Essay Epic of Gilgamesh

Words: 968
Pages: 4
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Title: Gilgamesh

Type: Epic

Author: Anonymous

Theme: The central idea of Gilgamesh was the greed that he had to receive eternal life. Gilgamesh was a selfish person who was half god and half man and wanted to keep his youth after seeing Enkidu die. Gilgamesh knew his destiny was not to receive eternal life because he was half man. He decided to go against the odds to fight against not having eternal life searching for the secret despite what the Gods told him.

Exposition: The story dates between 2500-1500 B.C. Gilgamesh ruled in Uruk, a city in ancient Mesopotamia.

Protagonist: The epic is centered on Gilgamesh because he is the main character and ruler of Uruk who in the beginning is rude and arrogant and has a journey …show more content…
Maybe Enkidu feels Uruk’s injustices so keenly because he is such a latecomer to civilization. Enkidu seemed bolder than most men, he is also less pious than he should be. He pays dearly for the disrespect he shows to Enlil, the god of earth, wind, and air, when he urges Gilgamesh to slay Enlil’s servant Humbaba, and he incurs the wrath of Ishtar. Like all men, Enkidu bitterly regrets having to die, and he clings fiercely to life. His death changes Gilgamesh in his search for life and they both die in honor.

Emotional satisfaction: I had mixed feelings about this book. While some parts were beautiful, deep, and moving, others were dull, slow-moving, and somewhat pointless. The thing that annoyed me most was the repetition of certain passage. I noticed the homosexuality in the book the seemed normal in that era. My favorite part of the book was part 6 and 7 with Gilgamesh's journey to immortality. The story of Utnapishtim and the flood is chillingly similar to that of Noah and the ark, which I don't really know what to make of. The writing style overall reminded me of the Bible. I appreciated the writing simply because I could relate it back to the bible and compare and contrast as I would read the epic. Gilgamesh showed the characteristics of brokenness and as part human he searched for everlasting life even though he could not obtain it forever. A common human characteristic is rebelliousness and Gilgamesh portrayed how many
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