Human Nature

In The Epic of Gilgamesh fear of the Unknown prevails as a dominant part of human nature. Even the book itself was created as a tool for answering lofty questions. Human beings fear death because there is no clear answer on what happens to our self awareness after our physical body expires. This fear is also present in Gilgamesh whom, until the death of his close friend Enkidu, is unbothered by the notion of death and believes himself to be immortal. Once Enkidu dies Gilgamesh says it plain and simple “How can I rest, how can I be at peace? What my brother is now, that shall I be when I am dead.” (97). Thusly Gilgamesh brings into account another aspect of human nature, giving meaning to life. It is Gilgamesh’s fear of death that shapes his life for the next part of his journey in which he searches for eternal life. He states “I wish to question you concerning the living and the dead, how shall I find the life for which I am searching?” (106). That is part of human nature, wanting a reason, meaning, or answer for life, but as is explained in this book, just maybe that is the only certainty in life: that it ends and that maybe we never will have all the answers that we inherently seek. Even today this is evident; when people grow old they have a ‘mid-life crisis’. They question what their purpose was in life and what is going to happen when the next step comes...its all part of human nature that can be seen in The Epic of Gilgamesh.