Life is too short

Death is a part of life. Even at a very young age children at exposed to death. they are taught about life's impermanence through the death of a pet or a relative, but no matter the way, everyone learns about it. When we are young we don't really understand death, it is just the reason why our grandparent or goldfish are no longer around us. Even when we are in our twenties and even thirties most people don't truly have a sense of their own immortality. At this age people are reckless and aren't as aware of the dangers they face.

Within Gilgamesh, The character Gilgamesh doesn't understand death. He goes through life without realising that he will eventually die one day. Gilgamesh does reckless things, because he doesn't think that he will die. At one point he and Enkidu go kill the Bull of Heaven for no apparent reason. When they kill the bull this results in the mortality of Enkidu. When he dies Gilgamesh learns a little bit about death and begins a search to gain immortality.

Gilgamesh's search for immortally is sort of his "mid-life crisis." With a "mid-life crisis" people begin to fear death , because their lives are about half over and they drastically change their lives in order to stop their feelings of doubt and lack of accomplishments. Gilgamesh picks up and leaves to find Utnapishtim, to give him the secrets of immortality. This is a drastic change in his life, which in today's society might be equivalent to buying a sports car. After this journey Gilgamesh becomes closer to death. When his is about to die he finally understands death. He excepts that he is going to die alone and not in battle, what he believes to be the noble way to die. This is when he truly understands the meaning of death.

Throughout most of your life you probably aren't going notice how short life really is. I dont think that you are really aware of your own moraltiy until you are about to die. Everyone realises that life cant go on forever and know the concept that you will die one day, but I don't think that you understand death truly until you have come to terms that you are ready to die. Gilgamesh doesn't fully understand death until he except his mortaily and made peace with his own death, right before he dies. When people are about to die they reflex on their lives inorder to except what they have done. With death you have to except the life you have lived to except death.