The Search for Permanence in an Impermanent World

The world is constantly changing around us, whether it be in politics, the economy, science, or history. How, then, can humans even wish to have a semblance of an ordered life with the chaos around them, especially when life is so short compared to the span of time the earth has been in existence? Humans construct concrete structures to give some sort of tangible meaning to life, like government and social hierarchy. Humans, as a species, try to leave an imprint on the world they live in, whether as a generation or as a singular person. This is what we strive for in life, and what pushes us to get up every morning of our short lives. Gilgamesh is a perfect example of humans trying to fathom and leave behind something on the fleeting and ephemeral world. Gilgamesh realizes, just as all humans eventually realize, the futility of his task when Utnapishtim wisely tells him, “There is no permanence” (106).

            Utnapishtim’s statement, though fabled to have been said thousands of years ago, still applies to the world today. His declaration means that everything is always in flux and that nothing can last forever. For Gilgamesh, this means that, no matter how hard he tries, he will not be able to bring back his dead friend, nor should he. Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s relationship was not supposed to last forever. Utnapishtim’s statement also works on the flip side—Gilgamesh’s pain cannot last forever either. Gilgamesh is meant to change as a person throughout his time on the earth. Gilgamesh wants something to hang on to, a constant in his life, and he thinks that Enkidu will be that when his mother tells him, “You will love him as a woman and he will never forsake you” (66). While Gilgamesh wants something unchanging, Utnapishtim tells him that life always changes, that our lives are always in flux.

            Humans see the flux of our lives every day. In the early fall of 2008, Americans watched in horror as, almost overnight, our economy fell to pieces. The next generation is watching as Social Security seems to be failing. Politics and political policies in general change more often than most Americans change clothes. When Obama’s administration found and killed Osama Bin Laden, his popularity skyrocketed, but once again it is diminishing. In science, a lot of things that physicists and chemists once held as absolute and true are turning into fallacies. Recently, physicists discovered that some parts of atoms when flung around the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland move faster than the speed of light. This may rip to shreds many of Einstein’s theories. Humans actively see the world around them changing.

            Humans carry on in this chaotic and ever-changing world because we try to achieve something. Once we know that we only have approximately 78 years to live on the Earth, most people take it as a call to arms. Like Gilgamesh, we try to leave a legacy, something for the next generation to remember us by. This is what gives our lives meaning. We cannot live forever physically, so we try to do the next best thing— live on in the hearts and minds of the people we left behind. For Gilgamesh, his entire heroic quest was to “set up [his] name where the names of famous men are written” (72).

            History and written records and legends are how humans create eternal life. Every time one hears George Washington’s name, he lives on, even though his physical body is dead. This is why, by the end of the epic, Gilgamesh gets his wish. He lives on in every student that has to read The Epic of Gilgamesh and all people who have heard his name.

            Another way that humans can survive, other than to complete what they think is there purpose, is that we create order in chaos. We have a routine that we follow. In the BOW area, and most of the northeastern portion of the United States, children more and more are expected to attend elementary school, attend middle school, attend college, get a job, get married, and have children. In this way, we can create some sort of normalcy from the disorder of life. We create government and social hierarchy to govern the lives of people and to separate them into neat categories. They are tangible things that we know will always exist in some form.

            As humans, we want to create order from confusion and have something tangible. We cannot live in the chaos that life gives us. Humans know that life is short, but the memory of collective people is very long, so we try to leave a legacy behind us. Although, as Utnapishtim said, “There is no permanence” (106), humans try valiantly, and sometimes succeed, in living fulfilling lives that people will remember them for.

