’ll convene for you the gods’ assembly, so you can find the life you search for? For six days and seven nights, come, do you without slumber!’ As soon as Gilgamesh squatted down on his haunches, sleep like a fog already breathed over him” (Tablet XI lines 208-212). This showed that Gilgamesh didn’t have what it took to become like Utnapishtim, but also showed how little his immortality actually meant to him. Gilgamesh knew that he wanted immortality because he didn’t want to be like Enkidu, but he didn’t have the willpower to stay awake and complete the tasks that would bring him his immortality. Gilgamesh was essential wasting his life trying to find a way to preserve it. He didn’t see the value in just living his life to the fullest and being ready to die unlike Enkidu whose death caught him completely by surprise. He only saw the fact that something was being taken from him, but not that he was being given an opportunity to leave from someone else’s mistakes. Gilgamesh’s search for immortality was ironic because he wasted so much time searching for something that everyone told him wouldn’t be possible because he felt that he was different and could be the chosen one like Utnapishtim. His arrogance was sparked the beginning of his journey because if he hadn’t been such a tyrannical leader his people wouldn’t have asked for someone who could balance him out and show him all he was doing wrong. This led to the creation
Merriam- Webster online dictionary defines an epic hero as, “ A grand and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or effected by grand events.” The same dictionary also defines an epic poem as, “a story told about a hero or exciting events.” The Epic of Gilgamesh is often considered the oldest story on earth; which would make Gilgamesh, the story’s controversial main character, and the world’s oldest epic hero. This epic set a precedent for all epics to follow; it displayed most of the traits that society commonly perceives an epic hero and epic poem should have. The Epic of Gilgamesh exhibits tendencies of an epic poem through its inclusion of an epic hero, multiple gods and goddesses, and it’s vast array of settings across the world. Additionally, Gilgamesh presents attributes of an epic hero through his quest for immortality, his noble birth and his battles with superhuman foes.
The quest for immortality after the death of Enkidu is the first sign that Gilgamesh has changed. Gilgamesh becomes frightened when he realizes that he isn’t immortal. After the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh tries to find immortality by trying to cross the ocean to find it. He sounds pathetic as he rambles of his reason for trying to find everlasting life. His state of being at this part in the book, which is the end, is completely different from his arrogant beginning of this epic. Gilgamesh has gone from arrogant to scared.
Utnapishtim explained to Gilgamesh that man cannot achieve immortality because it requires too much sacrifice, which is simply unattainable for any human, but he still gave Gilgamesh a chance to prove himself. However, Gilgamesh failed miserably and was told to return home (page 97-99). But before he left, at the request of Utnapishtim’s wife, he told Gilgamesh about a plant that will make him young again. After acquiring the plant, he decided to the elderly in Uruk to see if it truly worked. Unfortunately, Gilgamesh lost his chance toward immortality when a snake took the plant while he was bathing. Gilgamesh learns that being human entails accepting one’s fate of death and not trying to run from it. This allows him to be content with what he has and understand that his city and the people are what matter not fame. As Gilgamesh is telling Ur-shanabi about Uruk he is saying it with pride and joy, unlike in the beginning of the epic where the tone of the description was as if the city of Uruk wasn’t good enough and he needed to accomplish more to leave a legacy behind (page 99). We can tell he is content with what he has and that he has transitioned to a hero-king by taking pride in his
This journey in particular was a hard one for Gilgamesh, not only because he was without his best friend but because it was just a physically demanding journey in and of itself. At several points during the journey it is easy to tell that Gilgamesh is growing afraid of death, and is frantic of sorts to find immortality. He is faced with many tests along the way, but in the end reached Utanapishtim, the survivor of the flood, and is at the verge of finding immortality. However things just do not go his way. Utanapishtim challenges Gilgamesh to a week without sleeping in order to gain the coveted virtue of immortality, however Gilgamesh fails almost instantly. Gilgamesh will not become immortal that way, but there is one other way. There is a plant that Gilgamesh can find and gain immortality from if he is pricked by it. However, after Gilgamesh finds the plant, he goes for a swim and a snake steals his plant and gains the immortality instead of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is simply not cut out for immortality like he thought he was. Gilgamesh is heartbroken about not gaining immortality and letting his best friend down, so he returns to
Consequences are inevitable. A decision made today will have consequences that can last years or even a lifetime. Both Gilgamesh and Enkidu made choices that changed their lives forever. Consequences can be both positive and negative, but each is equally long lasting.
The whole reason Gilgamesh takes this journey to search for eternal life is due to the death of Enkidu, with whom he was close with. Before all of the events occurred, Gilgamesh had never thought about the topic of death. It’s as if it never crossed his mind; as though he would live forever. He went through phases along his journey. The first was not accepting reality, the second was fighting for eternal life, and the last was accepting reality. Now, his aspirations for immortality are no longer apparent as he enters the last stage.
Perhaps one of the main reasons the Epic of Gilgamesh is so popular and has lasted such a long time, is because it offers insight into the human concerns of people four thousand years ago, many of which are still relevant today. Some of these human concerns found in the book that are still applicable today include: the fear and concerns people have in relation to death, overwhelming desires to be immortal, and the impact a friendship has on a person’s life. It does not take a great deal of insight into The Epic of Gilgamesh for a person to locate these themes in the story, and even less introspection to relate to them.
