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Analysis essay on the epic of gilgamesh
Essay analysis of the epic of gilgamesh
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The epic yarn Gilgamesh leaves me somewhat discouraged when I finished the book. This pessimistic ending is not the happy ending I was expecting to see considering the tragedies throughout of the rest of the story. The entire last part of the book, starting with Enkidu’s death, is nothing but more sorrow for Gilgamesh. The book seems to give Gilgamesh hope and then beat him down with more tragedy. It is almost as if the more he tries, the worse it gets for him.
After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh embarks on a crusade to bring Enkidu back to life. His quest takes him traveling across the sea of death in search of Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh spends a lot time and effort in search of Utnapishtim. He travels great lengths, as well as risks his life in attempting to bring life back to his lost friend. His journey finally takes him to Urshanabi. Urshanabi’s presence gives Gilgamesh a spark of hope of getting his friend back. Urshanabi then shatters this hope when he says; “The stone images are destroyed. If you had been as reverent with them as with your friend, they might have helped you cross." (p.69)
This is the beginning of a vicious cycle that Gilgamesh goes through. He gets his hopes up. Then they are destroyed, only to be brought up again. The cycle continues when Gilgamesh finally reaches Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh thinks he is very close to eternal life, but Utnapishtim destroys that hope when he tells Urshanabi to bring Gilgamesh back across the sea of death. The final spin in the cycle starts when Gilgamesh gets the thorny plant from the river floor. To Gilgamesh, this plant is much more than hope. It symbolizes the purpose of his life: to resurrect Enkidu. At this point, Gilgamesh thinks he has finally won. He has the key to eternal life. When the serpent eats the flower, Gilgamesh is devastated. All that he worked so hard for is taken from him.
In the end of the story, Gilgamesh is walking home, when he starts a conversation with a local blind man. “He entered the city and asked a blind man if he had ever heard the name Enkidu, and the old man shrugged and shook his head, then turned away, as if to say impossible to keep the names of friends whom we have lost." (P. 91-92) This is one of the most important conversations in the entire book.
...anity so one can tell the author is analyzing this as a sad, depressing kind of story. As the author is concluding his analysis he states “This was the great benefit of reading the Epic – its despairing philosophy dramatically contrasts with the hope and freedom offered to the great Old Testament saints.” The benefit to reading this analysis is that out of the sources used, it was the only one that offered the story was a grim, dark, and hopeless story. Other takes of the story was the story was not happy necessarily but had a happy side to it because of Enkidu changing Gilgamesh. Overall, the analysis by the author was refreshing to read because the story had a different effect on him/her than most. Most took the view where they could find a good moral of the story and find happiness to it but this author called it how it was, a grim, hopeless for mankind story.
Gilgamesh is restless, becomes fearsome of death, and stops having basic hygiene all because of Enkidu’s death . Without Enkidu Gilgamesh is nothing. When Gilgamesh and Jesus lose their followers/friend their life spirals out of control and they become more unstable than ever before.
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.
Once Deep Blue supercomputer defeated chess grandmaster Kasparov, he, Kasparov, thought what would happen if “humans and computers collaborated” (Thompson 343)? Kasparov figured that it would be a symbiotic relationship in which “each might benefit from the other’s peculiar powers” (Thompson344). A Notably example would a 2005 “freestyle” chess tournament, which consisted of teams with computers and chess players. With a tournament full of computers and chess grandmasters, the winners were amateur chess players Cramton and Zackary (Thompson345). The reason why these players were able to win is because they were “expert[s] at collaborating with computers.” By themselves these players would not have the skills to take on such talented players, but since Cramton and Zackary were able to know “when to rely on human smarts and when to rely on the machine’s advice” they were able to succeed (Thompson 345). These players were able to harness the power of the symbiotic relationship between man and machine. In conclusion, when it comes down to the wire on “who’s smarter-humans or machines; the answer is neither, it’s both working side by side” (Thompson 347). In addition, the benefits of these digital gadgets can be summarized into three
Imagination is the action of creating new ideas, scenarios, or concepts that are not present. It is the ability to form a mental image of anything that is not perceived through senses. It’s the ability of the mind to build mental scenes, objects or events that do not exist or are not there or have never happened. “...the pleasures of the imagination exist because they hijack mental system that have evolved for real world pleasure. We enjoy imaginative experiences because at some level we don’t distinguish them from real ones.” (pg.577 parg 4, Bloom)
Throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman tells her readers the story of a woman desperate to be free. Gilman’s use of symbolism is nothing short of brilliant in telling the story of a new mother suffering from postpartum depression and fighting her way through societies ideas of what a woman should be. When her husband, John, also known as her physician, tells her nothing is wrong with her mind, at first she believes him because she knows that society tells her she should. However, with her husband’s misdiagnosis, or attempt to keep his wife sane for the sake of their reputation, comes a short journey into madness for his wife, Jane. Jane’s downward spiral, as one may call it, turns out to be not so downward when the reader
In the 19th century, women had to accept their situation because they lived in a world dominated by men. In the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a woman named Jane is suffering from postpartum depression. John, the husband of Jane is a doctor. In order to cure her illness, he tells Jane that they will go to a summer house. Once they arrive in the summer house, he orders her to stay in bed. At the beginning of the story, Jane was not sick as her husband said, all she had was postpartum depression. She was in a big house away from the others, unable to see or care for her child, in a room with ugly walls, windows with railings, without doing anything and alone, that led her to madness. Jane began to observe all objects in the room, specifically the yellow wallpaper. The yellow wallpaper symbolizes the way women were perceived in the 19th century by society. The illness of the narrator explains the problems of imprisonment, captivity and the lack of freedom that the women were going through in the period of the time. The yellow wallpaper acts as a metaphor of how Jane and the
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.
