When asked the question "is life meaningful" my initial instinct is to say yes. Life is full of structure and fulfilment. However, upon deeper thinking I realize that this opinion is from a very narrow perspective. Personally, I cannot tell you that life itself is meaningful even if that was how I viewed it. In approaching the question of "is life meaningful" we have to examine the nature of meaning itself. Meaning is by definition the point, or the intended goal. This sections reading have displayed many perspectives that prove human's confusion about whether life makes sense. I will use both The Epic of Gilgamesh and references to the bible to show that life and its purpose is a mystery that we are desperately searching for, and that life has no meaning, we are just trying to define it as we spin in and endless spiral of confusion. .
Consider the point of humans and the universe as seen from monotheistic religion. Life and the universe could be some sort of toy or form of entertainment for some greater being, his point, his own entertainment, would then be the meaning of humans and the universe. Consider the goals of the deities of various cultures. Some strive for a balance between the forces of 'good' and 'evil'. This balance seems to simply be a choice of the deity, the way he thinks it ought to be. The concept of a greater being as a source of the meaning of life is flawed, because in talking about an actual point to absolutely everything, we are simply considering the goals of a being more powerful than ourselves who has chosen one of many possible goals that humans can conceive. This is to say that, if a god like this exists, his goal for life and the universe is not necessarily valid as a meaning of life, the universe, and himself. For instance, the Bible claims that the Christian deity created the universe and placed humans in it that they might be in awe of his power.