Thursday, Jan. 15

--Today we wrapped up Gilgamesh with a final discussion in the same groups as last time. The questions are pasted below--if absent, you can complete them on your own to get credit.
--We also started a "scratch art" project. If you were gone today, you'll need to see me to get the materials and directions.
--Turned in Gilgamesh packets
--HW: Finish scratch art. That's it!


Gilgamesh
Group Discussion Questions, Books 6-11

Directions: Discuss the following questions with your group, trying to come to some sort of consensus. Then write your response in 3-4 complete sentences. Everyone should record at least one answer.

BOOK VIII:
1. After Enkidu’s death, the epic goes in a new direction. Gilgamesh begins a long, beautiful lament for his dead friend. Discuss the changes that Gilgamesh undergoes as a result of his friendship with Enkidu.

BOOK IX:
1. Gilgamesh now realizes that he, too, will die and allows his life to fall apart; he does not bathe, shave, or take care of himself (somewhat reminiscent of the original Enkidu) because he is terrified about death. On his journey to find Utnapishtim, the first stage—the trip through the tunnel—is successful. What are the dangers in this first part of the quest?

BOOK X:
1. The tavern keeper, Shiduri, seems to offer Gilgamesh good advice for living after Enkidu’s death. Why doesn’t Gilgamesh pay attention?

BOOK XI:
1. When Gilgamesh asks Utnapishtim to reveal the reason the gods made him immortal, the man recounts the ancient story of the Flood. This is the “vision” of the “primeval days before the Flood” promised in the Prologue. But this vision doesn’t seem to help Gilgamesh find the answer to his question, “Must I die too?” Scholars differ on the reasons for including this account of the Flood; why do you think the narrator included it?

2. Based on the fact that the ending of the story is the same as the beginning, what can we assume is the overall message regarding Gilgamesh’s failure to achieve eternal life? What has Gilgamesh learned by the end of his epic journey?

OVERALL:
1. What is the relationship in this story between the ideas of the wild and the civilized? Pay attention to the relationships between Enkidu and Gilgamesh, Humbaba and Enkidu, Gilgamesh and his subjects, and the town of Uruk and the surrounding wilderness.

2. It can be argued that Gilgamesh contains a set of allegories (stories with literal meanings but with symbolic meanings as well, where some sort of moral or life lesson is conveyed.) Find an episode of the story that might be considered an allegory, then 1) briefly retell the literal meaning, 2) explain what the symbolic meaning might be, and 3) decide what it might teach us about ancient Middle Eastern civilization.