Gilgamesh Return
Jacob Esworthy
2/18/13
Paper Proposal
Return of Mr. G I will be doing, “The Return of Mr. G,” for my first paper. I plan to show that Gilgamesh did indeed change throughout the epic and how this return to what seems a repeat of the story is in fact happening because of Gilgamesh’s new and improved lifestyle. The reason I picked this topic was because during class discussion I had many great ideas, which I did and purposely did not share because I knew I would either blog and/or write my paper about the topic. Pretty much I had already thought of many textual references for this topic. Most of which are quotes from tablet X, such as “No one at all sees Death…”(Gilgamesh 86). This in my eyes means that no one sees death coming but when
it does many people will know. Gilgamesh later states, “I will eat it myself, and be again as I was in my youth…a snake caught scent, came up silently, and bore the plant off” (Gilgamesh 99). This is a huge turning point in the story, because if Gilgamesh would’ve eaten the plant, he would’ve been the same as he was in the beginning of the story. He does not know it yet but the plant being taken was a good thing for Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh tells the boat man, “A square mile is city, a square mile date-grove…half a square mile the temple of Ishtar,” (Gilamesh 99). Gilgamesh tells this to his new friend, but rather than bragging about Uruk, I think this is the first time Gilgamesh has ever noticed the city’s actual beauty and knows that is where he belongs and accepts dying there among his people. Gilgamesh says the plant was going to be named, “Old Man Grown Young,” (Gilgamesh 99), and that that meant to me is that Gilgamesh wants his youth back and it is not until he finds the plant and has it taken that he actually learns and changes his ways to become a more mature King.
2/18/13
Paper Proposal
Return of Mr. G I will be doing, “The Return of Mr. G,” for my first paper. I plan to show that Gilgamesh did indeed change throughout the epic and how this return to what seems a repeat of the story is in fact happening because of Gilgamesh’s new and improved lifestyle. The reason I picked this topic was because during class discussion I had many great ideas, which I did and purposely did not share because I knew I would either blog and/or write my paper about the topic. Pretty much I had already thought of many textual references for this topic. Most of which are quotes from tablet X, such as “No one at all sees Death…”(Gilgamesh 86). This in my eyes means that no one sees death coming but when
it does many people will know. Gilgamesh later states, “I will eat it myself, and be again as I was in my youth…a snake caught scent, came up silently, and bore the plant off” (Gilgamesh 99). This is a huge turning point in the story, because if Gilgamesh would’ve eaten the plant, he would’ve been the same as he was in the beginning of the story. He does not know it yet but the plant being taken was a good thing for Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh tells the boat man, “A square mile is city, a square mile date-grove…half a square mile the temple of Ishtar,” (Gilamesh 99). Gilgamesh tells this to his new friend, but rather than bragging about Uruk, I think this is the first time Gilgamesh has ever noticed the city’s actual beauty and knows that is where he belongs and accepts dying there among his people. Gilgamesh says the plant was going to be named, “Old Man Grown Young,” (Gilgamesh 99), and that that meant to me is that Gilgamesh wants his youth back and it is not until he finds the plant and has it taken that he actually learns and changes his ways to become a more mature King.