http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/brown.htm - please read this essay on Storytelling and the Meaning of Life
How does this essay help you understand the myth better?
What do you learn? Do you agree or disagree wtih Arthur Brown's analsys and why?
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37 comments:
This essay breaks down everything that happens in the Myth and analyzes the important things that happen and uses evidence from the text to show things like irony, character growth, etc. I learned more about the irony of the story, which Brown explains very well. I agree with the statement "What Enkidu gains is wisdom," because he went from being a jungle-man to civilized. He learns so much on the journey and gains wisdom from his experiences with the prostitute, Gilgamesh, and other characters he encounters.
By reading the analytical essay written by Arthur Brown, I have obtained a much better understanding of the myth. This is so because it shows me about characterization in the myth. It shaos me that Gilgamesh used to be a cold hearted person who just wanted power, and wanted to lead the people of Uruk, not take care of them; He also thought that he was the best around. But, when Enkidu came around, he started to shape Gilgamesh's life around, showning him that he wasn't the strongest man alive, and showing him what compasion is during their journey together. I do agree with Brown's analytical point of view about the meaning of human life argument. This is so because the story does show Gilgamesh that imortality isn't always the best polociy because you can't have a civilization without mortality, and that's very true. This is so because without mortality, nothing will ever change, and if nothing changes, then eventually, something goes wrong with the order of civilization, and everything then plunders into an abyss.
Andrew Villa Period 8
While reading the essay by Arthur Brown I understood the myth better. The essay shows quotes from the myth and explains what they mean. I agree with the statement "Gilgamesh has no compassion for the people of Uruk." Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk but did not care for the people. He just thought about all the powers he had and not about all the people he had to care for but did not. Then the gods had created Enkidu, which was another Gilgamesh. They have a journey in the forest and then they encourage each other to face death. Then Enkidu teaches Gilgamesh about companionship and the meaning of life.
Stephanie Lizzul
Period 1
The essay helped me have a better understanding of the myth. The essay analyzed every important event that happened and used direct quote/evidence from the text to show literary elements such as characterization and tone. Like Stephanie, I also agree with the quote "Gilgamesh has no compassion for the people of Uruk." I agree with this because although Gilgamesh was the king, he did not care about anyone else in Uruk except for himself. He thought about how powerful he was and didn't even think of using his powers to help others before himself. He took advantage of his power and control for his own selfish needs. Because of this, the gods created Enkidu, the wild man of the forest who is the exact opposite of Gilgamesh. Enkidu and Gilgamesh challenge eachother, but then become friends after realizing that they have the same strength. During their journey, Enkidu teaches Gilgamesh about companionship, and helps shape Gilgamesh's life on a positive note. Because of Enkidu, Gilgamesh changes as a person for the better.
After reading this essay I was able to grasp what happened better. The essay breaks down everything that happens in the Myth. It also analyzes the important things that happen in the myth. Like both Stephanie and Monica I also agree with the quote "Gilgamesh has no compassion for the people of Uruk." I agree with this because even though Gilgamesh was the king, he did not care about anyone else in Uruk except for himself. He saw his power as a control thing and not how he could help the people. He took advantage of his power and control for his own needs. Because of this, the gods created Enkidu, who is the exact opposite of Gilgamesh. Enkidu and Gilgamesh don't see eye to eye at first, but then become friends after seeing that they have the same strength and will power. During their journey, Enkidu teaches Gilgamesh about companionship, and helps shape Gilgamesh's life to a more understanding and unselfish way. Because of Enkidu, Gilgamesh changes as a person and king.
This definitely helps me with the myth I'm reading in school. It explained the meaning behind the tale Gilgamesh by using and analyzing the text(agreed with Monica) to explain a greater meaning, using human history in terms to explain the meaning of life. This essay also broke down, step by step what happened in the story and by doing so, he referrs to the text often to back up his statement. I agree with what Arthur drawn out from the story because I believe Gilgamesh is a hero for everything Gilgamesh have done for himself and for his people. All the lessons he learned from his mistakes or wrong doings as a person, as a god, as a hero, also can be seen as a positive lesson for those who look up towards him.
