Frustration

Gilgamesh experiences sorrow at the loss of his beloved friend Enkidu. He becomes temporarily insane and runs in the wild, hacking down any animal that gets in his way and colleges its skin. His frustration with life and how he needs to do something about his empty and short life makes him go to great lengths to make himself remembered for all times.. To cope with further sorrow, he promptly moves to seek out eternal life. The karma of Gilgamesh's hubris catches up to him. After befriending Enkidu and taking down Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven, Gilgamesh's pride and arrogance catches up to him with the fall of his companion and the ardor of seeking immortality. Passing through the lions and the tough mountain road. Gilgamesh undergoes a superhuman test of strength and will in order gain retrieve his goal. Much like an epic, Gilgamesh goes through the tests and trials as many heroes in Greek mythology have.

The physical endurance that Gilgamesh goes through shows his supernatural side as well as his human side. His supernatural side allows him to survive through the harsh trials of fighting lions, traversing dangerous mountains, and confronting scorpion-men. At the same time, he experiences fear and fatigue from his journey. When he finally makes it to Uta-napishti, his “cheeks so hollow”, “face so sunken,” and “mood so wretched” (George, X 213-214). The arduous task of the journey to reach Uta-napishti shows the effects on the human side of Gilgamesh. So the frustration goes on as he is weary and fatigued by the grueling journey. The amount the Gilgamesh undergoes just to achieve the hope of immortality shows the motivation and rigor that he is willing to go through. The stress is an example of the ongoing stress and frustration in Gilgamesh's life.

When Gilgamesh does meet Uta-napishti, he is not granted immortal life. Uta-napishti explains how such things are gifts and that they cannot be earned. Because there was no way he was going to obtain immortality through the gods, frustration kicks in once again in Gilgamesh, as all his work was in vain and that all that he achieved was going to be for naught. When he learns of the thorn that can make him young again, he quickly jumps on the hope that he can even have the chance to put off death. After he retrieves it and then loses it, he loses all hope and experiences more and more stress and frustration.

Gilgamesh's experiences the full magnitude of frustration and sorrow. Whenever he reaches a goal and a chance to achieve eternal life, it escapes his grasp and leaves him even more broken. The frustration adds up and leaves him broken. Also, the fact that he doesn't have immortal life due to his human side adds to his frustration that he will die and that he cannot live forever. He had to endure all that hard work and pain just to try to achieve immortality. The pain that Gilgamesh goes through the final 3 tablets shows the sadness that came with living in arrogance. His hubris led him to his continual frustration and left him with less than he hoped for in remembering who he was.