Character is built in several different ways. Some may view character as how one handles a certain hectic situation or how well one person treats another. A true definition character contains these elements, but one’s character is built and developed mainly on how one picks and chooses his time to act and his time to wait. This definition refers to restraint and discipline. Gilgamesh and Homer’s The Odyssey uses many instances in which the main characters must use incredible restraint to protect not only themselves, but also the ones they care for and love. Although both stories use this theme of self-control and discipline to develop certain personalities, each one tells a different account of how these characters are viewed by their fellow men and women and the rewards that come from showing the traits of restraint and self-will. In Gilgamesh, the character that holds back and exhibits patience is viewed as a coward, as Gilgamesh believes, and is a sign of a lack of bravery and confidence. The way that patience is portrayed in Gilgamesh reflects how the society of the time feels about everything in their lives. The author of this story wants the reader to believe that one must not hesitate and must act decisively and quickly. Opposing this belief, Odysseus holds back emotions of rage and homesickness in order to complete the task at hand. Homer, living in Greek society, understood that his people thought more about the problem before coming to a quick conclusion and then acting on it impulsively. So, although both stories repeat the concepts of self-restraint and discipline as character building qualities, they differ in the way that these attributes build or weaken a personality.
In The Epic of Gilgamesh the main character, Gilgamesh, is searching for immortality. This want is brought about by deep feelings held by Gilgamesh for his dead friend Enkidu. From this, Gilgamesh finds himself being scared of dying. This fear pushes Gilgamesh to search for the power of immortal life, which is believed to be held only by women because of the fact that they can reproduce. This takes him on a long and tiresome journey to a land where no mortal has gone before. The search by Gligamesh is fueled by the desire to play a part in reproduction. His journey begins at Mount Mashu, the mountain which describes a woman in the part that her "paps reach down to the underworld." Referring to two women’s breast’s hanging down. Before he may enter the mountain, he meets two half female, half dragon figures guarding the entrance. They begin asking why he has come; "No man/ born of woman has done what you have/ asked, no mortal man has ever gone into the/ mountain." This mountain is off limits to mortal beings, he should not be there Gilgamesh is alloud in and goes through twelve leagues of darkness before he reaches the golden garden of the goddesses.
Myths have been a great example of the hero’s journey. Many heroes have journeys and trials to face throughout their life. Most of their journeys start out with their origin and end with the return. However, the hero’s role remains identical to every other hero. Most heroes like Gilgamesh has heroic traits because of the stages in the hero's journey. Gilgamesh is a man who can turn into a hero by changing himself, even when he has unusual circumstances surrounding his birth. Gilgamesh is viewed as a hero due to the stages of the hero's journey.
Gilgamesh, feeling the fear of his own mortality, sets out on a journey to search for a way to preserve himself. Although the journey that he endures is much larger than life, Gilgamesh comes to realize that he can never achieve immortality. Before the creation of Enkidu, Gilgamesh is a man without an equal match. He is an individual with overwhelming power, and it is because of this that makes Gilgamesh a very arrogant person.
The search for destiny is reflected in the literary works such as "The Epic of Gilgamesh", Homer's "The Odyssey", and Virgil's "The Aeneid". The hero of each story travels to the land of the dead in order to satisfy their individual needs. And even though each one has a different motive for the journey, they share two things in common. First, each hero seeks to know something about his future or destiny. And second, their finds are not exactly what they were looking for. The nature of the quests into the underworld by the heroes Gilgamesh, Odysseus, and Aeneas range from immortality, happiness, and the need to know he is doing the right things in life but respectfully discover emptiness, sadness, and judgement.
3. Utnapishtim complements Siduri’s message by giving analogies in regards to the fact that death is unexpected. Nothing is permanent or certain except death. You could build a house that’s believed to stand forever, but is it really true? Does an agreement hold for all time? These are the examples Utnapishtim gives. While death is certain, the time it occurs is not known by man.
The Epic of Gilgamesh can be justly classified as an epic because it is a narrative poem. Because it is a long poem that tells a story, it fits the main definition of an epic. Although the translation from the tablets was written mostly in prose, the original story of Gilgamesh was an epic poem. Evidences that lead to this conclusion include the fact that it was a story that was carried on orally before it was finally recorded. The reason this is significant is because it would be a lot harder to remember a prose story of such length rather than a poetic story. Such poetic devices as rhyme, alliteration, contrast, and repetition were used as mnemonic devices in order for the teller to remember the story thoroughly. It is divided into "verses," or lines, which are often connected by parallel meaning or otherwise into couplets. Because The Epic of Gilgamesh is very repetitious, it falls under the literary genre of the epic. Along with telling a story, it is also written in a poetic style that includes a lot of repetition. This makes the story easier to remember. There are several instances in ...
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a moving tale of the friendship between Gilgamesh, the demigod king of Uruk, and the wild man Enkidu. Accepting ones own mortality is the overarching theme of the epic as Gilgamesh and Enkidu find their highest purpose in the pursuit of eternal life.