After today’s class, I started to take Gilgamesh more seriously. I started to analyze the message behind the story and came up with this:
I found more definitions to takers and leavers in the story. Let’s say Gilgamesh is a taker and Enkidu is a leaver. A taker according to Gilgamesh believes he/she is two thirds a god, one third a man. On the other hand, leavers would consider themselves as two thirds animal, one third human.
Gilgamesh explains what has been happening, and what will continue happening in our world. I will refer to Enkidu as the leaver and Gilgamesh as the taker. The leaver led the taker to the forest, to cut down the cedar tree. Both did it for different reasons. The taker went to cut the cedar tree because we knew the wild and had to accompany and protect Gilgamesh. The taker went to cut the cedar tree looking for fame. "It is Gilgamesh, who will venture into the forest and cut the Cedar down and win the glory." (p.16)
The people of Uruk can be interpreted as the other species of animals. Only Gilgamesh (only us humans) dared to stand up to Huwawa (interpreted as nature) because he was part god (which is what we takers think). The people of Uruk, (the other animal species) respected that boundary and didn't dare to cross it, they had it very clear- they were just people (as animals and leavers know they are just other species).
Enkidu is the one that suffers the consequences of cutting down the Cedar forest. This made me realize that the leavers are the ones that are suffering the consequences of the takers' actions. We takers are destroying the world with our advances and it is affecting everyone, leavers included. This isn't fair because the leavers haven't done anything wrong, just as it isn't fair for Enkidu to have died.
There are more takers than leavers, and ironically the greatest amount of people had to be the ones destroying the world. Gilgamesh has started to answer the question- Where are we going? Enkidu died. Leavers are dying. Gilgamesh is trying to avoid death; we are avoiding the mistakes that have lead us here. Will Gilgamesh die because of his mistakes? Will we die because of our actions?
jueves, 4 de septiembre de 2008
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