First Name
Professor Martin 
Engl 2332
12 June 2008
Text: Gilgamesh
Passage: “Then Gilgamesh said to Utnapishtim the Faraway, ‘I look at you now, Utnapishtim, and you reappearance is no different from mine; there is nothing strange in your features’ (35)….
Gilgamesh said, ‘what shall I do, O Utnapishtim, where shall I go? Already the thief in the night has hold of my limbs, death inhabits my room; wherever my foot rests, there I find death’” (38).

Question: How does Gilgamesh’s meeting with Utnapishtim and Utnapishtim’s account of the story of the flood reinforce the motif of the inevitability of death?

Issue: Issue of Theme. The question deals with the view that as a mortal, one cannot escape death. From the beginning, Gilgamesh never stops to question his mortality. He does what he pleases, thinking himself invincible. He even oppresses his people believing himself powerful and isolated from other human beings. Only when his counterpart Endiku dies, he begins to realize that as a mortal, everlasting life may not be in reach.

Critical Approach: The psychoanalytic approach works best for this question since repressed thoughts and emotions are confronted. After Endiku’s death, Gilgamesh unwillingly confronts the one notion that he always overlooked: death. Believing himself invincible and godlike, Gilgamesh had always underestimated and disregarded his human side. The reason he seeks Utnapishtim’s help is to cling to the small hope that even though mortal, he will be another exception to the rule that death is inevitable.

Answer: Gilgamesh’s encounter with Utnapishtim allows him to gain wisdom not only about the inevitability of death, but also about life as well. The tale of the story of the flood reveals how unattainable Gilgamesh’s goal of immortality is. Even when Utanapishtim puts him to the test of staying awake for seven days and seven nights, Gilgamesh fails and the truth to life and death is fully apprehended at this moment. Not even being able stay awake for that long, he realizes the impossibility of escaping death. A fine line exists between humans and gods that cannot be surpassed. Gilgamesh understands that he cannot live forever, and that he must appreciate life as a mortal. But he also grasps that life and death are intermingled; even though mortals eventually die, humanity continues to thrive.