-Michelle Xia(:
The essay really does help me to better understand the myth of Gilgamesh. Arthur Brown uses a lot of evidence, as well as direct quotes in order to create a better understanding for the reader. He breaks down the story from section to section, throughly explaining and analyzing the various events, challenges, and obstacles Endiku and Gilgamesh encountered. At the beginning of the story, "Gilgamesh has no compassion for the people of Uruk." Gilgamesh was extremely selfish, and didn't care about the people of Uruk; he just wanted to gain more power and continue to rule. The people of Uruk cry to the gods, begging to have them create a ruler of equal power. The gods answer their prayers and cries and create Endiku--Gilgamesh's equal, but more uncivilized. On their journey, they both learn a lot from eachother. Gilgamesh learns from his past mistakes while "What Enkidu gains is wisdom".
-Angelina :D
After I read the essay written by Arthur Brown, I was able to further comprehend the epic of Gilgamesh. At first I thought of the story as just an adventure that Gilgamesh goes on, but after Arthur Brown's analysis about the story I was able to understand the purpose of story and the meanings to it. When Gilgamesh went through tough situations with Enkidu(his equal), defeating Huwawa; their bond grew stronger. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh finally feels the pain for death and he wanted immortality. In the end he realizes that he will not gain immortality but his story will live on forever. This is the part of the story where the hero learns a lesson, I believe Gilgamesh also learned that immortality will not bring happiness because he won't cherish life if he was immortal.
After reading this essay about The Epic of Gilgamesh, I understand it a whole lot better then I did before. This is because this essay described the Epic of Gilgamesh in further detail so it is easier to comprehend. I learned about the real meaning of The Epic of Gilgamesh. & Lastly I agree with Aurthur Brown's analysis.
After reading Arthur A. Brown's analytical essay reguarding the epic of Gilgamesh, I have recieved a greater value of understanding about the myth. Through Brown's use of relevant context clues for corresponding ideas, I have been enlightened with various thoughts/ideas in which I most likely wouldn't of observed on my own. For instance, when Mr. Brown states "In celebrating Giglamesh -- in reading The Epic of Gilgamesh -- we celebrate that which makes us human," I am truly understanding the unobsevred idea in which involves Gilgameshe's traits as an epic hero; further, how Gilgamesh must approve of the fact that death does appear in all living matter. As Arthur Brown specifies, Gilgamesh must experience the death of others, and die himself. Through my eyes, due to Brown's accurate analysis, I now understand in deatil, the characterization of Enkidu; moreover, how Enkidu's failure to survive shapes Gilgamesh's sudden but overpowering fear of death. Comparatively, in regards to the quest Gilgamesh takes part in, as he is on a constant search for immortality.
How does this essay help you understand the myth better?
Well, this essay was pretty helpful, except for the first seven paragraphs. It was helpful because it explained each aspect of the story in detail and in easier terms, without all of the hard vocabulary words, and unnecessary wording.
What do you learn? Do you agree or disagree wtih Arthur Brown's analsys and why?
From this essay I learned a whole part of the story that I didn't know, which was Siduri. Who tries to tell Gilgamesh to stay human, and to persuade him not to continue on with his search for immorality although he doesn't listen. I agree with Brown when he says Enkidu gains wisdom, because he is no longer a wild man beast, he is now civilized; he wears clothes, eats actual food, and has learned acceptable behavior.
I also agree with Brown when he says "If it is "life" the gods retain in their keeping, it is not human life, for human life depends on the passage of time and the possibility of death." I agree with this because it reminds me of a saying I like that is, "It is not how many years you've lived in your life, it is how much life you've lived in your years." What Brown says, I also Interpret as is that if you are immortal you are not going to live life to the fullest, if you know you have all the time in the world to do things, which I totally agree with.
:)
This essay helped me to have a better understanding of the myth by showing step by step what happenes in each part of the story and breaks it down. It also helped me get to know the characters better. I learned that Gilgamesh went on this journey to learn life lessons, how to be human, and have an outerbody experience. He learns about frienship, love, and death. Along the way Gilgamesh meets new people and takes their advice with him. Gilgamesh has his sucess and failures but he learned to be a better person inside and out. I also learned new things about the myth I never knew about like how after his journey Gilgamesh told stories about his adventures and how he had a wife named Siduri. I agree with Arthur Brown's analysis because it showed Gilgamesh transition from not knowing what to do, to being a civilized man.
