RSS Feed (xml)If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Search for Immortality. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Search for Immortality paper right on time. Out staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Search for Immortality, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Search for Immortality paper at affordable prices! The search for immortality has been a major concern for many men and women all throughout history. True love and immortality in life would be a dream come true to many. To spend time with a special someone, the person one feels closest to, and never have to say good-bye would greatly appeal to most people. But when death steps into the picture, even with all the pain and devastation, one starts to re-evaluate themselves. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh explores the possibility of immortality following the saddening death of his friend andother, Enkidu. Gilgamesh, feeling the fear of his own mortality, sets out on a journey to search for a way to preserve himself. Although the journey that he endures is much larger than life, Gilgamesh comes to realize that he can never achieve immortality.
Before the creation of Enkidu, Gilgamesh is a man without an equal match. He is an individual with overwhelming power, and it is because of this that makes Gilgamesh a very arrogant person. This arrogant side of him is accompanied by an extensive abuse of power, which leads to injustice and rage in the city of Uruk "The young men of Uruk he harries without warrant" (I. 67). This problem doesnt bother Gilgamesh; he lives to display to others his royal power. The first sign of change in Gilgamesh occurs after the birth of Enkidu. Gilgameshs mother, Ninsun, said to him, "Like a wife youll love him, caress and emace him, he will be mighty, and often save you" (I. 71-7). Gilgamesh has finally found his match, a friend who will serve as his life long companion. This new seal of friendship will cause a change in Gilgameshs selfish ways. Setting aside his great pride and power, Gilgamesh opens a place in his heart for his belovedother, Enkidu.
After the death of Gilgameshsotherly companion, Enkidu, there is a significant change in his view of life. Gilgamesh cannot bear the loss of someone so special to him. Despite his tremendous amount of power and leadership, something in his life is missing. Gilgamesh weeps for seven days and nights, thinking that his friend would come back "On this very day I myself shall mourn you! Hear me, O young men, hear me! Hear me, O elders of teeming Uruk, hear me! I shall weep for Enkidu, my friend, like a hired mourner-woman I shall bitterly wail" (VIII. 41-45). It is during this period of the story that one can truly see the sympathetic and compassionate side of Gilgamesh. The grief in his heart has far exceeded the magnificent pride that he has previously displayed to the people of Uruk. With the death of his best friend, Gilgamesh is distraught with grief and denial. Not only is he miserable over the loss of Enkidu but also over his own death, which he knows will come some day "I shall die, and shall I not then be as Enkidu? Sorrow has entered my heart! I am afraid of death, so I wander the wild, to find Uta-napishti, son of Ubar-Tutu" (IX. -6). Seeking to avoid death, Gilgamesh strives to learn the secret of everlasting life
Being two-thirds god is not enough for Gilgamesh. No, he wants immortality "I look at you, Uta-napishti your form is no different, you are just like me…How was it you stood with the gods in assembly? How did you find the life eternal?" (XI. -8). But Gilgamesh is not the only person who searches for immortality. In many stories, there is the search for the Fountain of Youth. Fear of death and the desire to live forever has driven people to do all they can so that they may extend their existence to as long as possible. Gilgamesh is not only a hero in The Epic of Gilgamesh, he is a representation of society as a whole. He does not want his existence to end when he leaves the world. He is not content with what he has and desires much more in life. The epic is something that a lot of us can relate to. There are similarities between Gilgameshs journey and our own journey through life. Gilgamesh, like many of us, has a burning desire to be successful in life. The epic illustrates how human nature has the desire to obtain more than one possesses. It is in human nature to want to be recognized and to receive what one thinks he or she deserves.
Custom writing service offers papers on The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Search for Immortality Gilgamesh is puzzled and searching for answers on immortality, so he sets out on a quest for Uta-napishti. It is on this great journey that Gilgamesh learns of a secret plant, which restores the lost youth of a man "Let me disclose, O Gilgamesh, a matter most secret, to you I will tell my mystery of gods. There is a plant that looks like a box-thorn, it has prickles like a dogrose, and will prick one who plucks it. But if you can possess this plant, youll be again as you were in your youth" (XI. 81-86). Once again, Gilgamesh displays his changed character. He proclaims that he will return to Uruk and share the plant with his people "This plant, Ur-shanabi, is the "Plant of Heartbeat", with it a man can regain his vigour. To Uruk-the-Sheepfold I will take it, to an ancient I will feed some and put the plant to the test" (XI. 5-8). Although Gilgamesh failed in returning to Uruk with the magic plant, the significance of his underlying intentions is immeasurable and he finally comes to accept that he is human, and that he will have to die as normal people do. The worth of a mans life is many times said to be measured by the things he has done and the legacy he has left behind. After Gilgamesh realizes that he is not a god-man, Gilgamesh sees that the real glory is in the deeds a person does and the people he affects in good ways over his lifetime.
Gilgamesh travels many journeys and faces many hardships, but by the end of the story he comes to grips with the reality that death is inevitable and that friendship is a necessity. He learns a valuable lesson through his search for immortality. He learns that it is a better accomplishment to be remembered in the minds of many people than to live through endless deaths of loved ones. Human beings greatest limitation is mortality. In this respect we are all equal. Everything will come to an end eventually. Death is what gives humans fear, and is the main reason we stop ourselves from doing certain things or acting in certain ways. Some humans attempt to challenge their limits, such as Gilgamesh can be seen doing throughout the epic. By attempting to transcend his own mortality he is challenging it. However, it is pointless. Humans must accept things as they are and always will be.
In todays society, people are always striving for more than what they have. They want more power, more value, more money, and the list goes on. Even in our advanced society, people are still looking for immortality. People want to live longer, healthier lives, but dying is an unavoidable part of life. Indeed, everything that lives will at sometime die. The fear of death is held by everyone. Perhaps it is the connection of death with pain or the unknown state of the human consciousness after death, or maybe a combination of both, which creates this fear. The fear felt is undoubtedly universal. However, the ways in which it is dealt with are varied and diverse. The concept of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon ones society or culture. It is the society which has the greatest impact on an individuals beliefs. Hence, it is also possible for other cultures to influence the people of a different culture on such comprehensions.
The irony of the story is that Gilgamesh, who wanted to enjoy immortality, actually achieves his dream. Thousands of years after his death, he and Enkidu live through the story of their adventures which has been passed down through time. Gilgamesh and Enkidu will be kept in an immortal state for however long The Epic of Gilgamesh is told.
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