Essay About Halfway Point And Beginning Of Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh Case
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At the beginning of Gilgamesh we learn how Enkidu and Gilgamesh become friends and what an extreme bond that they form. At the halfway point we learn that the Gods have sentenced one of them to death as punishment from the destruction they have caused. Enkidu is chosen and soon must die. At this point they struggle against the same physicality that all humans, even kings and men as strong as them, have to face. Death. No matter how strong, bold, or beautiful they are, a place awaits both of them in the underworld. After Enkidu falls ill and dies Gilgamesh loses sanity. He mourns deeply for his friend and rips his clothes off and goes to many other extremes. Not only does he grieve for his friend but he also comes to the realization that he cannot escape death and begins to grieve for himself. Gilgamesh says, “How can I rest, how can I be at peace? Despair is in my heart. What my brother is now, that shall I be when I am dead” He comes to realize that he caused Enkidus death blinded by his arrogance and ambitions. If they had not bothered Humbaba, Enkidu would still be alive. Enkidus dream before his death about the underworld predicts the journey upon which the heartbroken Gilgamesh will soon embark. Unlike the Christian standpoint, that anyone has a chance to go to a pleasant afterlife, only the gods get to have eternal life and everyone else goes to the underworld. After a failed attempt at a test, Gilgamesh is full of despair that he has not managed to escape the possibility of death. He is human. When he returns to Uruk the gods grant him a visit from Enkidu. Enkidu had no good new. The only comforting words that Enkidu could offer him were that the richer life is in this world, and the more a man leaves behind in the way of children, reputation, and friends, the easier death will be.