Major Theme in "the Epic of Gilgamesh"

Major Theme in "The Epic of Gilgamesh"

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story about a Sumerian ruler named Gilgamesh. He was 1/3 man and 2/3 god, because of his special abilities he thought he was worthy of being praised by everyone. He ruled over a city called Uruk. King Gilgamesh oppresses the people in this city. The cruel rulings of Gilgamesh lead the people of Uruk not to confront him of his wrong doing to them. Dr. Fidel Fajardo-Acosta acknowledges that this was because of the superior and physical strength and intelligence Gilgamesh held. Gilgamesh begins to search for immortality in his life; this is because he sees immortality as a way of a better living and the meaning to joy in one's life. (http://www.reviewessays.com page 5.) Immortality is the condition of unending life. Gilgamesh's quest isn't easy, the gods got tired of his cruel ruling over the people in Uruk, so they decided to make man, a man named Enkidu. According to Peter J. Bercovitz, Gilgamesh mourned over his best friend's death and began to bewail the prospect of his own death which also gave him more motivation to find immortality.

"A hero doesn't reject death or try to evade it. He embraces it, and through death, he finds the meaning of life." Joseph Campbell explains. At the beginning of the quest Campbell indicates that Gilgamesh isn't a real hero, because he is afraid of dying. However, throughout Gilgamesh's quest he finds many answers to his questions and he finishes the quest and comes out a totally different ruler/leader. Through many scholars Gilgamesh fails to transcend his own mortality in many ways. A question that is frequently asked would have to be, "Why is immortality so important to Gilgamesh, why is he so obsessed with living forever?" It is important for Gilgamesh to have eternal life because he cannot accept the fact that people die. After his best friend Enkidu died, Gilgamesh was distraught. People are not meant to live forever.

In the middle of the story there was a serpent that came for the plant that was supposed to give Gilgamesh life and the serpent stole it away from him. Therefore, his quest for immortality was unsuccessful, but he did get a type of immortality. When Gilgamesh returned to Uruk to his people he began to rule differently, with more kindness and more respect towards his people. The change of his wrong doings gave people memories.

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