Joanah Eresechima - In Class Discussion about Close Relationships and Mortality

 I wanted to compile all my thoughts from the discussion we had of Somewhere I Have Never Travelled in class. First off, I actually ended up really enjoying the book itself. I have heard of Jung before but only briefly during my psychology-related classes, so while I was somewhat familiar with his concepts, I have never delved deeper into Jungian thought. I thought this book was a great gateway into the Jungian model of developmental psychology using the idea of the second self. The analysis were easy to follow but also insightful, which I believe brought life to the original texts. Anyway, back to the in-class discussion. We talked how the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu/Achilles and Patroclus. Professor Redick and President Kelly brought in some good points about how close male relationships get misconstrued since American culture views these kinds of relationships as homosexual. While there’s nothing wrong with gay relationships, it’s interesting seeing how intimacy between men is somehow labelled as emasculating. Especially when in my family’s culture, it is a bit more normalized for men to be close. As a Nigerian American, I feel like I sit at a strange crossroad between these two cultures because while residing in America, my parents have adopted a very individualistic mindset because that is how one survives in a cut-throat society. That is not to say they don’t have community they are close to here in America. However, when we went back to Nigeria over the summer, it was like something switched. When with friends in Nigeria, their connections felt more intimate and personal, especially with my dad.

Another thing I wanted to talk about was the mortality of humans. In the beginning of the epic, Gilgamesh walked through the world as if he was invincible, partly due to the fact he was half-god. After Enkidu’s death, he realized his own mortality and feared it, which is what prompted him to look for a way to escape death. The story ends with him accepting that he would die one day. Here, Gilgamesh is maturing, going from an almost childlike innocence that doesn’t understand mortality to a man who can knows his limits as a human. My experience going from a child to an adult kind of follows that model as well. When I was a child, I accidentally locked myself in my mom’s room and had no way of getting out because my parents weren’t home. My solution was jumping three stories down from the window. I vividly remember standing at the open window, looking down at the street below. I had been a little scared but, in my naivety, I believed that I could make the jump with minimal scratches. Luckily, my siblings went to my neighbor’s house to get help, and she got to the bedroom door before I had the opportunity to actually jump. Looking back on it now, there is no doubt I would have gotten severely injured or worse. Just thinking about my dumb 6-year-old self makes me shiver. But back then, I really didn’t think anything of it. It was a solution that would immediately get me out of the room, and I didn’t think I would get really hurt so I was more than willing to try it. This level of thinking is what separates children, who are new to the world and are still learning the rules, and adults, who have the knowledge that jumping from that high is dangerous.