Flood Stories and Symbolism
DJ Sims
English H II
September 16, 2012
1
Flood Essay Almost everyone knows the story of Noah and the Ark but you may not know that many other cultures have flood stories as well. These stories have many differences and many similarities but one thing they all have in common is symbolism. Symbolism is the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships. What part does symbolism play in the story of the floods? Symbolism is often used in writing especially during the time that the flood stories were written. Since the stories were passed through mouth and not paper like today the story tellers used symbolism to paint the picture for those who were listening. Almost anything can be symbolic if you can give enough proof as to why it is symbolic. Even colors can be symbolic and colors like purple and gold are colors of royalty. In the following paragraphs you will be made aware of the symbolism in the following stories, The Story of the Flood from the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Flood from Greek culture, The Flood from Hindu culture, and the story of Noah and the Ark from the Bible. In The Story of the Flood from The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is on a search for immortality and goes to Utnapishtim and his family, the only people granted immortality, and asks him how he achieved it. Utnapishtim tells him a story of a great flood that killed all of mankind. “The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of babel” (Sandars). So the gods decided to flood the earth and kill all mankind. Though Enlil, a warrior, warned Utnapishtim of what was to come and had him build a boat and to gather every living thing, every kind of seed, and his kin into the boat. When the storm came everything died except for those on the boat and when the rain subsided and the waters cleared Utnapishtim burnt a sacrifice to the gods who in turn made him and his wife
English H II
September 16, 2012
1
Flood Essay Almost everyone knows the story of Noah and the Ark but you may not know that many other cultures have flood stories as well. These stories have many differences and many similarities but one thing they all have in common is symbolism. Symbolism is the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships. What part does symbolism play in the story of the floods? Symbolism is often used in writing especially during the time that the flood stories were written. Since the stories were passed through mouth and not paper like today the story tellers used symbolism to paint the picture for those who were listening. Almost anything can be symbolic if you can give enough proof as to why it is symbolic. Even colors can be symbolic and colors like purple and gold are colors of royalty. In the following paragraphs you will be made aware of the symbolism in the following stories, The Story of the Flood from the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Flood from Greek culture, The Flood from Hindu culture, and the story of Noah and the Ark from the Bible. In The Story of the Flood from The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is on a search for immortality and goes to Utnapishtim and his family, the only people granted immortality, and asks him how he achieved it. Utnapishtim tells him a story of a great flood that killed all of mankind. “The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of babel” (Sandars). So the gods decided to flood the earth and kill all mankind. Though Enlil, a warrior, warned Utnapishtim of what was to come and had him build a boat and to gather every living thing, every kind of seed, and his kin into the boat. When the storm came everything died except for those on the boat and when the rain subsided and the waters cleared Utnapishtim burnt a sacrifice to the gods who in turn made him and his wife