Culture And Conflict

The culture of conflict is just as important as the conflict itself. The reasons for conflict and the inner agony of pride are all do to culture. The epic poem of Gilgamesh, and The Odyssey, the story of Genesis have many forms of many conflicts. Cultural conflicts have many different forms, but pride is usually at the root of all of them.

The book of Gilgamesh has many conflicts, and battles. Gilgamesh was a flashy warrior and leader that resolved everything with primitive actions. He was a conflict all his own because the towns people didn't like his leadership. His acts of womanizing and mistreating the towns people is what caused this hatred towards him. They all wished for an equal to come. Enkido was a forest man that was an equal to Gilgamesh. He came, and at first wasn't an equal to Gilgamesh, but a rival. Gilgamesh and Enkido battled through the streets of the town. These actions were pride based and human nature must have had an impact. In anything once a leader is challenged he will do anything to keep his leadership and step up to the occasion. In this case, Gilgamesh the leader was challenged.

"Enkido stood, guardian on the threshold of the martial chamber,

To block the way of the king,

The aura and power of the wild ox, Gilgamesh,

Who was coming to the chamber and take his bride.

Stormy heart struggled with stormy heart,

As Gilgamesh met Enkido in his rage,

At the marital threshold they wrestled, bulls contending:

The doorposts shook and shattered; the wrestling staggered." (Gilgamesh_14,15)

Once the battle ended, Gilgamesh knew that they were equal. Being the leader that he was, he decided not to be rivals, but be friends. They decide to travel to the forest of Cedars, where they set to challenge the org Huwawa. Enkido doesn't want to proceed with this thought but Gigamesh wants to continue. They show up and battle the superhuman guardian, kill him, cut down the forest, cut off Huwana's head as a trophy, build a raft, and head back to Uruk.

The really only cultural experience in this battle isn't just the battle itself, but after the battle when they cut off Huwawa's head and made it into a trophy. Making his head into a trophy exemplifies their in their great victory. It demonstrates was gained and shows that they had something to remember it by. The battle wouldn't have gone the way it did without the help of Enkido. The chemistry between the two friends was one of the reasons they won that great battle.

"...Gilgamesh found him and said: Two people, companions, they can prevail to together against the terror...." (Gilgamesh_26,27)

In the Holy Bible, story of genesis, a lot of conflicts take place, but not a lot of fights. The distinction between conflicts and fight is that a fight is mostly known as a violent struggle with contact, a conflict can be that of a fight but also can be a verbal fight, or just a everyday challenge. Mostly it is god himself that is the main subject of the conflicts. The almighty one he is passionate, yet very mean in some of the decisions that he makes. A lot of people suffered in some of the decisions in what god made.

For instance, God created Adam and Eve. God said to both Adam and Eve to not eat from the forbidden tree. They could have anything in the world, but not eat from the tree in Eden. One day as they were enjoying themselves in Eden, a snake came about to Adam and Eve and deceived them into eating the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve were mistaking that the snake was correct and Eve ate from the tree. God found out and was very upset. The conflict in this matter was the Eve had to be punished.

"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." (Genesis_4:16)

The conflict consists in disobeying God's word. By this conflict taught God the world and the religion if someone does something wrong that they had to be punished to teach

them a lesson. This example also shows that in this early religion man was taught to be superior to women. This in itself has caused many conflicts over time.

Also in Genesis, God told Noah to make an ark because he wanted to start over. Earth was polluted with many obnoxious people who were corrupted and unruly. He told Noah to build an ark, and to fill the ark up with a combination of all the creatures in the world and set sail for forty days and forty nights flooding the earth and kill everyone.

"...Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and it's mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and it's mate, and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female to keep there various types alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights." (Genesis_8:4)

God's objective was to rid the world of everything