Saint Columban College

Graduate School
Pagadian City

Name: Dafne Ria A. Alban

Journal Entry No. 2
Directions: ASSYRO-BABYLONIAN LITERATURE
Write a response to each literary entry. You may analyze a character, ask questions, and explain a
passage. Then relate the passage to the culture of the day and discuss how the reading selection relates
to today, rather than summarizing the reading. Extract important values and then relate as a language
teacher on how can this be effectively taught to your students.
1. Epic of Gilgamesh

Upon realizing the theme which this story revolves around, it made me think about my
experience during college days. Our English professor wanted us to write a poem. I don’t know why
but I was always fascinated about death. Ironic as it seems because my biggest fear is death, I wrote
something about it. Maybe because that’s my way of overcoming such fear. That when you fear
something, you felt the need to approach and acknowledge it in order to end such. It never goes away
though.
The epic of Gilgamesh is a very interesting story. I noticed that change is also a mantra
throughout Gilgamesh’s journey toward finding eternal life. Gilgamesh became a change man when
he met Enkidu who became his best friend. So when Enkidu died, it’s like a part of him was dead too.
The death of Enkidu became a plot twist because that’s the time when Gilgamesh reflected the impact
that Enkidu leaves on him. That certain experience is very evident into the lives of mortal beings like
us. We get too attached with people that when it’s time for them to live us, we felt deep sadness and
wounds. We remember the memories, the unforgettable moments together, and the pain is
excruciating.
This story is a prime presentation that there is never constant in this world even us. I’ve heard
a certain Visayan phrase which goes, “mangahanaw tang tanan sama sa dahon sa balili.” Death- the
absence of something called life. And deep inside human beings wished to become immortal too. It is
undeniable that everyone feared death. But no matter what we do, just like how Gilgamesh search for
a quest to eternal life, when death calls we really can’t hide.
Hence, we should remember to live with humility at all times. The earthly things we
possessed are not a product of our hard work and perseverance at all times because these are only
blessings and God’s gift to us. We are humans who are given mission by God to be accomplish.
Whatever we have achieved in our lives, be it our profession, careers, and wealth are all temporary. At
the end of the day, we should leave something to be considered a legacy of great kind. And that’s
how we lived according to God’s plans and purpose, how we treat people just as how we love
ourselves and how we could make a difference into other’s lives.
This story is extremely wonderful to be taught in class, its values are immense and it could
really impact the lives of the learners. A group dramatization or role-playing activity would be great if
we wanted the story to be more meaningful to our learners. A journal as this one would be great too.
We could see how the learners was moved by the story and how such impacts their minds and life.