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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. From where does Gilgamesh's mother say his companion will come?

2. How many layers of armor has Humbaba put on when Gilgamesh and Enkidu arrive at the gate to the forest?

3. What university in Pennsylvania owns a large portion of the Gilgamesh tablets?

4. Humbaba asks Gilgamesh to not do what to him?

5. The tale of Gilgamesh is carved on what type of stone?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Gilgamesh's dreams.

2. How does Gilgamesh's decision to cut down all the trees of the cedar forest represent his continued rashness and inability to exercise moderation?

3. Why is it significant that Gilgamesh cannot stay awake to pass the test Utnapishtim sets before him?

4. Describe the only available way to cross to Utnapishtim.

5. Describe where the Gilgamesh tablets are found and who found them.

6. Discuss the procession that sees Gilgamesh off on his adventure.

7. Discuss why Enkidu is angered by news of the celebration in Uruk.

8. What does the barmaid tell Gilgamesh and what do her words foreshadow?

9. Describe Enkidu and Gilgamesh's relationship.

10. What effect do the missing lines of interpretation have on Gilgamesh's dreams?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tablet 3, Column 6, Line 229 notes that Gilgamesh cries after an unrecorded address by the elders. Why do you think the young hero cries at this point? Is he behaving like a pouty child who is being prevented from having his way? Or does Gilgamesh have a moment of realization where the weight of what he has vowed to accomplish hits him? Epic heroes cannot back out of boasts once they are issued so Gilgamesh must follow through with his stated intentions.

Essay Topic 2

Siduri tells Gilgamesh that the only way to cross the sea is with Utnapishtim's boatman. The sea that he must cross are waters of death. Death is what Gilgamesh is most afraid of. Discuss the significance of Gilgamesh desiring to cross the sea of death in order to find the way to immortality.

Essay Topic 3

In Tablet 3, Gilgamesh talks about the fleetness of man's life. In Tablet 7, Enkidu laments that he is dying a disgraceful death instead of on the battlefield. The importance of a man's deeds, how he dies, and the way he is remembered are significant themes to the Epic and other heroic tales. Discuss this theme in relation to Gilgamesh. How do his rash deeds lead to a heroic life and deeds remembered? How do Gilgamesh's actions affect Enkidu's life so that he must die a disgraceful death? Does one man have to sacrifice others in order to gain notoriety for himself?

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