Name: Marjorie Princess C.

Abulog Date: June 06, 2023

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
Creations Stories & Myths
Book of Genesis and Epic of Gilgamesh

Criteria Book of Genesis Epic of Gilgamesh

Setting
Time around 2000-1500 BC. between 1800-1600 BCE

Place ancient Near East, which Sumerian city of Uruk

includes parts of modern-day
Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt

Cultural beliefs in multiple gods, A King ruling a country.

Environment ancestor worship, and
Men engaging in war ruled by
polytheism
a King.
Women or wives stay at home
reflects the patriarchal doing house chores.
structure of society at the time
with men having authority over
women and children

Characterization

Main The main character of the book Gilgamesh, a proud and

Character of Genesis is God. He is arrogant ruler who believes
(Protagonist) portrayed as a powerful and himself as invincible.
loving creator who interacts
with humanity in various ways
throughout the book. Other
major characters include Adam,
Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
and Joseph.

Antagonist The main antagonist in the Ishtar, represents the dangers

book of Genesis is Satan, who of unchecked desire, as she
tempts Adam and Eve to uses her power to try to
disobey God. Other antagonists seduce Gilgamesh and punish
throughout the book include those who reject her
Pharaoh, Laban, and various advances.
other enemies of God's chosen
people.

Plot The plot of the book of Genesis The Epic of Gilgamesh follows
is focused on God's relationship the adventures of the king
 with humanity. It starts with (Gilgamesh) as he battles
the creation of the world and monsters, seeks wisdom, and
then follows God's interactions ultimately confronts his own
with Adam and Eve, Abraham, mortality. Along the way, he
Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. It forms a deep bond with
culminates in a story about Enkidu, a wild man created by
how God provides for his the gods to challenge
chosen people even in difficult Gilgamesh's arrogance.
times.

Together, Gilgamesh and

Enkidu embark on a series of
epic quests, including a
journey to the Cedar Forest to
slay the demon Humbaba and
a descent into the underworld
in search of eternal life.
However, despite their many
triumphs, they are ultimately
unable to escape the fate that
awaits all mortals, death.

Theme  Faith  Mortality, as Gilgamesh

 Obedience and Enkidu confront the
 Redemption inevitability of death and
 Family Relationships strive to find a way to
 Divine Justice escape it.
 God’s Sovereignty over all  Friendship, the bond
creation between Gilgamesh and
Enkidu is tested and
strengthened over the
course of the story.
 The search for meaning,
as Gilgamesh seeks
wisdom and
understanding in his quest
for immortality, and the
dangers of unchecked
desire, as Ishtar's lust
leads to tragedy and
suffering.

Lesson The book of Genesis teaches us The moral lesson of the Epic
lessons about faith, obedience of Gilgamesh is that life is
to God's commands, and fleeting and that accepting
trusting in his promises. It also one's mortality is essential for
emphasizes the importance of living a fulfilling life. It also
 family relationships and how emphasizes the importance of
God will ultimately provide for friendship and loyalty, as well
his chosen people. as the consequences of one's
actions.

Literary Devices Symbolism: Imagery: For example, when

describing the Cedar Forest,
From the tree of knowledge to
the author writes: 'Its shade
the rainbow, these symbols are
was good; it was the home of
woven throughout the text and
the gods.
offer a window into the spiritual
and moral dimensions of the
story.
The description of Enkidu. He
For example, the tree of is described as having 'hair
knowledge represents the like a woman's, long and
forbidden fruit that Adam and flowing,' which creates an
Eve ate, leading to their image of a wild and untamed
expulsion from the Garden of man who is in touch with
Eden. This symbolizes the nature.
human desire for knowledge
and the consequences of
disobedience. Similarly, the Symbolism: The Cedar
rainbow symbolizes God's Forest, which represents a
promise to never again destroy place of great power and
the world with a flood, danger. It could be also a
representing hope and symbol of the unknown and
redemption amidst the the mysterious.
darkness and chaos of the
world. The use of the serpent as a
symbol of wisdom. When
Gilgamesh meets the serpent,
it tells him that he will never
Foreshadowing:
find immortality, but that he
Another important literary should enjoy life while he can.
device in Genesis is This is symbolic of the idea
foreshadowing, which hints at that wisdom comes from
future events and themes accepting one's mortality.
through subtle clues and hints.
By using foreshadowing, the
author creates a sense of Metaphor: When Gilgamesh
anticipation and mystery, is mourning the death of
drawing the reader deeper into Enkidu, he describes his grief
the story. as 'a lioness that has lost her
cubs.' This metaphor helps to
For example, Joseph's dreams
convey the depth of his
about his family bowing down
sorrow.
to him foreshadow his eventual
rise to power in Egypt, while the
prophecy of the Messiah
When Enkidu is described as
foreshadows the coming of
being 'as strong as a rock.'
Jesus Christ. Through careful
This metaphor helps to create
analysis of these instances of
an image of a powerful and
foreshadowing, we can gain a
unyielding man.
deeper understanding of the
larger narrative arc of the book.

Foreshadowing:
Irony: The Epic of Gilgamesh makes
use of foreshadowing to build
Irony is another powerful
suspense and tension
literary device used in Genesis throughout the story. For
to create tension and example, when Enkidu has a
complexity in the story. By prophetic dream about his
using irony, the author own death, it creates a sense
highlights the gap between of foreboding that carries
appearance and reality, through to the end of the epic.
challenging our assumptions Through its use of
and expectations. foreshadowing, the epic is able
to keep readers engaged and
For example, the deception of invested in the story, even as
Isaac by Jacob and Rebekah is they anticipate what is to
a classic example of dramatic come.
irony, as the audience knows
what is happening while the
characters do not. Similarly, the
Repetition:
selling of Joseph into slavery by
his own brothers is a tragic During Gilgamesh and
irony, as the very act meant to Enkidu’s journey to slay
harm him ultimately leads to Humbaba, the phrase, “[At
his redemption and success in twenty] leagues they broke
Egypt. bread, / [at] thirty leagues
they pitched camp: / [fifty]
leagues they travelled in the
Parallelism: course of a day,” is repeated
many times. This passage
Finally, Genesis makes describes Gilgamesh’s
extensive use of parallelism, a physical journey by how far
literary device in which similar he’s traveled, which parallels
events or themes are repeated the progress he has made on
with variations throughout the his mental and spiritual
text. By using parallelism, the journey at this point.
author creates a sense of
rhythm and symmetry, and
emphasizes the key themes and
messages of the story.
For example, the creation story
and the story of Noah's ark are
both structured as parallel
narratives, with similar
patterns of chaos, order, and
redemption. Through careful
analysis of these parallel
narratives, we can gain a
deeper appreciation for the
larger themes and messages of
the book.