Literature can be anything from poetry to an epic to a novel. It dates back thousands upon thousands of years. The “Epic of Gligamesh” and the Book of Job are two of these pieces of literature. These two works are very different, but at the same time they are very similar. A universal theme they both share is the characters have to come to term with and learn about the human condition. They both go through trials in figuring out how to achieve honor in the short time they have on this planet. That is another theme; learning how to deal with the fact that life is short, and cherishing what is in one’s life is essential. Honor and cherishing life while one has it are two things that go hand in hand with each other in relation to the human condition.
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In this epic, Gligamesh is the young ruler of the city of Uruk. He is arrogant, bold, handsome, strong, and he has a bad habit of taking a man’s wife on the night of their wedding, taking what is rightly her husband’s. He worked the people of his city into the dirt, he was in a sense, ruthless. For these very reasons, Anu, the sky god, called upon the goddess of birth to “create a partner mighty in strength, Let them contend with each other, that Uruk may have peace,” (p. 101). From this prayer, Enkidu, the man who would become Gligamesh’s best friend was brought into the story. Enkidu is a huge part of Gilgamesh realizing that he is not immune to the human condition. In the beginning, he is somewhat reckless because he is two-thirds divine, one-third human. This put the idea in his head he is invincible. Gilgamesh and Enkidu embark on a journey to kill Humbaba, guardian of the forest. This happens to be one of their only adventures, for Enkidu falls ill and he eventually dies. This tears Gilgamesh apart. He leaves Uruk to walk the steppe alone. As he wonders he asks himself the questions “Shall I not die too? Am I not like Enkidu?” (p. 134). He realizes now that he too is human and he
In this epic, Gligamesh is the young ruler of the city of Uruk. He is arrogant, bold, handsome, strong, and he has a bad habit of taking a man’s wife on the night of their wedding, taking what is rightly her husband’s. He worked the people of his city into the dirt, he was in a sense, ruthless. For these very reasons, Anu, the sky god, called upon the goddess of birth to “create a partner mighty in strength, Let them contend with each other, that Uruk may have peace,” (p. 101). From this prayer, Enkidu, the man who would become Gligamesh’s best friend was brought into the story. Enkidu is a huge part of Gilgamesh realizing that he is not immune to the human condition. In the beginning, he is somewhat reckless because he is two-thirds divine, one-third human. This put the idea in his head he is invincible. Gilgamesh and Enkidu embark on a journey to kill Humbaba, guardian of the forest. This happens to be one of their only adventures, for Enkidu falls ill and he eventually dies. This tears Gilgamesh apart. He leaves Uruk to walk the steppe alone. As he wonders he asks himself the questions “Shall I not die too? Am I not like Enkidu?” (p. 134). He realizes now that he too is human and he