Gilgamesh was in search of eternal life, immortality. This was because after witnessing the death of his friend, he realised that he was mortal and that death can come for someone at anytime; he wanted to stop it from coming to him.
There is a similarity between this story and the biblical story of Noah and the ark. In both stories the Gods are believed to have been angered to the extent that they wanted to punish the people by using floods. Both Noah and Untanpishtim were asked to build an ark/boat and to enter with their families together with their animals of both sexes. This was then followed by floods that led to the death of masses as it was intended (King James Bible, Genesis ch3: 1-.20)
There is a similarity to current genetic research that aims to improve and increase a persons’ life. In the story Gilgamesh tries to find a way to ensure that he will not die and will live forever.
Why is the monster hawawa not described clearly?
The monster is described as being scaly and no more description is given. This gives a chance to the readers to be able to use their imagination and picture the scariest creature they can picture. It also works to confirm the notion that anybody who has seen it does not back to tell about it to the people.
In what ways did Gilgamesh change after his journey? Was he the same as he was as a younger man?
As a young man Gilgamesh was known to be arrogant, he believed that he deserved to have power to do all he wanted. He would use his physical strength to have his way by even raping women and other people’s wives.
As the story progresses, he meets Endiku and they become good friends. From this friendship he learns how to love and care for someone. He also learns how to be loyal in friendship. After the death of his friend, he learns that he is mortal and the pain of loosing his friend leads him to look for a way of escaping death, this proves to be a futile endeavour.
When he realized that he cannot escape death, he learns to be loyal to his city and defends and protects it from the monster hawawa. In the process he learns that power is not given, it is earned.
Work cited.
The King James Bible, The story of Noah and the Ark, Genesis, 1896, Macmillan Publishers
