Gilgamesh is going on another epic journey, but this one is far different from the first one he went on. The first epic he went to make his name and find fame, now he is trying to find immortality. He is haunted with sadness and sorrow, whereas in the first journey, he was jovial. As Gilgamesh goes on this journey, the people he meets all tell him that he cannot be granted immortality, cuing to readers that he should stop his quest, but he does not. Uta-napishti tells Gilgamesh that he must accept his mortal fate, which includes death. After Gilgamesh hears the flood story, he finally realizes that he cannot elude death.
An important part of the travel back home, Gilgamesh tells the boatman that he will share the plant with the elders of Uruk. This is a shift in Gilgamesh's thinking. Before, he was so consumed with grief that he only thought about how he could evade death, but once he realized he could not, he begins to think of the responsibility of being a king. As Gilgamesh shows off his city in the final lines of the poem, it shows that he is now ready to live his life as a ruler of Uruk.
The following article is exemplary of why the final tablets are important. It is titled, "Death and Dying in Gilgamesh." It is by Fr. Kurt Messick. The article starts off with the sentence, "The concerns of people haven't changed throughout human history." The article talks about death in Gilgamesh and how it, and us, deal with death and dying. You can find it at this link: Death and Dying in Gilgamesh.
With the closing of the tablet, it is easy to use all of the strategies I've posted about during the week. I'm also going to leave a link for reading response worksheets. They're helpful for seeing how students respond to certain portions of a text. Click on the following link if you're interested: Reading Response Worksheets.
Tomorrow is going to be a special post about the timelessness of the epic. I hope you enjoy it!
Cassy
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