Gilgamesh Death Theme Essay

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Throughout the course of Mosaics I, there were a number of books read that displayed the theme of death. Many of these texts also displayed many other themes other than death. However, the theme of death is an interesting theme since it is displayed differently in many of the texts. Even though death may be looked at as something that is bad or sad, it can mean much more than that. The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Sons, The Trials of Socrates, The Holy Bible and The Daodejing of Laozi are all texts that show the theme of death. Each one of these texts expresses the theme of death in a contrasting way.
In The Epic of Gilgamesh, death is inescapable for Gilgamesh. Since Gilgamesh is two-thirds god and one-third human, he is unable to reach immortality because he is not fully a god. The theme of death is a very important theme that is displayed throughout this epic poem. Gilgamesh is faced with the reality of death when his sidekick named Enkidu dies. The gods created Enkidu to be someone who would be stronger than Gilgamesh in order to be able to stand up against Gilgamesh. When Gilgamesh and Enkidu first encounter each other, they wrestle one another to the ground. Once they forget their anger against one another, Gilgamesh announces the two shall form a friendship. Enkidu becomes Gilgamesh’s companion, by accomplishing journeys together. The relationship that Gilgamesh and Enkidu form continues throughout the novel, until the death of Enkidu. “Hear me, O young men, hear [me!] Hear me, O elders [of teeming Uruk,] hear me! I shall weep for Enkidu, my friend, like a hired mourner-woman I shall bitterly wail” (Epic of Gilgamesh 64). The sudden death of Enkidu shatters Gilgamesh and fills him with grief. This is the first t...

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... Everyone will eventually face death in their life, but some do not want to accept it. We should all live our lives with happiness, ignoring the thought of death because we should worry about the present and not what the future will bring us.
Throughout these five texts, the theme of death was displayed differently. In The Epic of Gilgamesh it was seen as a life lesson. In The Sons it was caused by alienation by loved ones. In The Trials of Socrates it was expressed in a religious context. In The Holy Bible it was displayed as a consequence, since the Israelites did not follow God’s commandments. Lastly, in The Daodejing of Laozi it explained that we cannot escape it. According to different people, death can have several different meanings. These five texts display the theme of death very effectively because they give different views on the meaning.

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