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For this text, you will be keeping Cornell notes based on your reading of the text, and based on class
discussion. That means that you should update your notes during class based on what your peers have said,
adding your own thoughts on the right-hand side.
As you analyze the text, you should think on both macro- and micro- cosmic levels. How does the
quote reflect human experience and understanding? How does it reflect your own? What is the author saying
with this quote? What does this quote say to you?
As we read, look for quotes about love, friendship, human limits, ambition, death, what makes us
human, and law and justice. Each of your responses should be at least two complete sentences in length; they
may be longer, as seen in the example below. You should have at least three quotes per ten pages; that is a
total of twenty-four quotes for the entire poem. This will be a major project grade, as well as minor
assignment grades for note checks. You will be graded on thoroughness, thoughtfulness, and inclusion of both
reading- and discussion-based notes. Make sure to include page numbers!
YOU MUST WORK IN GOOGLE DOCS.
Quote 1: “He ran beside the freed gazelle/like a Friendship: We learn about Enkidu and his demeanor
brother/and they drank together at a pool/like two here. He relates strongly to the creatures and is very
friends/sharing some common journey/not needing animal-like, yet he is a man. He finds comfort and
to speak but just continue.” Pg. 16 companionship in the animals and wildlife. To
foreshadow, he may lose this companionship and
become very lonesome.
Quote 2: “People said: he looks like Gilgamesh/but Response: Gilgamesh tells his dreams to his mother,
he is shorter and also stronger/.../they hailed him as Ninsun. She then analyzes these dreams and tells him
the equal of their king.” Pg. 22 what will come from them. She tells Gilgamesh that
“his equal would fall to him like a star from heaven.”
We see here that the people know the significance of
Enkidu.
Quote 3: “He turned to Enkidu who leaned against Response: Here we can see that Enkidu is the solution
his shoulder and looked into his eyes and saw himself to the problem of Gilgamesh becoming too god like.
in the other, just as Enkidu saw himself in Gilgamesh. Enkidu helps him learn how to be more human.
In the silence of the people they began to laugh and Gilgamesh is doing unexcusable things, but his
clutched each other in their breathless exaltation.” people see his potential. In order for him to fulfill that
Pg. 24 potential, he needs to connect with someone. Enkidu
needs to become more human and Gilgamesh helps
him. They were both incredibly lonely
Summary: Enkidu lives as an animal, but is a man. Gilgamesh lives as a god, but is a man. Gilgamesh does
not realize that he is unfulfilled and lonely. He sleeps with men’s fiancés before they get married and
constantly battles and kills men. A hunter sees Enkidu and sends a prostitute to seduce him so the animals
will shun him. Enkidu becomes more human after meeting the prostitute. He meets the king and they fight
because the king constantly fights people who he believes he is better than. Gilgamesh is scared and jealous.
Neither of them can beat the other. They recognize their equality and realize that this is what they both
have needed.
Quote 1: “Enkidu was afraid of the Forest of Friendship: Even though Enkidu is afraid, he stays
Humbaba/and urged him not to go, but he/was not true to his promise of companionship with
as strong as Gilgamesh in argument,/and they were Gilgamesh. This shows us that where Enkidu is weak,
friends:/they had embraced their vow/to stay Gilgamesh is strong; and where Gilgamesh is weak,
together always,/no matter what obstacle./Enkidu Enkidu is strong.
tried to hold his fear.” Pg. 27
Quote 2: “I learned, Enkidu said, when I lived/with Response: Enkidu lives questioning everything he
the animals never to go down/into that forest. I does. He needs a reason and verification for every
learned that there is death/in Humbaba. Why do you thing that he does. Being friends with Gilgamesh
want/to raise his anger?” Pg. 28 opens his eyes to a world of bravery and boldness.
Quote 3: “Their voices gave the confidence his Response: The people of Uruk encourage the king
friend/had failed to give; some even said/Enkidu’s and believe in him. Although Enkidu believes in
wisdom was a sign of cowardice./You see, my friend, Gilgamesh, he is not certain that they will make it
laughed Gilgamesh,/the wise of Uruk have out of this journey alive. He is the more cautious
outnumbered you.” Pg. 31 equal. This balances out Gilgamesh’s wild and
spontaneous side.
Quote 4: “You are not my son but I adopt you/and Ambition: Ninsun, Gilgamesh’s mother, embraces
call upon the same protection now/for you I called the same maternal feeling when regarding Enkidu.
upon for Gilgamesh./She placed a charm around his She feels strongly about the protection of her son.
neck, and said:/ O let Enkidu now protect his friend.” She knows that Gilgamesh protects Enkidu when he
Pg. 33 is lost, so Enkidu must protect Gilgamesh when he is
lost.
Quote 5: “I can’t imagine being left alone/I’m less a Response: In his dream, Enkidu hears that one of the
man without my friend./Gilgamesh did not two men has to die. Since Gilgamesh has never had a
believe/the gods had chosen one of them to die.” Pg. good friend like Enkidu, he denies this and wishes
47 that things would be the same. This shows that the
relationship between the two was extremely
important to Gilgamesh.
Summary: Gilgamesh and Enkidu traveled into the Forest of Humbaba to defeat Humbaba himself. They
were very afraid and had multiple dreams telling them that only one of them would make it out alive.
