Discussion- Gilgamesh
- When reading Gilgamesh I was able to identify several stages of the Hero’s Journey. Endiku’s call to action was the very reason for his existence- he was to hep Gilgamesh become a better person. Which is ironic considering Endiku was half beast and Gilgamesh was 3/4 God. Enkidu’s death was a call to action for Gilgamesh and the hard time Gilgamesh had letting go of Enkidu’s body was a symbol of his refusal to move forward with his call to action. There were also many trials that Gilgamesh encountered on his journey to find immortality. Gilgamesh’s revelation that physical death is inevitable but what deeds he does now can keep his memory alive. In the end he returns home a better person.
- I believe that the four functions of Mythology are very much a part of the story of Gilgamesh. The story is not about where Gilgamesh goes but what he learns about himself and life on the way. It also shows us the greatness and also the terribleness that are in our universe. We are exposed to mythical beast as well as beautiful scenes of nature. The very boon that Gilgamesh finally obtains is a lesson to us all in how we should life our lives and shows us how we affect everyone and everything else in nature. So this story deals with the very awe of the world, it has explanations of how things came to be as they are known to us, and it shows us who we should be.
- I believe that Gilgamesh’s journey was a very successful one. He may not have returned with the Plant of Everlasting Life but he returned with the knowledge that his deeds can keep his memory alive. Even though he did not succeed in gaining eternal youth he earned a far greater prize, the ability to make a difference. Through his efforts he made his world a better place and in return he was immortalized in stories.
I agree. I also think that Gilgamesh’s Journey was successful. Even though in our lives it seems like there is something that we just have to have, we usually end up finding something else that is just as good or better when we can’t necessarily get what we wanted in the first place. It’s kind of ironic how that happens, but I suppose it usually works out for the best.
Maybe I look at failure and success to literally, I feel that his quest for eternal youth completely failed. He set out for immortality and only was able to find legacy through deeds, I’d say he came up short. Not to say he didn’t need to except his fate or that this was a bad find, but his initial goal was a failure.
If you believe that the only way to obtain success is to gain a specific thing you set out to gain then he would have been failure. But I believe that success is not defined by getting what we want, it is getting what we need and becoming a better person in the process. In the end what we did with out time here in earth is more important then how much time we spend here on earth.