Name: ______________________
Date: ______________________
Block #: ____
Gilgamesh Journals
Directions: Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper after reading
your assigned section of Gilgamesh. Be thorough in your responses and use textual
support to prove your ideas. Remember to use proper MLA format when citing
quotations from the text. Each response should be a minimum of one complete paragraph
(around 4-8 sentences).
Gilgamesh: Book I (pages 1-24)
1. What type of ruler is Gilgamesh? Use specific quotations from the text to support your
ideas. What was he famous for?
2. What is Enkidu’s life like before he is found by the hunters?
3. Why is a prostitute sent to Enkidu?
4. Once Enkidu “knows” a woman, he is no longer a part of the animal community.
Why—what has he lost? Explain where else have you seen this concept/motif.
5. Dreams are a major theme/motif throughout the narrative. Paraphrase (retell in your
own words) Gilgamesh’s dreams about the star and the axe. Next, retell how his mother,
Ninsun, interpreted his dreams.
6. Why do Enkidu and Gilgamesh fight when they first meet?
7. Why do Enkidu and Gilgamesh stop fighting?
8. What is your initial reaction to the text?
Gilgamesh: Book II (pages 27-35)
1. Who is Humbaba (pages 27-29) and why does Gilgamesh want to kill him?
2. Cite two quotes illustrating the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Explain
how important their friendship is to these two men.
3. Enkidu and Gilgamesh have very different perspectives about going to Humbaba’s
forest. Explain each of their positions. Whom do you agree with?
3. What is the significance of Gilgamesh’s desire to cut down Humbaba’s sacred cedars?
4. What is our hero’s flaw? Cite two quotes from the text to prove your ideas.
5. Gilgamesh wants to prove “that the boundaries set up by the gods are not unbreakable”
(30). Why? What does this say about him as a man?
6. The Elders predict Enkidu will save Gilgamesh. In the same vein, what does Ninsun
tell and give Enkidu?
Gilgamesh: Book II (pages 36-50)
1. Before Gilgamesh and Enkidu battle Humbaba they both have a restless night. Explain
the visions and dreams of both characters. What does Enkidu predict these visions and
dreams foreshadow?
2. What happens when Gilgamesh chops down one of Humbaba’s great Cedar trees?
Summarize how Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill Humbaba. What do they do with his head?
3. Why does Gilgamesh turn down the advances of Ishtar, the Goddess of Love? What
beast does Ishtar ask her father, Anu, to send to punish Gilgamesh?
4. Enkidu is aware that the gods have chosen him to die rather than Gilgamesh even
though they consider Enkidu to be “innocent.” Why do you think Ishtar and the gods
would decide this? What eventually causes Enkidu to die?
5. As Enkidu dies he tells Gilgamesh that he “will be left alone, unable to understand in a
world where nothing lives anymore as you thought it did” (49). Interpret his meaning.
6. What does Enkidu predict will happen to Gilgamesh?
Gilgamesh: Book III (pages 53-61)
1. Describe how Gilgamesh feels after Enkidu passes. Cite specific quotes from the text
that support your ideas.
2. In Book III it is said that “being human holds a special grief of privacy within the
universe that yearns and waits to be retouched by someone who can take away the
memory of death” (54). Explain and interpret.
3. What is the significance of the way Gilgamesh dresses for his quest?
4. Who is Utnapishtim and why does Gilgamesh want to find him?
5. How does Gilgamesh deal with the Scorpion people and what is their reaction? What
does this reveal about Gilgamesh’s character?
6. After traveling in darkness for days, Gilgamesh enters in a beautiful valley. This
imagery is a type of spiritual metaphor for coming out of the dark depths of grief, and has
been borrowed by many modern authors. However, what does he realize once he arrives
at this new place?
Gilgamesh: Book III Part II (pages 62-71)
1. Gilgamesh meets the barmaid she inquires about his haggard appearance, which he
attributes to grief. She tells him “No one grieves that much…your friend is gone. Forget
him. No one remembers him. He is dead” (63). Why is this so upsetting to Gilgamesh?
2. What advice does the barmaid give Gilgamesh? What is your opinion of this?
3. How does the barmaid describe Gilgamesh’s personality on page 66? What is his
reaction to this? What important items does Gilgamesh smash in the midst of his rage?
To whom might these items have helped him get to?
4. Urshanabi (the boatman) says Gilgamesh will never be serene until he does what?
5. Upon Urshanabi’s suggestion, how does Gilgamesh cross the sea of death? What
symbolism is evident here?
Gilgamesh: Book III Part III (pages 72-80)
1. Utnapishtim (the figure similar to Noah from the Old Testament) says, “Many years
ago through loss I learned/ That love is wrung from our inmost heart/ Until only the loved
one is and we are not” (74). What does he mean by this? Explain and interpret.
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2. What has Utnapishtim learn is the only real way toward immortality? Who is the Only
One?
3. In what ways does the flood sense remind you of Noah’s famous Old Testament story?
In what ways does it differ? (Try your best on this one – I know we haven’t studied the
Old Testament yet!)
4. Utnapishtim has what Gilgamesh has been searching for—the key to eternal life.
However, is Utnapishtim happy? Why or why not? Provide support for your ideas.
5. In your opinion, what is the greatest of Utnapishtim’s insights so far?
6. Bring with you to the next class: one thoughtful question or comment to share. One
point extra credit if you can find a reference to the Biblical Prodigal Son story in this
section!
Gilgamesh: Book III Part IV (pages 81-87)
1. Utnapishtim’s wife is
2. Why, based on his current state of mind and attitude towards life, is it ironic that
Gilgamesh really wants to be immortal?
3. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh of a plant that will give him immortality. What happens to
the plant after Gilgamesh finds it? What does the serpent symbolize/stand for in
Gilgamesh and the Old Testament book of Genesis?
Gilgamesh: Book IV (pages 91-92)
1. Blind men are known for their wisdom in ancient texts. Upon returning to Uruk,
Gilgamesh asks a blind man if he has ever heard of Enkidu. What is his reaction? What
lesson does Gilgamesh learn from his reaction?
2. Gilgamesh is pleased when he sees the completed walls of Uruk. What do the walls
symbolize?
3. Gilgamesh travels all around the world and afterworld in search of the meaning of life.
Where does he eventually find meaning in his life and a moment of peace?
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