The epic yarn Gilgamesh leaves the reader with the sour taste of pessimism when s/he finishes the book. This pessimistic ending is not the happy ending I was expecting to see considering the tragic ambiance of the rest of the story. The entire last part of the book, from Enkidu’s death onward, is nothing but more sorrow for Gilgamesh. The book likes to give Gilgamesh hope. Then crush him with more tragedy. It …showed first 75 words of 617 total…

…showed last 75 words of 617 total…Utnapishtim, he can succeed. He also learns that sometimes a death is less painful to bear if you mourn, and then try to forget the dead. Gilgamesh learned the hard way that if you obsess over someone’s death, that it continually grows more painful for you. However, I do not think that these lessons are so great that they make the ending optimistic. These lessons are not an even trade for Enkidu’s life.