Meta Literature, O'Brien & Mid Term Preparation

O'Brien as Meta Narrative

Mid Term Study Guide

Gilgamesh & Creation Myths

Today was the last day that we discussed creation myths. We discussed the Epic of Gilgamesh and, afterward, compared it to Genesis. We noticed that both stories had the following elements in common:

• snake
• forbidden element
• mate
• flood
• magic plant

Yet, while both stories had similar elements, they treated these elements differently. Here are some of the differences.

- Snake
o Genesis: temptation, evil and dangerous, caused the Fall, intentionally evil. (personified)
o Gilgamesh: thief (not personified)

- Forbidden (equality w/ Supreme Being)
o Genesis: don’t eat fruit/ = with God
o Gilgamesh: abuse power, search for immortality (= to God)

- Mate
o Genesis: Adam = Eve, supporting role. Eve was a part of Adam. Established hierarchy.
o Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh = Enkidu. Balanced each other. Matched strength. Cooperated.

- Flood
o Genesis: destructive, punishment
o Gilgamesh: increases difficulty

- Plant
o Genesis: fruit/tree of good and evil. Provides knowledge. And it’s forbidden.
o Gilgamesh: Plant of immortality. Challenge. Goal.

You noticed that the difficulties and pitfalls of Genesis were often created intentionally, while in Gilgamesh, these elements occurred naturally (they often created challenges, but were never punishments or temptations).

From this realization, we realized that this suggests very different relationships with the world and with dieties. The world of Genesis is invested in punishment, while the world of Gilgamesh might be challenging, but is not intentionally so.

As a soundtrack to Gilgamesh, I suggested the song "Fame" precisely for the lyrics. 

I'm gonna live forever
I'm gonna learn how to fly
(High)
I feel it coming together
People will see me and cry

I'm gonna make it to heaven
Light up the sky like a flame
(Fame)
I'm gonna live forever
Baby, remember my name

These words state am ambition of acheiving greatness, similar to Gilgamesh's ambition for immortality. (But Gilgamesh probably did not wear legwarmers.)

Group Work:
Identify the culture that produced your assigned myth
Summarize the story
Explain how it fits the definition of "creation myth"

1) Illiad
2) Odyssey
3) Aeneid
4) Dante's Inferno
5) Chinese creation myth

Please post your answers (1 per group) as a comment to this post.