This essay helped me understand it better because it described it more and gave more details than the book we read in class. I agree with his analysis because it showed how gilgamesh was looking for how to become immortal
this essay makes me understand gilgamesh so much more because it takes each part/section of gilgamesh and breaks all down into a better way of understanding it.this essay explains a whole new part of gilgamesh that the book doesnt quite cover. the part that i didnt get out of the book was the part of siduri. this character humanizes him, and makes him more humanly then beastly.this is how this essay helped me.
This essay helped me to better understand the myth better by giving me an analysis of what is happening. The writer of this essay related the entire story back to human existence as well as making some religious references. I now have a little bit better understanding of what the epic story is about and want to actually read the entire story now.
I learned that you cannot escape the inevitable truth of human life. We live and we die. You can try and find a way to stop this but you will be on a never ending treasure hunt. You also learn the companionship and help from others is important. His essay was most certainly analyzed very well.
The essay helped me to understand the story/myth of Gilgamesh a little better. I already had a petty good understanding of it when we read it in class, and the essya pretty much summed it all up for me. Some things that I read in the essay that I did not know before was about how he found the plant that was supposed to restore youth. I think that it shows that he learned to put others before him from the journey because he wanted to give the plants to some of the old man rather than himself. I agree with his analysis because he makes a lot of points about how it has been changed. For instance, the beginning shows how it was changed to sound like it was meant for readers instead of listeners.
Once I read the essay it was able to break down the myth of Gilgamesh, and made it easier for me to understand. The essay gave me a good analysis, and although I pretty much new what was going on, it helped me to understand it even more. There were several sentences that I felt were important in Gilgamesh that I didn't really understand. From reading that essay it was able to break down the sentences and describe them in detail. I do agree with Arthur Brown's analysis. The reason being is because he talks a lot about how Enkidu wanted to become civilized. At first Enkidu and Gilgamesh challenge eachother, but then soon become friend after realizing they are each other's equals. Through their journey Enkidu teaches Gilgamesh an important lesson.
After reading this essay by Arthur Brown, i had a much better understanding of the epic of Gilgamesh.Brown related the entire story back to human existence as well as making reference to religion. Also, I learned that you cannot escape the truth of human life. We live and then we die. You also learn the companionship and help from others is important. His essay was most certainly analyzed very well, and explained everything to its full potential.
From reading this essay, I was able to look at the myth from Gilgamesh in a whole new light. By just reading certain tablets on our own the understanding of it was very vague, but Brown really broke down the story itself. Talking about literary elements and how it connects to the world we know now, I do agree with Brown's analysis. He really dug in deep to the meaning of Enkidu and Gilgamesh, how they related, challenged and learned from each other.
I agree with basically all fo the comments above mine in that Arthur Brown was very analytical. Before I discuss the article/essay more, I'd like mention that, in the article/essay was the word verisimilitude. I just thought I'd let you guys know that I looked it up, and it means "the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability"... just in case you were wondering. :D That's a pretty cool word.
ANYWAY, back to Gilgamesh. In the article, Arthur Brown discussed how Gilgemesh is the king, so he kills people's sons and rapes their daughters. If he was such a terrible ruler, why did people still consider him a hero? That made me think... Arthur Brown discusses the ironies and contradictions of Gilgamesh, so I would definitely agree with that. I don't think his article really helped me to understand the myth better though. I think I understood it pretty well when we read it. We read a different version then he did. :D Did anyway notice that in his version, the monster's name is Humbaba? Hmmmmmm
WOW I got off topic :D
This essay helped me understand the myth because it explained the deeper meaning of things in the story. I learned how the author of The Epic of Gilgamesh had synbols and connections in the story, such as the serpent which also appeared in The Garden of Eden. I agree with the way Arthur A. Brown describes the character, Gilgamesh, in the siwth paragraph.
How does this essay help you understand the myth better? What do you learn? Do you agree or disagree wtih Arthur Brown's analsys and why?
The essay definitely helps me understand the myth better.It gave me an idea of what I was looking for in this story.I agree with Arthur Browns analsys becasue he took the epic and broke it down in a way that made the character seem believable.
This essay helped me understand the myth because it gave a more in depth meaning of the story. The text shows irony, and character growth. Brown expresses that "What Endiku gains is wisdom." He went from living in the wilderness to becoming a civilized man. The story also explains that you live and you die.