Gilgamesh calls to Humbaba by chopping at a cedar. Humbaba, very strong and powerful, hears this and
attacks. He beats Enkidu into the ground. On edge, Gilgamesh stands over Humbaba with an axe. Humbaba
says if he doesn’t kill him he will worship Gilgamesh as a god. Gilgamesh resists and kills him anyway. Ishtar,
goddess of love, fruitfulness, and war, comes to Gilgamesh and brings him his royal robes and crown. She
says the gods blame him for the death of Humbaba, but they will forget if he marries her because she will
have love and peace. He says she is a trickster and “an old fat whore” and says no. She asked her father,
Anu, to let the Bull of Heaven destroy him. The bull killed 300 men then attacked Gilgamesh. Enkidu found
strength and killed the bull. Ishtar cursed the Uruk lands with grief. Enkidu’s wound grew worse. He had a
dream telling him one of them had to die to pay for the loss of the bull of heaven. Gilgamesh knew Enkidu
was close to death. Enkidu feels empty and helpless. He regrets becoming man because men see death in
things. Enkidu dies and Gilgamesh now feels empty.
Quote 1: “The only nourishment he knew was Response: He felt hungry and needed to be filled.
grief,/endless in its hidden source/yet never ending The only way he could feel in any way better was to
hunger.” Pg. 53 grieve. He felt as if he couldn’t be happy. This shows
us that Enkidu filled his hunger and now that he
didn’t have that friendship he was lonely.
Quote 2: “Gilgamesh wandered through the Response: Enkidu distracted Gilgamesh from the fact
desert/alone as he had never been alone./When he that he was alone. When they met, Enkidu helped
had craved but not known what he craved.” Pg. 54 Gilgamesh to forget his lonely past.
Quote 3: “He could not be sure,/going on with Response: Just the idea of Enkidu brings peace to
only/the companionship of grief/in which he felt Gilgamesh. When he says “companionship of grief” I
Enkidu at his side./He said his name: Enkidu, think he is saying that Enkidu is now an initial
Enkidu,/to quiet his fear/through the darkness.” Pg. thought of fulfillment, but an eventual thought of
59-60 sadness and emptiness.
Vocabulary:
Futility- pointlessness or uselessness.
"the horror and futility of war"
Summary: Gilgamesh feels empty and needing to be fulfilled. He learns the ache of death. Mad, perhaps
insane, he tried to bring Enkidu back to life. His life became a search for life’s meaning. He wanted to talk to
the one who had survived the flood and death itself, Utnapishtim. He went to the Mountains of Mashu. The
mountain’s peaks reached the shores of heaven. He tells the guards that he has come to see his father,
Utnapishtim, to ask about life and death. He wants to bring Enkidu back to life. The scorpion guards says
there is only death and grief beyond the mountains. He forced the guards to let him through and noticed
that the guards feared for him. He traveled through darkness for days. He eventually stumbles upon a
fruitful valley. He was in pain because he was now free from the darkness. He explains aloud why Enkidu
was so special to him. He realizes he’s doing this for no reason for nobody can hear him. He reached a
cottage where Siduri lives. She drew away from him in fear. She doesn't know his grief. She then took pity
on him and took care of him and tried to help him forget his pain. After awhile, her presence began to
suffocate him. He asks her to tell him the way. She tells him with fear. He finds Urshanabi and tells him his
story. Urshanabi realizes that he had come this far to find an end to his despair. The boatman says he may
not get to Utnapishtim because he broke the sacred stones. He told Gilgamesh to cut down trees so he
could use them to get the Utnapishtim across the sea of death. He finally gets to Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim
was the only one on his journey who didn’t add to his misery. They share the same loneliness so Gilgamesh
feels relieved. Utnapishtim tells him that compassion burns forever. Utnapishtim begins to fulfill some of
Gilgamesh’s emptiness. They chat and Utnapishtim tells his story. He was told to abandon his belongings
and build a ship. He fled from holocaust and death and was very sad. The god of war crowned him as a god.
Gilgamesh longs for eternal life like he felt with Enkidu. They traveled to Utnapishtim‘ home where they met
his wife, who seemed fairly simple and recluse, but knew her husband well. His wife wants to wake
Gilgamesh and send him home but Utnapishtim says he needs sleep. He wakes up after 7 days. Gilgamesh
still feels drawn back to death. Utnapishtim scolds the boatman for sending him across. His wife says that
Gilgamesh has come so far and their journeys are, in a way, similar. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that there is
a plant at the bottom of the river that gives you new life. They hugged and Gilgamesh tied stones to himself
and got the thorn plant. When they parted, Gilgamesh no longer felt the loneliness of death. He took a dip
in a stream and left the plant unguarded. A serpent came and ate the plant. Gilgamesh felt lonely and wept
yet again.
Quote 1: “Perhaps, he feared,/his people would not Response: Gilgamesh could relate to Enkidu and
share/the sorrow that he knew.” Pg. 91 Utnapishtim very well. Before he had Enkidu, he had
nobody to compare himself, his feelings, or his story
to. Returning to Uruk is like returning to his past life.
Summary: Gilgamesh must return to Uruk. He fears he has nobody to share interests with now that he does
not have Enkidu. He asks a man if he has ever heard of Enkidu and the man says no. This shows Gilgamesh
that it’s impossible to keep the names of friend’s we have lost. He then notices the tall walls and for a mere
moment all that laid behind him passed from view.