After hearing Utnapishtim’s story of the flood, he understands that the quest for immortality is a futile one, as creation itself also contains the seed of death, making it inescapable. He learns that it was the Gods intentions for it to be this way, and he returns to Uruk having learned that the quality of one’s life is measured not by wealth or fame, but by the quality of the time he spent while alive and the people with which he surrounded himself. Gilgamesh learns that overcoming death is not worth it, and that being mortal is okay. He praises the enduring work of the mortal human beings when he returns to Uruk. The implication may be that mortals can achieve immortality through lasting works of civilization and culture. The flood story
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According to Arthur Miller, in Tragedy and the Common Man, “More important, from this total questioning of what has previously been unquestioned, we learn.” Gilgamesh must face his impossible quest for immortality head on, and recognize that he will never attain it. By Miller’s standards, Gilgamesh is most certainly a classic hero, a classic tragic hero, that is. By the end of the poem, Gilgamesh has learned something. And to learn is the ultimate goal of any …show more content…
Even though he lost the innocence of his mortality when he became civilized, Enkidu gains knowledge of life. He gains human connections, knowledge of man, and an understanding of his own mortality. Finally, Enkidu can appreciate that life is fleeting yet beautiful. If human life lasted forever, it would arguably lose its beauty. Beauty is truth. And the truth is often flawed and sometimes even painful. The painful, beautiful reality about human life is that it is impermanent. He acknowledges Gilgamesh as, “the friend on whose account he had left the wilderness” (93). By enjoying and relishing in those wonderful connections one makes throughout his lifetime is what makes life worth living. By understanding his mortality, Enkidu is enlightened to this magnificent truth. The connection he made with Gilgamesh could never be undone, and as Gilgamesh lay heartbroken and mourning for days, to then commemorate Enkidu’s life he commanded all the coppersmiths, goldsmiths and stone-workers to “‘Make a statue of my friend’”
According to Arthur Miller, in Tragedy and the Common Man, “More important, from this total questioning of what has previously been unquestioned, we learn.” Gilgamesh must face his impossible quest for immortality head on, and recognize that he will never attain it. By Miller’s standards, Gilgamesh is most certainly a classic hero, a classic tragic hero, that is. By the end of the poem, Gilgamesh has learned something. And to learn is the ultimate goal of any …show more content…
Even though he lost the innocence of his mortality when he became civilized, Enkidu gains knowledge of life. He gains human connections, knowledge of man, and an understanding of his own mortality. Finally, Enkidu can appreciate that life is fleeting yet beautiful. If human life lasted forever, it would arguably lose its beauty. Beauty is truth. And the truth is often flawed and sometimes even painful. The painful, beautiful reality about human life is that it is impermanent. He acknowledges Gilgamesh as, “the friend on whose account he had left the wilderness” (93). By enjoying and relishing in those wonderful connections one makes throughout his lifetime is what makes life worth living. By understanding his mortality, Enkidu is enlightened to this magnificent truth. The connection he made with Gilgamesh could never be undone, and as Gilgamesh lay heartbroken and mourning for days, to then commemorate Enkidu’s life he commanded all the coppersmiths, goldsmiths and stone-workers to “‘Make a statue of my friend’”