Shannah Meares
Summary of class 9-22-05
Gilgamesh as an Archetypal Coming-of-age Story

	In class today we went over the story of Gilgamesh. We said that Gilgamesh is a story of coming of age, a quest, and origination. We also said that Gilgamesh was an example of an epic story. The reason that it is an epic, is beacuse it is a grand timeline story which involves heroes, and unifies people.
	Gilgamesh, as a story of coming of age, is about Gilgamesh becoming a man. He experiences three parts of love which were love, friendship, and hardships. When Gilgamesh experienced these he turned down love, lost a dear friend to death, and went through many trials and tribulations. Dr. Lee said friendship is anticipation of mourning. Gilgamesh dealt with seven days of mourning when he lost his dear friend, Enkidu. His mourning showed how importnat his friendship was.
	Gilgamesh is also a story of quest. He went through many heroeic fights and trials. Gilgamesh was on a quest to figure out life and death. His adventures made the reader anticipate what was going to happen next, which makes the story exciting. 
	Last, Gilagamesh is a story of origin. Gilagamesh was writen in order for Sumerians to know where and how their culture started. His trials and tribulations allowed Gilgamesh to discover a land called Uruk, today's Iraq, and become the king. The story showed the Sumerians how they came to be. It is important for people to know where they came from, because why would one be proud and defend themselves when they do not know who they are, or where they came from.