Common Themes
Gilagamesh, Beowulf & Job
What Are the Common Themes?
Are you really my friend? Where does your loyalty lie?
The common themes found in each of these stories are friendship and loyalty.
How Are These Themes Relevant to the Story?
In all three of these stories there are moments where the reader can see that some of the characters are close. It is easy to see whose loyalty lies where.
Friendship & Loyalty
Friendship & Loyalty in the story of Gilgamesh
This is a depiction of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. They physically fought each other before becoming friends. They fought battles together and went on journeys together. There came a day when Enkidu died and this broke Gilgamesh heart. Here are a couple of quotes that prove they were friends
"Becoming aware of himself, he sought a friend." (Enkidu)
"Gilgamesh bent his knees, with his other foot on the ground; his anger abated and he turned his chest away [...] They kissed each other and became friends."
Beowulf Was Loyal & It Showed
This a depiction of one of Beowulf's brave and loyal moments. Here Beowulf is slaying the dragon in the story. The story of Beowulf is full of loyalty. Everybody shows signs of loyalty. For example, Grendel and his mother are loyal to one another. Beowulf shows his loyalty to Hrothgar. Beowulf was loyal when he made the decision to help the Danes. He showed loyalty to Hrothgar, and he was loyal to his village when he fought the dragon himself. He could have sent somebody else to do it but he stayed true to himself and slayed the dragon himself. Here is a quote where Beowulf tells who he is and where his loyalty lies. "I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea. As I sat in the boat with my band of men, I meant to perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt in the fiends clutches. And I shall fulfill that purpose, prove myself with a proud deed or meet my death here in the mead-hall."
Job and His Friends (or maybe not?)
In the story of Job, Job had friends. Once the enemy came and struck Job with a horrible physical ailment and Job lost everything he began to struggle with his loyalty to God. Job's friends came to talk with him but they were not seeming like friends. They were coercing him to curse God and provoking him to not believe that things can change for him. These turned out to be a group of people that even Job could not take. Here are quotes to show where he had had enough of them.
"As for you, you white wash with lies; all of you are worthless physicians. If you would keep silent, that would be your wisdom!"
"I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all."
As you can see here these three stories definitely share the theme of how valuable friendship is and the importance of staying loyal
Common Themes