Theme Of Loss In Gilgamesh

Loss is a very sad topic, it makes people think about death. It mostly is about loosing .someone, such as a loved one. Loss in Gilgamesh is very direct, such as the loss of Enkidu. Not only there is loss of people, but there is also loss of objects. In Gilgamesh, the loss of an object is the loss of the plant, which was going to be used to become immortal. The loss of Enkidu made Gilgamesh suffer, but it also made him go on a good journey in search for something that he wanted, so that what happened to Enkidu, would not happened to him.

When Enkidu died because of the incident between him and Ishtar, Gilgamesh suffers. His suffering affects many people in many ways. Because Enkidu died, Gilgamesh became scared of death, and that made him go on his journey to achieve immortality. “He said to himself that he would hasten to him, the dangers of the journey notwithstanding,” (Ferry 48). The author portrays how Gilgamesh is determined to achieve immortality, even if the journey is dangerous. Gilgamesh will face those dangers, as long as he can gain immortality. The reader can assert that when Enkidu died, the fear overwhelmed Gilgamesh and that is what set him off to his journey to immortality. Just as people lose loved ones, they also lose people that they do not

“... a serpent of the place became aware of the fragrance of the plant, … and stole it away… ‘I descended into the waters to find the plant and what I found was a sign telling me to abandon the journey and what it was I sought for.’” (Ferry 80). This hints where Gilgamesh finally realizes that he cannot earn what he sought for, which was immortality. If he had not have lost the plant, there might have been a possibility that he would have become immortal. The plant had inspired him in thinking that he had a possibility in gaining immortality, but when the plant was lost, Gilgamesh lost all