Throughout their journey together, Gilgamesh grows more and more fearful of death. His fearful attitude and second thoughts become even greater after the death of Enkidu. Because of Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh sets out in search of immortality. Though meeting Utnapishtim, he discovered how it was possible to achieve eternal life. When the finally meet, Gilgamesh states, “I look at you now, Utnapishtim, and your appearance is no different from mine; there is nothing strange in your features.
While Enkidu sits in the house of the dead among the shadow companions?” (VII ii 21-24) The sudden death of Enkidu causes Gilgamesh to ponder something he hasn’t been forced to think about before: His vulnerability to death. Gilgamesh treasures this friend so much he does not know what to do without him. Looking to fill this whole he has after Enkidu’s companionship is gone, Gilgamesh turns to a quest seeking immortality to conquer death: something Enkidu had not been able to do. We find Gilgamesh’s quest to let nothing overpower him a reoccurring theme throughout the epic.
It was not enough that one put down their life if one’s life was worthless. A man who has nothing to lose is not sacrificing anything, and so in early cultures sports became a way of bringing honor to that individual before dying. In the poem the young athlete is not sacrificed nor does he die of his own will at all. None the less Housman draws this comparison because the athlete did die close after his triumph and thus did die as a winner. Aside from the barbaric view of the ancients there are other reasons for dying young after an achievement can be prized.
The means of which each hero completes their quest gives humans a lesson on life and how humans also do grow up and get better at things and problem solving. Everything that Stillman has said about a hero’s quest is in its own particular ways true and valid, but each story has its own life lesson and these will be revealed to you. As a hero Gilgamesh goes out on his quest in a different way than both Rama and Odysseus. His different way still has many parallels to the other two heroes though. Gilgamesh was a half-man, half-god and what the class considered bored, so he went through his city and the wilderness killing everything and anything for no apparent reason other than he had the ability to do so.
Out of all the themes in A Gathering Of Old Men the greatest was reaffirming self worth by taking action. The most crucial character that made this theme so strong was Mathu. Without Mathu reaffirming self worth by taking action would not be a major theme. Things such as Mathu being the only one to ever stand up for himself and everyone going to Mathu's house support this. Every man in A Gathering Of Old Men seemed weak and wanted to run away when they heard about the killing of Beau.
Halliday confirms this realization as Wade is being awarded, “I created the OASIS because I never felt at home in the real world. I didn’t know how to connect with the people there…Right up until I knew it was ending. Because reality is real” (364). The only reason why Wade wanted to win before was to gain power and money so he could escape the harsh reality many poor people faced. He learned from Art3mis, Shoto, Aech, Og, and Daito that life is more important than refuge from harsh reality.
Gilgamesh was proud and dictated his subjects because of his supremacy while Sunjata remained humble despite his abilities and achievements. Gilgamesh’s godly powers made him unstable and as a consequence he suffered from immoderation. Sunjata’s humility is witnessed during the burial of Sogolon. The king was against Sunjata’s idea of honoring his burial. Despite Sunjata’s position as a hero before the Mande people, he humbled himself and used other ways to convince the king and he succeeded in the end.
Odysseus faces several conflicting motivations and loyalties. There were times when he just wanted to give up but he didn’t, there were times where he had to choose where his loyalty would lie and the decision may have seemed selfish, but it was the right thing. This was no ordinary journey and not many modern day heroes would not have been able to handle, but Odysseus wasn’t just any hero, he is an epic hero. He displays all the characteristics of an epic hero; humble, confident, bold, trust in gods, and the ability to stay calm. Most people would never survive such a journey, but as I said before Odysseus is like no other and he is truly a man of twist and
Martin Luther King Jr. Do you ever feel like society looks down upon you because you have a flaw? As much as we may deny it, no one is perfect in society’s eyes. Martin Luther King Jr. knew he had a major drawback; the color of his skin. However, he did not let that hold him back from following his dreams and becoming one of the most well known people in our world today. He changed lives for people all across the world.
However true that may be, that he did commit a final act of loyalty for his father, along the way he still continuously lost and found an inconsistent faith that lead him along a questionable heroic path of glory. Hamlet did not die as he lived; he accomplished his task but not admirably so. He disregarded everyone that sincerely cared for him, igniting a series of events that would eventually lead to their suicides and or murders. Hamlets did what he was meant to do, but the way in which he went about leaves many wondering at the true nobility of his