Be Careful For What You Wish For

After Enkidu died, Gilgamesh felt that the gods would give him the same punishment that his friend received. For this reason, Gilgamesh was panicked, “Over his friend, Enkidu, Gilgamesh cried bitterly, roaming the wilderness. "I am going to die!--am I not like Enkidu?! Deep sadness penetrates my core, I fear death, and now roam the wilderness” (tablet IX). In this moment Gilgamesh could only wish for an eternal life, so he went in search of it.

Eternal life is a very dangerous gift, because eternal has no finish line. It might be a gift, because during life you can do dangerous and risky decisions. Also, you can take your time in everything, and will never have to rush. Nevertheless, it is a crazy and stupid wish. You may have eternal life, but that doesn’t mean you will stay young, or that you will always be in the same condition. Maybe, you will have to live for an eternity in a comma or paralyzed, and that would be a dreadful life. Also, you will live for a pair of generations with the people you love, and with the relationships you build, but by the forth generation you will loose all the loved ones. In addition, you will always have the ideas you were raised by, but future generations will deny your values and the way you think.

If I was Gilgamesh, I would really think about my wish, because he might be making a huge mistake. I would like that in the next tablets, Utnapishtim and his wife wouldn’t help Gilgamesh. This way, Gilgamesh doesn’t suicide himself by giving him a life, and it would demonstrate that even kings can’t escape from some consequences.