Gilgamesh Tablets 1,2,3: In the eyes of 2 cultures

At this moment I have begun reading tablets 1,2,3 of Gilgamesh. I love this style of writing precisely because it puts me back into the time it was written. I can almost picture the carvings on the tablets. I sometimes get lost in my imagination of the time period and have to reread the passage, since I didn’t concentrate in the first place. Although this may have to do with my short attention span, otherwise known as ADHD. There are only 2 types of books that get me distracted; 1 a boring book and 2 a book that makes me reflect and think about the context. This book requires a lot of thinking and reflecting which is why I enjoy it so much. What is the fun of a book that doesn’t make you feel or think? Those were the kinds of books that we read when we were learning how to read. Right now we learning to reflect and this is exactly what this book makes me do. I have been thinking so much about how it was in those times, how hard reality must have been. They made up these stories I believe to escape from the reality of it all. If you notice a lot of the stories from this time period have to do with heroes or magic. I found it very interesting in the part of the prostitute. Although many have probably given reference to this, it was what stood out the most to me. The prostitute was looked on with normal eyes where as today prostitutes are looked at as dirty and cheap. It was almost as if there was a sort of respect towards her. The writing is also very different. There is a part where it says Enkidu and Gilgamesh kiss and hold hands. In our culture this is immediately interpreted in a homosexual context. Back then this probably was just a way of expressing friendship they had for each other. Another interesting aspect of this book is the printed text itself. The book is written in poetic couplets, something I wouldn’t have expected a story to be in. I am guessing this is either the translation or it was meant to have a poetic feel to it. Either way this really stood out to me. I also like that everything is written to the point and it doesn’t give you a huge introduction before saying something that could take one sentence. You could say it is very eco friendly not taking up huge paragraph to get one idea through. Every couplet says something new and blunt without giving a whole bunch of information that we don’t need. It is interesting how it can be so blunt, yet it can still make you feel and think. Maybe the bluntness in itself is what makes me reflect so much. This contradicts the rule of showing and not telling yet it is still very interesting because it tells you but it doesn’t state the obvious. To get the idea or hidden message you really have to reflect. Anyway I am going to have to reflect some more in my next blog because bed time= 9:30, I’m almost 16 fml.