How_Are_Cultural_Values_Conveyed_Through_the_Narrative_Structure_of_Gilgamesh_

How are cultural values conveyed through the narrative structure of Gilgamesh' “Gilgamesh” is probably the oldest story ever recorded and is about Gilgamesh – King of Uruk and his quest for invulnerability and immortality, but eventually leading to his ironic death. This is an epic tale and follows the structure of an epic hero cycle. Structured by events that are deemed quite stereotypical in modern storytelling, it still conveys universal themes that relate to people even now. The epic hero (Gilgamesh) is boasted by the author to be someone to be respected and admired (e.g. “Supreme over other kings, lordly in appearance”). This represents and highlights the heroic aspects of Gilgamesh and makes the audience think that he is a truly great character that is capable of completing any task and overcoming any obstacle. Alternatively, the audience can think that through all the boasting, the hero is really not that amazing, but is overhyped and egotistic. It is through the author’s description of the epic hero that the audience becomes engaged or uninterested with the protagonist and creates an image of what the hero is like. The hero comes across several obstacles that hinder him from finishing his quest (e.g. man-scorpion). This is not only to increase the length of the story, but to force the hero to prove himself worthy of being able to complete his quest. This conveys the troubles that everybody faces and represents the trial of being worthy to obtain the goal/reward at the end (eternal life). The role of the divine plays an active role in the epic story of Gilgamesh as they seem to provide Gilgamesh with immense strength, knowledge and other characteristics that can be increased to that of more than any human is possible of attaining (e.g. “Anu granted him the totality of knowledge of all” [Anu being a god over the people of Uruk]). This presents the audience with the fact that the hero cannot embark his epic quest alone and cannot achieve his goals without assistance. In the case of the mythical epic tale of “Gilgamesh”, Gilgamesh obtains his assistance from gods and obtains superhuman traits. Although claiming to be born 2/3 godly, it is within the structure of the epic story that requires him to entail help and this relates to the audience as everybody needs assistance at some point. Gilgamesh, although an ancient tale, still conveys cultural values that are entertaining and relevant because of the structure of the narrative.