Nguyen1

Nguyen1

NicholasNguyen
Ms.Moore
English2
1November2012
ComparativeEssay:NoahandGilgamesh
ThestoriesofGreekandbibliologyarequiteinterestingwhenthegreatstoryoftheflood
ismentionedfromtheepicofGilgameshandtheawesomeNoah,saviorofhumanityaswellas
Gilgamesh.TheEpicofGilgameshisbasicallyaboutagodandmanwhoistryingtosave
humanityfromadevastatingfloodandtherewardhereceiveimmortality,butinthemeantimehe
hastodo2taskstogaininit.Noah,ontheotherhand,healsohastosavehumanity,buthehas
tobuiltanarktotowithstandthefloodandintheend,hedoesntreallygainimmortalitybut
liveslike900years.Inaddition,therearemanysimilaritiesanddifferencesinbothmythsto
discuss.
Duetomankind'sannoyanceandevilness,thegods,werestartingtogetfrustratedof
themMoreover,theyplannedtoblotoutmankindwithamassiveflood.IntheEpicof
Gilgamesh,Utnapishtimfoundoutaboutthefloodfromthegod,Ea,throughhisdreams.Asfor
Noah,godhimself,toldNoahthattherewouldbeamassivefloodbecauseofmankinds
evilness.Noahsreactiontobeingchosenwaslikeheknewitwashisresponsibilityevenwhen
hewassurprised.Hewasselectedtosavehumanitybecause,hewasliketheonlysinlessperson
onearth.Noah,hadtobuildanarkthatisthelengthof300cubitsandthewidthof50cubitsof

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gopherwood.Theheightwas30cubits.AsforUtnapishtim,hisreactionwasalsokindofthe
sameofNoahs,buthewasoverlyselfesteemedaboutwhatobjectiveshehadtodo.
Utnapishtimwaschosenbecausehetoowasafantasticman.Thefirstthinghehadtodowastell
thepeoplethatTheGodswereAngry
atthemfortheirannoyance.Accordingtoeachofthestories,Noahsarkwasmuchbiggerby
180cubits.Eachofthesaviorofearthhadanawardforsavingmankindwhichwasthepowerof
immortality.TheonlythingisthatNoahdidnttechnicallyreceiveimmortalityhegainedlike
900yearstolivebutstilldieslikearegularhumanbeing.Noahsarkwasabout300cubitsin
lengthand50cubitsinwidth.Heusedgopherwoodandpitchtomakeitwithstandtheflood.
AndforUtnapishtimsboat,theoverallsizewasoneacre,whichis120cubitsmakingasquare.
Hebuilt6decksbelow,7inall,iolbasketsincluded,pitchwasusedforstrengthandwater
resistantandlastbutnotleast,oilandasphalt.Togetherthatsumsupto480cubits.Mankind
evilnessandannoyancedisturbedthegodsandisgoingtounleashamassiveflood.Thatiswhere
theboatscomeintousefulness.
SinceitisNoahsandUtnapishtim'sfatetosavehumanity,theybothsetofftoagruesome
journeytocompletetheirobjectives.Noahpreparedbyretrievingtwoofeverykindofanimalon
earth,7pairsofcleananimals,alongwitheverykindoffoodstoredfortheanimals,andhis
familyonboard.Utnapishtimpreparesbytellingthecitythatenilhasrejectedhimandhecanno
longersetfootinenilsterritory.Healsoloadedhisboatwithanimals,relatives,craftsmen,and
allofthebeastsandanimalsofthefieldtoboardtheboat.Thejourneyaheadofthemwas
deadly.ForUtnapishtim,thegodAdad,godofthunder,hasunleashedarumblingintheclouds.
Hehadtogothroughalotoftaskstogainhisreward.ForNoah,hehadtogothroughrainfallfor

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40daysandnightsandthewatersfloodedtheearthforahundredandfiftydays.Noahwaited
nearlyeightmonthsfortheearthtodryout.Thetwostoriesbothhadasimilarlanding.Noahhad
towaitalmostanentireyearfortheearthtodryoutfromtheflood.AsforUtnapishtim,itonly
tookaround21daysforthefloodtocompletelyfinishup.AfterthefloodendedforNoah,god
invitedhimoutoftheark,sohecanreasonwithhimGodpromisedNoahNeveragainwill
therebeafloodtodestroyhumankind.Godsentarainbowasasignofeverlastingcovenant.
AfterthefloodforUtnapishtim,ontheseventhday,hesummonedadove,swallow,andaraven.
Theravenwastheonlyonethatdidntcomebacktohim.Then,hesenthislivestockoutin
variousdirections.IttookNoahayearforthefloodtovanishandUtnapishtimwassomething
like21days.DuetothegoodconstructionsofbothNoahandUtnapishtim,theyfindlandafter
themassiveflood,butwhatisleftoverwassaddening.
IntheendofGilgameshandNoah'sstory,theybothendupcelebrating.Noahswaysof
celebratingwasbyeatingalotofgettingwasted,aswellasgettingnaked.AsforUtnapishtim,
hecelebratedbysacrificingasheepandunderthesheepwascedar,reed,andmyrtle.Noahs
wayofendingwasthatgodcalledhimoutofhisarktotellhimthathewillnevereverdestroy
humankindandsentarainbowasasignofpeacebetweenhimandman.AsforUtnapishtim,he
justgainsimmortalityandsacrificesananimal.Eventhoughbothsaviorofearth,enduredthe
floodandsurvived,theyeachgainadifferenttypeofimmortalitythatwillcontinuetopasson
forgeneration.
Bothstoriesareveryidentical,butitoriginatedfromdifferentperspectives.Thetwo
saviorsbothenduredthefloodintotalvariousways.Thegodsofbothstorywerefrustratedwith
humankindbecauseoftheirannoyanceandloudnessandso,thegodssendamassivefloodto

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wipethemoutoftheirmisery.NoahandUtnapishtimbothhadsomeimmortalitytypeofan
award,exceptthatNoahdidntreallyobtainimmortality,hejustlivedfor950yearsandthen
died.Theirendingswereprettysimilartoeachother.Theonlythingdifferentbetweenthemwas
thatforNoah,GodsentoutarainbowasasignbetweenmanandHimselfandforUtnapishtim,
Hegainsimmortalitywithhiswifeandheisdone.Therefore,tofinishthingsup,bothstories
havealottocompareandcontrastabout,butahumancanonlydosomuchforanessayabout
mythology.