Epic of Gilgamesh Essay - Desperate Search for Immortality

He begins to question the meaning of life or its meaninglessness. Suddenly, death becomes an undeniable reality to him, there is no going back.” (Sadigh 83) Gilgamesh makes the fate of all mortals, death, his final eminent task to conquer. He begins with an immediate attemp... ... middle of paper ... ...measures to stay alive as long as possible. Though, they actually just lose life worrying about avoiding death. Desperation for everlasting life only corrupts humans into accommodating short-lived and catastrophic means to avoid the fate of dying Even though Gilgamesh was one of the most favorable rulers before Enkidu came along, he is still a frequent topic in today’s literature as well as history.

The search for immortality seems to be an obsession for many men and women all throughout history. In the Epic of Gilgamesh a man investigates the possibility of immortality following the saddening death of his friend, his brother Enkidu. That man, Gilgamesh, feeling the fear of the possibility of his own mortality which was before unrealized before the death of Enkidu, searches for a way to preserve himself. Is it truly that Gilgamesh searches for a physical immortality or more of a spiritual immortality? Gilgamesh wishes to give the flower of immortality to the elders of the city to rejuvenate them and return the youth to the kingdom of Uruk.

He couldn't confront the truth that Enkidu has died. Enkidu was more than a best friend to him, he was a brother whom he loved. Because of his love for Enkidu, Gilgamesh builds a statue so everyone in Uruk will remember him. This demonstrates Gilgamesh changing from selfish to selfless. This change is part of Gilgamesh's transformations towards becoming a hero.

Hamlet looked at his uncle and finishes the job he should have done long before. Hamlet and the king both die leaving the kingdom to Fortinbras. Poor Hamlet's disillusioned world caused so much pain and suffering. I can understand how he felt for he truly loved his father. When his father died his world crashed around him.

Love and Death in The Epic of Gilgamesh Abstract: The most interesting stories invariably are about love and death. These two themes underlie the Epic of Gilgamesh, a mythic tale of the quest for immortality. Gilgamesh, profoundly affected by the death of his friend Enkidu at the hands of the gods, questions the injustice of life. Finding no answer, he of course tries to change—indeed, eliminate—the question by seeking immortality. The following essay examines Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s relationship, and the effect of Enkidu’s death on Gilgamesh.

All three of these men were affected by their father’s deaths and wanted to find a solution. Many people would say that these three men had daddy issues. Both Hamlet and Fortinbras were dealing with the issue of why are their uncles are Kings when they were the rightful heir. Hamlet compared himself to Fortinbras when he passed Fortinbras's armies in the fields and he saw Fortinbras as a model for how he should behave and Hamlet said, “To be great / is not to stir without great argument / but greatly to find quarrel in a straw / when honor's at the stake” (4.4.52-55). No question that Hamlet was really complex and a fascinating character in literary history.

Claudius, who is Hamlets uncle, has recently become the new king and as well married Hamlets fathers wife, Gertrude. Prince Hamlet devotes himself to avenging his fathers death, but because he is contemplative and thoughtful by nature, his heart is not fully in the deed, and he delays, entering himself into a deep depression and strong apparent madness. Hamlets quest for revenge leads him on a long journey of deception and eventually his own death. Hamlet himself feels that he is slacking on his vengeance. He explains that “...all occasions do inform against [him] and spur [his] dull revenge.” (Act IV, Scene iii) There are many points in the book were Hamlet gets upset at himself because he isn’t applying himself to his quest for revenge.

Along with these reasons, Odysseus has endured many trials and tribulations over the course of his travels that might convince him to accept the offer of immortality. Despite all of these perfectly sensible reasons for accepting the offer of immortality, Odysseus sticks to his guns and turns the offer down. One of his reasons is that he realizes that an immortal life would be a long and boring one, and Odysseus lives for excitement and glory. This, however, is not his most important reason that Odysseus turns down this offer of immortality. This is presented beginning on line 236 of Book V where Odysseus openly admits that Penelope cannot compare in beauty or stature, but he still pines for her.

The people of Uruk mourning for Gilgamesh’s death shows that Gilgamesh continues to live on through the thoughts of the people; he is not forgotten even after his death. Gilgamesh achieves the immorality he has been seeking because his legacy continues to live on, passed through generations. Gilgamesh leaves a legacy behind because he is known as a king who achieved great wisdom; a king who accepted death; and a king who learned to accept civilization by living through others rather than continuing living a careless and selfish

His empathy for the loss of his best friend moves him to leave his kingdom and travel across the world to find eternal life. He is at a disappointing loss for recapturing his youth, but he is able to bring back the acumen he has gained on his journey back to his kingdom.This obtained wisdom enhances his heroic status. Gilgamesh is also very similar to another famous epic, The Iliad. The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Iliad share many similarities. Both epic heros have a companion whom they value deeply.