A Mortal's Sense of Immortality

A detailed Summary of A Mortal's Sense of Immortality

To fear death is to fear life itself. An overbearing concern for the end of life not only leads to much apprehension of the final moment but also allows that fear to occupy one's whole life. The only answer that can possibly provide relief in the shadow of the awaited final absolution lies in another kind of absolution, one that brings a person to terms with their irrevocable mortality and squelches any futile desire for immortality. Myths are often the vehicles of this release, helping humanity to accept and handle their mortal and limited state. Different cultures have developed varying myths to coincide with their religious beliefs and give reprieve to their members in the face of irrevocable death. The same is true for the stories in the Book of Genesis and the Mesopotamians' Epic of Gilgamesh. In these two myths similar paths are taken to this absolution are taken by the characters of Adam and Gilgamesh, respectively. These paths, often linked by their contradictions, end with the same conclusion for each man on the subject of immortality; that no amount of knowledge or innocence, power or humility, honoring or sinning, will achieve them immortality in the sense of a life without death.

How ironic it is that both Adam and Gilgamesh have their best chances at real immortality snatched from them by the same creature. The snake has become a loathsome creature, feared and hated by many and often seen as a symbol of evil and death. This is probably so because of how often it is represented as sly and wicked, if not at least hurtful, in its relations with the characters of myths such as the creation story in the Book of Genesis and in the Epic of Gilgamesh. However, if I were either Adam or Gilgamesh I think that, upon reflection, I would find that I owed somewhat of a debt of gratitude to the serpent, which set in stone my mortality. To life forever would deprive a being of the most valuable aspect of human existence, personal and intimate relations with others. Being an immortal mortal would set one in no man's land, being not quite a God and no more a human. Also, to watch those dear to us age and eventually die would lead to the revelation of how futile it is to have loved ones when they ultimately die and the immortal person is left alone, forlorn and mourning. Thus, as ironic as it is, the only way in which a mortal man can achieve any sense of immortality (through children and personal relationships) would be the Achilles heel of one who had attained immortality.

Existence in the wilderness is not easy for Adam or Gilgamesh. Adam has been stripped of having his every need met, his time unrestrained, and is now forced to provide for himself as a result of his sin. Gilgamesh's earlier glory is nothing but a mere afterthought, overshadowed by preeminent death and the harsh reality that the world will continue on once he is gone. Humanity will survive with or without him. Adam, on the other hand, has a new purpose of which to dedicate himself; the bearing of an entire human race. Through procreating with his wife and raising children a small share of Adam will live on following his eventual death. Through his offspring Adam will achieve immortality, perhaps the only way a mortal being can possess a portion of everlasting life. Gilgamesh's travels lead him to the one mortal person who has ever attained immortality, Utanapishtim, and fails the test of staying awake for six days and seven nights and is thus refused immortality. In despair, he cries, "The Snatcher has taken hold of my flesh, in my bedroom Death dwells, and wherever I set foot there too is Death! (Gilgamesh 105)". However, the ferryman tells Gilgamesh of another way of attaining perpetual youth in the form of a plant in Apsu, which Gilgamesh retrieves. The intentions that Gilgamesh has with this plant are somewhat uncertain, but I believe he means to share it with those of Uruk, for upon losing it to a snake he weeps,

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Approximate Word count = 1844
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English