Logsdon 1
Marci Logsdon
Professor Taylor
English 201-50
15 February 2015
The God of Gods
Throughout time, a common element of texts that tends to reoccur is the appearance of gods that show up and can either make things better or worse for the other characters. Sometimes they show up and help out, or sometimes they are there and do no thing but create havoc. Like normal characters, god’s all have their own roles and personalities, however they also have the power to have an extreme impact on the character’s lives, whether they are completely controlling their fate or just serving as a guide along a journey. In the case of Shamash in The Epic of Gilgamesh he is basically Gilgamesh’s go to man when he needs advice or help, however in The Book of Job, The Unnamable doesn’t really do anything besides making Job’s life a mess. These two stories really show the contrast roles that god’s can play.
Shamash, also known as the Sun-god, serves as Gilgamesh’s confidant and right hand man. He helps Gilgamesh along his way, and as Gilgamesh is two-thirds god himself, it really shows how helpful Shamash must be for Gilgamesh to answer to him and give him offerings. Shamash is who both Gilgamesh and Ninsun trust to help out in times of danger, “When Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Humbaba meet, Raise up for his sake, O Shamash, great winds against Humbaba. so he cannot charge forward, cannot retreat” (52). Shamash does come through during the fight and raises the winds at Humbaba, allowing Gilgamesh to defeat him. Shamash looks out for Gilgamesh and Enkidu, just as gods are supposed to. He intervenes when he is needed, and does not let those who rely on him or prayed to him down. Shamash is a reliable god who is there when his people need him.
In The Book of Job, however, Job does not have a god always on his side, if anything, it is God who is ruining his life and leading him to terrible behaviors. Job does everything he is supposed to, but even on his best behavior he cannot seem to win. He has his faith tested do to God not trusting his servant and listening to the Accusing Angel then in turn allowing him to ruin Job’s life, “All right: he is in your power. Just don’t kill him.” It is on thing that God allows his faithful servant’s life to be basically ruined, he then is mad when Job gets upset about what has happened to himself, “Who is this whose ignorant words smear my design with darkness?” God then continues to question Job, even though it is God who has allowed this to happen. A god should be looking out for his people, and knowing as he created them how they will behave when their lives are seriously impacted, not playing a game with their lives. God basically allows the Accusing Angel to do his job for him, and if it is God who is given power, he should be the one controlling it, not someone like the Accuser who has no faith in God’s people.
It is the character of the gods in stories that add a sense of power, however it is also the character of the gods that can add either a sense of safety, or a sense of destruction. Whether its Job or Gilgamesh, their lives would be completely difference without the gods, and their stories would be completely lackluster. Gilgamesh may not have defeated Humbaba, and Job may have lived happily ever after without ever having any trouble. God and Shamash are definitely prime examples of the type of gods out there in literature, whether one would want to have them controlling their story or not.