The Hero and His (or Her) Place in Society

           The idea of a hero has permeated human society for thousands of years. A hero is an inexplicable and extremely rare combination of traits which put that person at the highest part of society. They are those that all wish to be compared to, but those which often none want to be. Heroes provide a standard of behavior to look up to, and are the human embodiment of a god. Heroes are a necessary part of human civilization; they are the people who are always morally stronger and better. Without defined heroes, whether named so by media or literature, humans have no reason to strive to be better people. A hero champions an important cause that others may have let fall by the wayside or were unable to seize a victory for. Heroes are overtaking the entertainment business with such movies as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Men typically are portrayed as the heroes, with women often only appearing in auxiliary roles. However, in reality, heroes, whether men or women, are looked up to for a standard of behavior and action for which to aim.

            Generally, heroes are referred to in relation to war or tragedy, and hardly does one ever hear of a hero that escaped unharmed from the event that made them heroic. A hero is someone who completes a difficult task at some personal risk, usually for the purpose of improving many lives over his or her singular one. A good, and timely, example of a hero is those in the tragedy of September 11, 2001 that risked their lives to help others escape from the collapsing World Trade Center. Many of these heroes lost their lives or are, or have during the time that has passed since, experiencing physical or mental pain for the task they undertook.

            A hero, before their heroic act(s), sometimes is considered to have been ill-advised or even stupid. For example, in The Epic of Gilgamesh, when Gilgamesh goes to defeat Humbaba, almost everyone he talks to tells him that he shouldn’t go because he will surely lose both the battle and his life. But, despite the odds and generally held knowledge, Gilgamesh accomplishes a difficult and nearly impossible act. However, in retrospect, Gilgamesh is touted as a hero, having done something for the greater good with no regard for his personal safety.

Now, this is where an interesting point comes up. Does Gilgamesh undertake the act for unselfish reasons? No, he does it mainly keeping in mind that he will become famous if he wins, and he adds that others will be helped merely as an afterthought. This isn’t true for all heroes, many of whom, like those involved in 9/11, did not complete an act seen as heroic for the purpose of becoming well-loved. Often heroes are those who let a strong moral compass guide them, taking no regard for what may happen to them if it leads them into danger.

            Heroes are always looked up to, but people often don’t want to be them, mostly for the fact that heroes often end up worse for wear. Having someone to strive to be like is important for humanity. If no one wants to improve their person, society would be static. Having something to endeavor towards helps to further humanity. In this sense, heroes are a bit like gods. Gods are an unreachable moral power, much as heroes continue to raise the bar with their moral power, so all are always below the moral power of a hero. It’s a bit like a personal dream one has. As soon as it has been achieved, there is another dream to realize. Bertolt Brecht’s quotation “unhappy the land that needs heroes” seems sensible in this context. If some place has no hero to hope to be like, then their society will never improve; they very well might all turn out to be thieves and murderers if they have no ideal to stand up against.

            An interesting question comes up when one compares the idea of a heroine to that of a hero. According the definition previously stated, there is no reason why a woman can’t be a heroine. Women are just as physically and morally capable of completing a difficult task for the greater good while undertaking a personal risk. However, in literature and in pop culture, women typically aren’t seen as heroines. There are the epic heroes of literature—Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Aeneas—and there are the heroes of pop culture—Frodo Baggins, Luke Skywalker, Indiana Jones. But, there are few heroines, if any. This might have to do with the fact that heroes were established in ancient times, during which women would never have a chance of doing something that would label them heroines. This established characteristic of heroes has just unavoidably passed down in popular culture. The television and movie producers just reinforce the status quo, and it hardly ever diverges. It is an unfortunate drawback to modern media.

            A hero is someone who does something that might hurt them, but will help others. They are generally of high, undeviating morals, or are at least seen as possessing such qualities. Although perhaps sometimes foolhardy and acting hastily, they are looked up as a person whom others wish to be. This furthers the society they live in by producing an ever increasing standard to reach. In real life, heroes can be men or women, but the previously established definition dictates men to be heroes in popular culture. Heroes are an elusive bunch, for those who are genuine heroes go unnoticed in everyday life, returning to their anonymity, truly having achieved a task for the greater good and not personal gain.