When one is born he or she is dependent on other people, for example their parents. Upon growing up, people tend to be more independent and face a lot of challenges in life. Most people aspire to be rich and powerful and thus spend most of their time and resources to achieve this. This desire of being great often changes people’s social character as it makes them more egocentric in nature.Such people give little attention to the people living in their surroundings. They believe that a good life is determined on how successful one becomes. However, occurrences like losing a great friend to death or being ill and almost dyeing acts as a wakeup call to them. These occurrences bring them to the harsh reality of death and that interacting with people and being sympathetic is important.
In the book “The epic of Gilgamesh”, Gilgamesh the king of Uruk focused on achieving self- satisfaction in life. He built Ziggurats. These were towers of the temple and built high walls which surrounded the whole city. He became a cruel king as he oppressed people and raped women. Gilgamesh and Enkidu his friend steal cedar from a forbidden tree, spurns Ishtar the goddess of love and kill the Bull of Heaven which makes the gods kill Enkidu (Sandars 47). The death of Enkidu reveals to Gilgamesh about the reality of death. Death is inevitable. The journey of life finally ends when one dies. People try as hard as possible to avoid death and live longer. They are ready to give anything to live eternally. People should understand that death will one day strike them and thus prepare themselves throughout their journey in life for that fateful day. Although it is painful to lose the people we love, it is important we understand that death is a rite of passage for every person.
Utnapishtim gives Gilgamesh a plant which has the ability of restoring someone’s youth. Gilgamesh decides to share the plant with the elders of his city. He had learnt the importance of sharing and being good to the society. In the Book “Death of Ivan Ilyich and other stories”, Ivan is obsessed with personal satisfaction. Ivan’s wife notices something unusual with her pregnancy but upon telling Ivan, he gives a deaf ear to her and focuses on his job. However, when he falls sick, he suffers the consequences of his isolation and learns the importance of interacting well with other people during one’s journey. He wishes that he had spent more time with his family. From both stories, it is evident that the journey of life requires people to be sympathetic and interact with each other.
People in power or in a higher social class should respect the poor and women. The only person who understands Ivan when he is ill is his own servant. There are no benefits for being cruel to others. If such a person was good to others, people will be willing to help them by all means. However, if he or she was cruel, people might hesitate to offer their support to them. Although he mistreated his family when he was healthy, his family never left him when he fell ill. This shows that family plays a major role in one’s life. Family provides one with strength to endure the challenges of the journey of life. Ivan’s daughter is a good example of a person who lives well with other people. She sympathizes with the people in need.
It is prudent to balance between seeking personal satisfaction in life and caring for the people around us. Gilgamesh is a handsome, strong and courageous king. However, he focuses only on making his name great in the community. He is ready to do anything provided it benefits him. To him building huge constructions is a great thing. Ivan, on the other side, is also determined to be rich and have a high social class. He furnishes his house and only marries because a gentleman of his social standards is ought to have a wife (Tolstoy 87). Seeking self satisfaction tends to make people to become selfish. There are a lot of things in the journey beyond material things. Being self centered only serves to hurt the people around you. Both characters, Ivan and Gilgamesh hurt the people around them as they seek self satisfaction. Thus, the journey requires one to strike a balance between searching for wealth and avoid hurting others in the process.
In conclusion, the theme of journey of life is well expressed in the two stories. Gilgamesh and Ivan come to know about the real meaning of life and the journey of life later in life after they saw the reality of death. The reality of death acts a lesson for the characters. Everybody chooses the kind of journey he or she will walk through but every choice has its consequences. In the journey, no one can walk alone.
Works Cited
Sandars, N. K. The Epic of Gilgamesh: An English Version with an Introd. Rev. ed. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1972. Print.
Tolstoy, Leo, and Ronald Wilks. The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.