Gilgamesh the Epic of Gilgamesh

¶ … Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of a powerful man who is continuingly evolving throughout his entire story. As he goes from a selfish and cruel man to an adventurous and devoted friend, Gilgamesh's outlook on life is turned on its head at the realization that his mortality if finite. The experiences and lessons that he is given, or is forced to have by the will of the gods, are fantastical, yet are not completely unlike the metaphorical journey many people have to take in their lives in order to grow and become well-rounded individuals. Gilgamesh's trials and ambitions throughout his life represent many of the common trials and ambitions that most people face -- learning empathy, gaining acceptance, finding happiness, and fearing death. This is what continues to make the story of Gilgamesh applicable to every generation. Though various critics and scholars will have alternative interpretations of this epic poem, the underlying message of Gilgamesh's story, representing the trials of life, seem to be in agreement with many authors' theses. In a sense, the Epic of Gilgamesh is representing the meaning of life, which is the journey to satisfaction and respect of life.

Life is made up of hundreds and thousands of moments and experiences, all of which amount to the kinds of people we turn into. Although there are many changes and different journeys that Gilgamesh goes through, it does not seem right to review his story in pieces since it all ties together with the slow progression of Gilgamesh's life. He does not change into a different person by just one experience. His development is made of numerous occurrences. As scholar Gerda De Villiers said, "Understanding Gilgamesh brokenly is to understand life brokenly. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the narrative of life." Notice that it is not just the narrative of Gilgamesh's life that De Villiers is referring to, but life as a whole, which further supports how Gilgamesh's journey is a representation of all people's journeys through life.

Gilgamesh's expedition is one of enlightenment. and, in reality, all of our lives are meant to have experiences of enlightenment that help us all grow and mature. Gilgamesh's first alteration comes by force when the gods have him come in contact with Enkidu, but Gilgamesh does not stop changing there. His outlook on life alters after the death of his friend, and continues to transform after he meets the one immortal human, Utnapishtim, and even more so when Gilgamesh loses the plant that will regain a person's youth again. Gilgamesh is constantly learning and changing because his life is constantly changing and providing him with new obstacles that alter his perspective of life. It is possible that Gilgamesh could have undergone these situations without having any impact on his life, but that is not the way that he treated his lessons in life, which is a testament to his character. People only change themselves when they are presented with an opportunity to do so and are willing or wanting to take that opportunity to become different. The alterations in Gilgamesh's life occur because he is searching to improve life; however, he does not find happiness with his own life until he finally accepts his mortality and observes the beauty that life had to offer. He does not have to go far to have a beautiful life to enjoy, but he does need to travel far from it in order to learn to appreciate it. Like so many people, we do not know what we have until it is gone.

Gilgamesh has a long way to go from the raping ruler to the enlightened and happy one he becomes at the very end of his epic. Hope Nash Wolf points out that, "If we remember that [Gilgamesh's] active education begins only with Enkidu's death, midway through the poem, we can see that Enkidu's influence is static and protective, and that Enkidu's advance from the primitive to the heroic does not entail any advance in the moral or intellectual character of Gilgamesh." The stages of Gilgamesh's improvements come through various facets and lessons. Although Wolf does not believe Enkidu influences Gilgamesh into altering his character, it is not until Enkidu comes around that Gilgamesh backs off of raping the women in his city. In addition, Gilgamesh's desire for immortality and his ultimate appreciation of life is all a result of Enkidu's death. The grief brought on by the death of Gilgamesh's friend is what started the chain reaction of events that lead Gilgamesh on his journey for immortality, which turned into one of enlightenment. Of course, Enkidu's death is an act of the gods, as a means of forcing Gilgamesh to evolve. However, this just shows that Gilgamesh has to be taught how to be a better person, as so many people do. The gods saw the turmoil that he was causing by raping woman at his will and disregarding anyone else around him, so they decide to teach him about life and how to behave as a better human being. They have to teach him that there is more to life than his own desires; Gilgamesh has to learn that there are other people to consider in life, as well. Although we may not all be forced to have empathy for others, most of us are brought up, or at least attempted to be, on the principals of respecting others. Many of us are provided with situations that require we acknowledge other people's feelings and rights, though we cannot all be as open-minded as Gilgamesh.

George F. Held noted, in his own critical analysis of Gilgamesh, that, "…Gilgamesh seems specifically designed to teach, that man can develop himself, fulfill his nature, and obtain true happiness (a qualitative concept, not to be confused with mere good fortune), only through the pursuit of virtue and knowledge and not mere pleasure." It is not until Gilgamesh stops seeking for something that he cannot attain -- immortality -- that he is finally able to be content with his own riches. After resigning himself to accept his own mortality, the happiness that Gilgamesh finds in life could only have been achieved after having gone through everything that he did. People are often unhappy with their lives until they overcome their own obstacles. However, if the message of this epic poem is to show the meaning of life, then that would mean that people cannot find true happiness and contentment with their lives until they accept their lives. Striving for perfection, or immortality, is not going to make a person happy. Observing the beautiful moments in life and appreciating the gifts that they already have is what will make people happy. Gilgamesh is obsessed with the afterlife, and therefore loses interest in the actual life he is living. He cannot appreciate his mortal life until he resigns that mortality is all that there is. It is this turnaround for Gilgamesh that acts as the main point of the whole epic, which also acts as an interpretation to the meaning of his life.

Often, when people go looking for an answer they retrace their steps to better understand their problem or question on hand. This is partly why I believe that Gilgamesh's epic is meant to represent the meaning of life. In the case of understanding the meaning of life, people would go back to observe history. We can improve the future by learning from past mistakes, so why not understand life better by studying history? In observing the hundreds of past lives, perhaps people can find the meaning of life as a whole. Though there is speculation whether the Epic of Gilgamesh is a myth or a legend, there is some historical significance to this story, even if it is a fictional piece, which readers can benefit from.