Section Analysis

There are several parts of this section of the book that I would like to analyze. First off, it is obviously clear that the story of how Utnapishtim becomes a God, is suprsingly similar to the biblical tale of Noha's ark. In both versions, the main character gets warned by his god that there will be a flood and that he must a build a boat in order to survive. This person ends up being the savior of all species. This comparison shows us the religiouse similarity between us (catholics) and the ancient Mesopotamians.

Another part of the book that I found very interesting was when Gilgamesh retrieves the How-the-Old-Man-Once-Again-Becomes-a-Young-Man plant. Unfortunatelly, when he's taking it back to his city, a snake steals it and eats it. The author never mentions this, but the idea of the snake eating the rejuvinating plant, ezplains why they leave their old skin behind, and change it for a brand new one every once in a while.

Life

Life is the greatest gift that god has given us. You should always be thankful, as long as you have breath in your lungs, and a beat in your heart. People like Gilgamesh put their lives in front of them, and do everything they can to survive. This gift is something to fight for, something to be proud to have. You don't gamble with it, you live each day as if it were your last, but also enjoying to maximum. People don't realize the importance of life until they see it going. This is what happened with Gilgamesh when his good friend Enkidu died. The king journeyed to where no mortal had, just to see if his desitny was to live or to die. He traveled 12 leagues across the pitch black tunnel, swam to the boatman's island, and sailed across the sea of death. He risked his life in all these ways, just to survive.

Death

Death is always a hard time for everyone. From an average family, to a royal one (like Gilgamesh and Enkidu), its never easy to hide the pain. I can't tell you exactly how it feels to loose a loved one because I never have. I know though, that a loss like this should rip out a part of you that could never be replaced. The best thing to do, is to seek the people who love you, and ponder the thought that death only leads to a better place. There is more than one way to be with someone, it's not always physically, but also spiritualy and through the heart. Afterall, you do love with the heart, not with the eyes.

This theme relates to the story of Gilgamesh beacause the gods punish the two "brothers" by sending an illness to Enkidu. Both of them suffer for mant days until the wild man's time came. In his honor, Gilgamesh built a statue of his brother, so that the good man will always be remembered.

Loyalty, Frindship, and Courage

I believe that courage, loyalty, and friendship played and extremely important role during the fights against Huwawa and the bull. The bond between Enkidu and Gigamesh had practicaly gone from being friends, to brothers. When one of them was in need, the other would always be there to back him up. They wouldnt have stood a chance against Huwawa in the Cedar Forest when they saw the demon's face, but the other would give him courage to go on, this is what brought them victory. Again, while Enkidu was fighting against the bull from heaven, Gilgamesh saw that he seeked help, and over to assist him.

These important values are the ones who save the people you love, this is why the two men were undefeated until now.

The Kings Dream

I believe that the whole story (that we have read until now) could be interpreted with Gilgamesh's dream about the falling meteorite. It go's as the following: Gilgamesh dreams about a meteorite that falls in the plains outside of Uruk. He was drawn to it as if it were a woman, and failed when he tried to lift it. Gigamesh decides to consult his mother, Rimat Nunsun , to interpret it for him. She tells him that the meteor (obviously representing Enkidu), would be a companion to him and guard him for life.

The reader would believe that the previous prediction were wrong, thinking that Enkidu was supposed to kill Gilgamesh. In the contrary, the two men comfronted, but ended up kissing and embracing once they realized each other's power.

As I had said, the kings dream was a symbolic interpretation of the entire chapter.

Gilgamesh 1

It was a challenge in the beginning to read and understand the first page and a half of the book. I then dicovered that it was just a matter of getting used to the author's writing before its all clear to you. I noticed that the story had alot of poem like characteristics, and repeated many of the same phrases over and over again.

Some of the main points of the first ten pages were the following. The people of Uruk were having problems with their all-mighty king Giglamesh, so they seek the Godess Aruru for help. She promises them to create a double so that the two could contend and bring peace to Uruk once again. A hunter was the first to see Ekindu (Gigamesh's double), a wild, hairy man, strong as Ninurta, God of war. They think that bringing him a prostitute to seduce him, then he would go away.

This first part of the book gets you a bit confused, because you are almost sure that Ekindu will arrive at Uruk, kill Giglamesh and bring peace to the city once and for all, but this would make the story way too short. It all gets clear to you in the last ten pages.

Blog Introduction

I believe that interpretation of a book is just as important as the book its self, and that every person has a different way of interpreting the books they've read. The intention of this blog was to see the relationships between my fellow classmates, or any other reader outside of CNG, and the books we read. I will be writing my own personal comments and hope to answered. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.