In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Lord Shamash urges Gilgamesh to attack Humbaba because Shamash strongly feels that Gilgamesh possesses the ability to defeat Humbaba in battle. Lord Shamash despises Humbaba and manipulates Gilgamesh into killing him. Gilgamesh wants to kill Humbaba in order to prove his bravery and fighting prowess. Lord Shamash, in turn, plays upon Gilgamesh's ego in order to force him into killing his arch enemy.
The writing inspires people
In this excerpt from Leo Tolstoy’s "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", the sentences that best shows how Ivan Ilyich struggles with his life and his inability to let go of his past are:
"He was hindered from getting into it by his conviction that his life had been a good one. That very justification of his life held him fast and prevented his moving forward, and it caused him most torment of all."
In this two sentences, we can see that Ivan Ilyich cannot comprehend what is happening to him if his life had been so god. His past happiness does not allow him to accept his current situation. Ivan Ilyich is aware of this incapacity of letting go of his past and feels frustrated and depressed because of it.
Khalil’s shooting and the ongoing investigation of Officer Cruise put the theme of injustice at the forefront of the novel. The fact that Khalil was unarmed and did not threaten the officer makes his murder unjust. The police are unjust at other points, too, such as when they force Maverick to the ground and pat him down. Race is tied into this theme of injustice as well, since pervasive racism prevents African-Americans from obtaining justice. Starr and Maverick in particular are focused on bringing justice not only for Khalil but also for African-Americans and other oppressed groups, such as the poor. The activist group that Starr joins is called Just Us for Justice because it fights against police maltreatment on the basis of race. At the end of the novel, Starr accepts that injustice might continue but reinforces her determination to fight against it.
The question of how to practice morality and doing the right things falls under the category of ethics.