This essay was very well detailed with very good description of the myth. This helped me understand the myth easily. I liked how the author made this essay very understandable, and put it in a way we could understand. Also he made it so that the myth is very realistic which makes it alot easier to understand.
Arthur Browns essay made me understand the myth of Gilgamesh better then i did before because i liked the way that he broke down the story in different sections to make the difficulty of the read more clearer. The text shows the growth of the character and some irony. Endiku gains wisdom and left living the wildness to becoming a man that was civilized to everyone, and that's why everyone bowed down to him.. The story also says hat you cannot run away from death, and i think that was the whole point of the story. It was the meaning of life: which was that you live and die. There isn't a person in the world who can run away from death.
After reading the article, I realized alot about the story of Gilgamesh that hadn't seemed important before. For example, the role of the narrator. The narrator in the story of Gilgamesh draws the reader in and takes the reader through the story. The article also helps to understand the general plot of the story better. It explains the character development and irony of the story. It helped me understand Gilgamesh and his mission better but still explains the lesson of life and death for all. The essay gave a clear and helpful analysis of the story and helped me comprehend it much better.
I wasnt interested in the story at first, but when I started reading it I learned to like it more. The narrator has an important role in the story, they tell the story as it unfolds
-Chris Cinturati pd. 8
This essay helps me better understand the epic of gilgamesh because it kind of gives a process for understanding the poem. The essay helps me better understand the myth because it doesnt only go over each major section of the poem it analyzes the characters for who they truly are. The author simplifies the ideas of people in mesopotamia to help us better understand there desires and fears. They wanted eternal life, I agree with the ideas of Arthur Brown he turns the epic poem of gilgamesh into modern language while giving his generalizations about it.
Moses Allred
period 2
ELA
This description of Gilgamesh was very detailed, and helped me to have a clear understanding because it is broken down into different organized parts.
This essay helped me to ubderstand the meaning of Gilgamesh, not just the plot. I could also understand Gilgamesh's thoughts, which were not revealed in the story.
One statement I agree with is 'If it is "life" the gods retain in their keeping, it is not human life, for human life depends on the passage of time and the possibility of death'. Gods can change your way or quality of life, but they cannot change the length of life, because it depends on reality, not fate.
After reading this article, I fell that I better understand the myth. Arthur Brown really was able to go into each and ever passage and analyze the myth and bring it into the real world. One thing that I have learned is that no matter what you do, you can never escape the cycle of life. You will always be born, and then die. You can never be mortal, even if you try like Gilgamesh did.
by reading this it made it easier for me t understand the myth of Gilgamesh
-victoria eng
After reading this i was able to understand the epic poem of Gilgamesh a lot better. I learned where it came from, and what things in the story ment. The author of this essay explains to us who Gilgamesh was and how he acted. To help us understand it better, he connects and uses direct quotes from the story to show us what exactly he is talking about. I learned that Gilgamesh used his power for his personal needs and not to help others. Because of this Enkidu was now put in the picture, they battled each other but later on became friends. It also shows how characters in the story change, for example Enkidu went from being uncivilized to becoming decent and civilized.
-Christian Segura
the brown essay made it alot better for me to understand the peom. broke the story down in section and gave an indepth summary of the characters. making it easy to under stand how gilgamesh and enkidu ended up becoming friends when the god made enkidu to prevent gilgamesh from having so much power.
michael edwards
this essay makes me understand gilgamesh so much more because it takes each part/section of gilgamesh and breaks all down into a better way of understanding it.this essay explains a whole new part of gilgamesh that the book doesnt quite cover. the part that i didnt get out of the book was the part of siduri. this character humanizes him, and makes him more humanly then beastly.this is how this essay helped me.
After reading the essay by Arthur Brown, I have found a better understanding of the way that the myth was ment to be told. Arthur Browns descriptions of Endiku in the story makes me better undersatand the character. For instance he states that Enkidu is "innocent of mankind," and knowing "nothing of cultivated land". This shows the simpleness of the character which also reflects on Gilgamesh's character ,since Endiku is the equal of Gilgamesh.
The essay written by Arthur Brown helped me understand the myth better because it breaks down the story and uses evidence from the text to show things that he talked about. I learned that there was Irony in the story, and I agree with a lot of people when they say that Gilgamesh was not compasionate, that was true because he killed the sons and raped the daughters so that was wrong and he was king so I feel that the essay had alot of analysis and details.
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