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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This is a 4 page paper that provides an overview of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Themes and symbols are analyzed towards examining what immortality means in the context of the story. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KW60_KFlit003.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
well as what its mythological qualities have to say about the history and social context of the society which created the story and deemed it worthy of preservation. In the
ensuring centuries, the text has seemingly only increased in depth and richness, offering up a host of opportunities to explore themes and symbols that are, amazingly, common between Mesopotamian society
and contemporary 21st century Western society. This paper will take an analytical look at Gilgamesh through observing inherent symbols and themes that resonate with other touchstones of Western culture such
as Greek mythology, as well as 20th century existential concerns about value and immortality. This paragraph helps the student begin to discuss the theme of immortality in Gilgamesh. At the
heart of the story of Gilgamesh is the desire of the titular hero to overcome the curse of mortality and grant a sense of meaning to his life through the
pursuit of immortality. Despite the eventual narrative resolution to this theme, the text does seem to project the theme that fleshly immortality in the de facto sense is less important
that immortality attained through a legacy of "heroic glory" (Dodson 2009, p. 25). To understand how this is the case, one might look at the very opening lines of the
epic, which address the reader, even the contemporary reader, directly and states in no uncertain terms that the "purpose" of the text is to carry on the legacy of Gilgamesh
the man as a form of immortality: "he who has seen everything, I will make known to the lands / I will teach about him who experienced all things" (Carnahan
1998, I.1-2). A critical argument can be made that the text itself promotes itself as the vessel of immortality through the process of iconicity, or the "iconic representation... of the
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