Enkidu’s death evokes a disturbing thought in Gilgamesh. He finally realizes that he is mortal. He then goes about trying to find the key to immortality. Gilgamesh first seeks out Utnapishtim, the only human to gain immortality. When Gilgamesh cannot pass the test of staying awake for seven days, Utnapishtim then gives him the plant "Old Men Are Young Again." Despite this second opportunity, Gilgamesh is not triumphant in his search for immortality because a serpent eats the plant and Gilgamesh’s opportunity is lost forever. He does not realize that Enlil, the father of the gods, had already determined his destiny. It is clear from the events of the story that Gilgamesh was not to obtain everlasting life and it is no coincidence that all of his efforts fail in one way or another. This is another example of man’s lack of control where the gods are concerned
The second significant change in Gilgamesh was caused by the loss of his brotherly companion, Enkidu. Gilgamesh couln't bear the loss of a love so powerful. Despite his astonishing power and leadership, something in his life was missing. Moreover, he wept for seven days and nights, thinking his friend would come back because of his weeping. It is in this stage of the epic that one can see the truly sympathetic and compassionate side of Gilgamesh. The grief in his heart had far surpassed the magnificent pride that he had previously displayed so boldly. Enkidu's death left Gilgamesh frightened and confused. However, the despair in his heart was so great that he could not rest; would he ever be at peace? Thus, he became terrified of his own death.
Gilgamesh is an example of someone who had many flaws and faced many struggles but, in the end, changed his attitude and became a better person. In the beginning of Gilgamesh, he is described as doing whatever he wants and being juvenile in a way. For example, in the text it says, “he was their shepherd, yet powerful, superb, knowledgeable and expert, Gilgamesh would not leave young girls alone, the daughters of warriors, the brides of young men.” With his second half, Enkidu, they entered into the first step in becoming a hero according to Campbell, the separation, by going on an adventure. At this point in the story, Gilgamesh is very arrogant. While traveling to Cedar Forest, Gilgamesh tells Enkidu, “let me go in front of you, and your voice call out: ‘Go close, don’t be afraid!’ If I should fall, I should have won fame. People will say, Gilgamesh grappled in combat with ferocious Humbaba… ensure fame that will last forever.” Next is stage two, the initiation, of the Campbell’s hero journey. Gilgamesh undergoes a trail to begin his transformation, he must fight the Bull of Heaven. Gilgamesh’s supportive side is starting to show when he tells Enkidu that they will win if they fight together. After killing the Bull of Heaven, Gilgamesh’s confident attitude is shown once again. The next trial he faces is the death of Enkidu. He starts to show emotion when he says, “for you Enkidu, I, like your mother, your father, will weep on your plains… I will lay you to rest on a bed of loving care… and I myself will neglect my appearance after your death.” At this point his character has been greedy and then he showed his fear and supportive side. The last stage in the hero’s journey is the return. Enkidu’s death sent Gilgamesh on an adventure to fight death. From this adventure he learned his biggest lesson from Utnapishtim. He learns to appreciate life, and
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.
He, however, ruled with a tyrannical behavior in ways such as sending young men to fight in senseless wars, fulfilling his sexual satisfaction with young brides on their wedding night, and treating his people as if they were beneath him as human beings. Upon wrestling and defeating Enkidu in a battle, the two became extremely close as friends. Their friendship influenced and shaped Gilgamesh’s perception of the world, especially upon the death of Enkidu. Once his close friend passed away, Gilgamesh became more self-aware of his own mortality and sought for the answers of gaining immortality. Although this may seem like a selfish act of his part, Gilgamesh underwent a major character transformation during his journey in the underworld. Upon meeting and hearing the story of how Utnapishtim was granted immortality by the gods, Gilgamesh accepts the challenge put forth by Utnapishtim to stay awake for six days and seven nights. After failing the challenge, Utnapishtim was persuaded by his wife to provide Gilgamesh with a consolation prize due to his extensive journey to the underworld. He informed Gilgamesh of the existence of a magic plant at
... Gilgamesh is unable to go back to get another plant because he lost both the boat and his tools. Gilgamesh has the hope that this plant will free him from his burden of the idea of death; he says “I myself will eat it and so return to my carefree youth” (80). After the snake took the plant away Gilgamesh began to weep “Thereupon Gilgamesh sat down weeping, His tears flowed down his face” (81) showing that Gilgamesh is saddened by his reality. At this point Gilgamesh tells Ur-Shanabi “I have come much too far to go back, and I abandoned the boat on the shore” (81).
One of the main themes in the epic is that death is inevitable, which is shown through Enkidu's death. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh becomes very worried, because he realizes for the first time that everyone is going to die at some point in time. The fact that Enkidu is a close friend makes it even more visible to Gilgamesh that everyone is mortal. Then, along with this realization, comes the theme of denial. Gilgamesh does not want to accept the fact that he will die. He denies the truth, because he does not want to think about the truth or cope with the tragedy that has struck him. "And he-he does not lift his head. 'I touched his heart, it does not beat'" (Tablet VIII, Column II, 15-16). "'Me! Will I too not die like Enkidu? Sorrow was come into my belly. I fear death; I roam over the hills. I will seize the road; quickly I will go to the house of Utnapishtim, offspring of Ubaratutu. I approach the entrance of the mountain at night. Lions I see, and I am terrified. I lift my head to pray to the mood god Sin: For...a dream I go to the gods in prayer: ...preserve me!'" (Tablet IX, Column I, 3-12).