is this a pessimistic account? How does it compare to later religions that began in the middle east-to Judaism, to christianity, or to Islam?

Gilgamesh is the typical hero of his culture; he is on a quest to achieve the goals that would be admired by the people he represented. The quest is like all heroic quests, filled with questions that need to be answered. Because it is full of sadness and death, we often think of it as pessimistic; however, we admire what Gilgamesh is trying to accomplish and his loyalty to others. His understanding of his environment is much like that of other cultures, and certainly he has an evil force in Humbaba. Like the culture of the later Greeks, the people represented by Gilgamesh certainly saw gods in nature at some level. The contrast of Good and Evil in the world is typical of later Judeo-Christian religions.