Gilgamesh Essay Questions

Why am I here?; What happens to me after I die?; How, then, should I live? These are the questions almost everyone in the lifetime eventually asks themselves. These questions ask what being human really is, and why we, as humans, live the way we do. Put together, these questions are called the Great Conversation. The Great Conversation questions will be dissected and answered by looking at answers given through three stories, the story of Gilgamesh, the story of Mahabharata, and a Buddhist parable. The story of Gilgamesh, asks the question, what happens to me after I die?, through Gilgamesh, a Sumerian who is two-thirds divine, of perfect beauty, and has courage and wisdon. In the Sumerian culture, they believe that nothing happens to you after you die, your existance just ceases to exist. Gilgamesh did not want to believe this, and went on an adventure to find out the secrets of the world, bring back the story of the time before the flood, and find eternal life. The story of Gilgamesh answers this question, because Gilgamesh’s adventure is to find eternal life, so he doesn’t have to find out …show more content…
is answered in the story of Mahabharata, an Indian King who was willing to give his life to save the life of a dove from a hawk trying to eat it. The hawk and Mahabharata go back and forth trying to save or kill the dove, respectively, until Mahabharata decides to give an equal amount of his flesh as the hawk would have gotten from the dove. The hawk transforms into a Hindu god only after Mahabharata gives his whole body to the hawk to save the dove. “‘One has no right to end one’s life, but this is unforeseen. Even if this means hell to me, I have to face it,’ … With this he struggled onto his feet and stepped on the flesh-filled pan. At once the other pan went up a equalized.” The story of Mahabharata answers the question, because it shows how Mahabharata chose to live. He wasn’t scared of dying, as long as he lived helping