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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 7 page paper which examines how Sir Gawain better exemplifies righteous living through good deeds and altruism, as opposed to Gilgamesh, who values only himself and is concerned only with self-reward. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGgilgaw.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
are celebrated in prose. The protagonists that are featured in them are not always noble and heroic. Occasionally, their weaknesses are emphasized to remind others to learn from
their shortcomings and adapt their lives accordingly. The ancient, anonymously composed tales, The Epic of Gilgamesh and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight consider two very different definitions of
moral precepts. Gilgamesh represents the consequences of man putting himself and his own needs above all else while Sir Gawain reflects a man, who though unable to live up
to the chivalric ideal, exemplifies righteous living that is determined not by self but through altruism and the performing of good deeds for others. In Uruk, King Gilgamesh is regarded
as a towering figure, who is one-third man because his father was mortal and two-thirds divine because his mother was the goddess Rimat-Nimsun. However, his ego is equally massive
and he believes power should be used to exploit his subjects for his own pleasure. In his criticism of The Epic of Gilgamesh, Tzvi Abusch writes, "Gilgamesh... is... deeply
committed to his own personal absolutes (614). He contends that as king, everything is his for the taking, including the local women. According to Tablet I, Column ii,
"Gilgamesh is a fate alive... He knew the secret paths that reached the eagles nest above the mountain and he knew too how just to drop a well into the
chilly earth. He sailed the sea to where Shmash comes, explored the world, sought life, and came at last to Utnapishtim far away who did bring back to life
the flooded anywhere a greater king who can say, as Gilgamesh may, I am supreme?... Gilgamesh watches the flocks of Uruk himself as if he were a loose bull, nose
...