Essay on Dreams in the Epic of Gilgamesh

The story of Gilgamesh reveals some aspects which were displayed during the time of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was the first city-state in southern Mesopotamia. They had so many achievements such as the development of writing. The story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu is known to be, “the story of their becoming human together.” The story shares how two friends from different social classes get together and show the real meaning of love of friendship. Gilgamesh was a king of Uruk, “a city set between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in ancient Babylonia”. However, Enkidu was just a peasant boy. The book highlights the differences in everything from food to religious beliefs, Rich and Poor, and enables readers to imagine what life was like at the top or bottom of the social class in these societies.

A young man, “Enkidu was born on the Steppe where he grew up among the animals” and we can tell, came from a low social class. Those with low social class are expected to have bad jobs and society was to look down upon them. Enkidu, as half animal and half man, ran with the animals of nature who, “hailed him as their equal and king.” Gilgamesh was called “a god and man” and had revealed to be called a “tyrant” which in other words means that Gilgamesh was a cruel and oppressive ruler due to his category of power (evil power). People look upon him as a representative of the Mesopotamian God on earth and had received respect from all those around him. For example, the book Gilgamesh states, “Sometimes he pushed his people half to death with work rebuilding Uruk’s walls, and then without an explanation let the wall go unattended and decay, and left his people dreaming of his past and longing for change. They had grown tired of his contradictions and his callous ways.” Relating to the Mesopotamian time kings/gods were above all, nobody dared to question a decision made by their king regardless of how they felt or who the king is using his power upon like shown in Gilgamesh. The social class gave an order, a set of rules, and expectations for those to follow and if it was to be broken, the punishment was all that was left.

Those who were ranked in high social class were allowed to do many things and had many more privileges, compared to those in a lower social class who had little to no privileges. Gilgamesh the king had, the “privilege of sleeping with their brides before the husbands were permitted” meaning Gilgamesh as a King claims the first right to sleep with the wife of every citizen male who gets married. On the other hand, Enkidu is considered a nature boy who rescues animals from traps that humans had set for them and also whom the animals consider one of them. In Gilgamesh, we see how those who are ranged in a higher social class do not think of others in a lower social class and are heartless. Yet, when Enkidu finds and learns how Gilgamesh takes advantage of the newly married woman, he did not hesitate to travel from the steep and stands between Gilgamesh and the house of the newly married woman, opposing his advance. Gilgamesh “lunged at Enkidu” and “their feet danced the dance of life which hovers close to death”. Gilgamesh “...stood still exhausted...turned to Enkidu who leaned again his shoulder and looked into his eyes and saw himself in the other, just as Enkidu saw himself in Gilgamesh.” “They began to laugh and clutched each other in their breathless exaltation.”

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Mesopotamia had a very different religion. They believe that religion affected them in every aspect of life. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods, also known as polytheistic. For example, we see in the novel, “ Gilgamesh climbed up a mountain peak, made a libation of flour, and said: 'Mountain, bring me a dream, a favorable message from Shamash.' Enkidu prepared a sleeping place for him for the night; a violent wind passed through so he attached a covering. He made him lie down, and … in a circle. They … like grain from the mountain …”(31). This example represents how important religion is to Mesopotamian individuals. We see that people during this period would find a way to link both religion to dreams. We also see that religion is a very important aspect of their everyday life. In addition, the mesoscopic people feared the madness of the gods and believed that whatever was piety to the god, was good for them to do. Whatever that was impiety to the god was wrong to do because the god doesn’t approve of it. They also believed that gods have a certain respect and that if they are disrespected, you are no longer safe. People realized, disobeying god can also cause sickness and disease for those individuals. As shown in the novel, Anu says that, because Gilgamesh and Enkidu killed Humbaba, cutting down the most majestic tree in the Cedar Forest, and killing the Bull of Heaven, one must die. Therefore, Enkidu was diagnosed with fatal sickness because he had disrespected the god. This kept the people under strict religious rules and gave each individual rules to follow.

In addition, the population thought that Kings were chosen and sent by god. The people thought that they must have had a very close relationship with the god, to be chosen. According to the novel Gilgamesh was two-thirds divisible and one-third mortal, “he who saw the deep, the country’s foundation. Who knew…, was wise in all matters! Gilgamesh was seen as a wise, strong, brave, and heroic man to the society.” They believed that those were the characteristics of the kings that were sent by god. They also believed if they were to harm the people, it was because god had told them to do so which made people fear God and forced many to stay under control at all times following rules they do or do not like.

Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative is similar to The Kite Runner a novel by Khaled Hosseini.

The Kite Runner addresses issues regarding ethnicity, prejudice, religion, political unrest, friendship guilt, violence, and redemption. Though the novel only has three main settings which are Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States yet, these settings are depicted over different times. The setting in “The Kite Runner” directly affects how the main characters interact with one another at different points in their lives. In afghan culture, honor is everything. Hassan does not attend school while Amir refuses to openly acknowledge their friendship because Hassan comes from a lower social class. Hence, Baba (the father) does not tell Amir that Hassan is his half-brother because he is afraid of shame. If society had heard that Baba has slept with his servant’s wife, rumors would spread and destroyed his social standing more like Gilgamesh. He would not want to be looked down upon especially because he comes from a higher social class so he keeps Hassan a secret and made him a servant so he can still be under vision. Hassan would often take the blame if the two troublemakers get caught. Amir was a teenager and had looked down on his brother whom he did not know was to be his brother. He considered Hassan to be beneath him due to Hazara's ethnicity. Amir thought of himself as superior to Hassan and when viewing someone less than him and not as a human equal, it becomes easier to victimize them. Since Hassan has threatened Amir with his slingshot, Amir has sworn he would get him back for this and saw that rapping is perfect to bring him down and show him how more powerful he is due to his high social class. Raping Hassan was not only about sex, it was more about power, humiliation, and revenge when he saw his father getting close to Baba than him. Amir tries to make himself feel better for his betrayal by viewing Hassan as “only a Hazara.” Even after when Amir started to like Hassan, social status and cultural conflict prevented Amir and Baba to express their love for Hassan. Guilt came along right after when Amir could no longer sleep at night for what he has done to Hassan. Also as an adult, Amir continues to suffer from the overwhelming guilt of not helping Hassan and ends up seeking redemption. Also, both Gilgamesh and The Kite Runner both portray dreams to be very important and both show them in two different ways. Gilgamesh told the future and often foreshadowed upcoming events. Gilgamesh and Enkidu both believed that they come from the Gods. Their dreams were highly valued and were also evidence that the Gods were trying to communicate with them. In Gilgamesh, the Gods were needed to cast a sense of importance on the dreams. In Kite Runner, dreams are put in a different context and represent the change of characters or of perspectives. For example, when Amir sees his father wrestling the bear, he pictures his strong, muscular, and bold father. Then, we learn that Baba is no longer the one wrestling the bear, but rather it is Amir. This shows Amir has finally faced his fears and his search for redemption is now over. The dream Amir had set for his father has shifted and went to the picture he now has for himself. Going back to Afghanistan, and saving Sohrab, Amir is now the hero, thus he becomes the strong-willed man who has vanquished the bear. Now, in Amir’s own eyes, Amir sees himself as the strong and proud man, the man he saw in his father. Both novels revealed how important dreams are but both were represented differently. This connection has shown me that dreams often represent something and go further by expressing something about a character or situation in a more metaphorical sense. While at first I did not realize it, looking at dreams and thinking about them in a less literal way, great development the plot, and helps me better understand the story.