https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/hatergonhate/
All posts by s.smith2
Les Mis
Now I see why Les Miserables got such great reviews. It touched me, to my core. By the second half I was inconsolable, struggling to see the play behind my waterfall of tears. Why does it have such an impact on me? Perhaps that’s a silly question for someone who drove all the way to Philadelphia, to see the Rodin Museum and cried for the sculptures. But, that’s neither here nor there. I need to understand why this story makes me so emotional. After all I have nothing in common with the male protagonist Jean Valjean, who was convicted of stealing bread. So why do I care? Why am I crying like an idiot while simultaneously being thankful for waterproof mascara? But I digress. I was hooked from the very beginning; he stole the bread for his sister’s starving child. He’s selfless and brave, but not perfect.
It’s like the Sumerian proverb all over again, a mule isn’t just a mule. Everyone’s mule is different. For Jean Valjean the mule is his past. Inspector Javert is relentless in pursuing him, he believes him dangerous and a criminal. Valjean causes Javert to struggle with his own morality. He swore to uphold the law but finds himself being sympathetic to Valjean. In every close call Valgean is putting another before himself. Even when Valjean is given the chance to end Javert’s life, he sets him free. Javert is so conflicted, he takes his life by jumping into the river. This brought to mind the Norse proverbs and how distrusting we can be of each other. In both Les miserable and the epic of Gilgamesh the instrument of change was love. But do we really believe people change? Do they always remain a version of their former selves?
Gilgamesh. A quest to fame.
A significant portion in the beginning of the Epic is spent exalting Gilgamesh. He’s described as “two thirds…divine, one third …human” (Tablet I, line 50). I immediately thought of Thor the Demi-god, and wondered, why are so many heroes in stories gods or demigods? Perhaps it’s something about our humanity that leaves us wanting more, so we view it as a weakness and look to the perceived divine for strength. The writer wants to make sure we understand that he, Gilgamesh is like no other man. We are to admire him. The tone shifts abruptly when praise turns to criticism. “Gilgamesh would leave no son to his father, Day and night he would rampage fiercely, Gilgamesh would leave no daughter to her mother” (Tablet I, lines 60- 61 and 65) were among the complaints. Maybe he isn’t that perfect after all? I’m conflicted, why would someone like him need to rampage? What does he have to prove?
Gilgamesh’s ego is his motivation for most of his actions. He doesn’t care who he hurts along the way, because if he can’t live forever in flesh, then he’ll be immortalized by his memories. It’s the same motivation behind the tombs in Egypt, the ruins of Stonehenge, and the clay soldiers entombed in Xian, China. This is what makes Gilgamesh relatable. Knowing life has an expiration date, is the most impactful aspect of our lives. He goes on to say “The gods dwell forever in the sun, People’s days are numbered, whatever they attempt is a puff of air” (Tablet II, lines 176-178). He is resentful of the gods’ immortality and understandably so. Why should someone who has lived like no other man die like one? No one wants to imagine the world going on without them. Even though I found him selfish and egotistical, I was still able to pity and understand him.
He appeals to the most basic human need, the need for relationships with others. Gilgamesh says “I want a friend for my own counselor, for my own councilor do I want a friend” (Tablet I, lines 291, 292). The companionship he had longed for is realized when he becomes friends with Enkidu. He finds courage in his friendship. Whether romantic or platonic, relationships shape who we are and who we become. It is through this relationship with Enkidu, we get insight into the mind of Gilgamesh. In his own words he tells us what he hopes to accomplish by facing Humbaba. He tells Enkidu, “If I fall on the way, I’ll establish my name: ‘Gilgamesh, who joined battle with fierce Humbaba’. They’ll say” (Tablet I, lines 183,184). We sympathize with him because we all aspire to reach goals of self-actualization. It’s a common path. The plot where one wins a seemingly unwinnable fight to emerge a hero rings familiarity. We like familiar, it makes us comfortable. It’s that familiarity that makes the story of Gilgamesh transcend the boundaries of land and time. Even if we change the names and places, human nature is often the strongest subject in the stories we read. We use our own experiences to understand the world and this makes the themes we discover subjective. Despite our backgrounds, we all have friendships we foster that give us strength, and battles to fight to make a name for ourselves. We all have our own Humbaba to defeat.
- How does your opinion of Gilgamesh change as you read the Epic 99-124? Do you maintain the same attitudes towards him from beginning to end? Is how you feel about him unique to each situation he is involved with?
- While reading Gilgamesh, I came across the very common theme of women being used as tools or as a means to an end, such as when the harlot was used to seduce Enkidu. This is reminiscent of the dynamic between Adam and Eve, as well as Samson and Delilah. Why do we think women are written about in this way? Why is it that when a man gives into a woman’s charm, we are made to feel sorry for him, to pity him? Why do we not consider the woman’s point of view in these situations?
- How does your own life experience affect how you interpret Gilgamesh?
- After reading Gilgamesh, does it make you consider your own mortality? Does it make you stop and think about what you have achieved in life so far and what you want to achieve in the future?