30% of Vietnam Veterans experience PTSD and suffer because of it. These Veterans are family members, neighbors, and friends in the community. They fought and served to protect a nation full of people whose freedom is dependent on the men and women who go to war. Veterans have a difficult time adjusting back to civilian life when returning home from war because they may remain in combat mode. In The Odyssey there are examples of men remaining in combat mode. - The Odyssey After the Trojan War ended Odysseus and his men set sail for Ithaca but made many stops along the way. One of these stops was on an island where they caused bloodshed and destruction: “..and killed the men who fought. Plunder we took, and we enslaved the women… My men were mutinous.” ( Homer, para. 40-50) …show more content…
They didn't think twice about what they were doing because it came naturally to them, as those things were acceptable during the war. When Odysseus and his men become stranded on an island Odysseus warns the men that the cattle there are not theirs to take, yet famine and lack of leadership, as Odysseus had fallen asleep, moved them to slaughter and feast on Helios’s cattle. “...but famine is the most pitiful, the worst end that a man can come to...Come, we’ll cut out the noblest of these cattle for sacrifice..” ( Homer para. 865-875) In war Odysseus's men killed and captured any game they could so they wouldn't starve. This became a secondary instinct to them, so when they went to slaughter the cattle they felt no remorse or hesitation. Other writings such as Odysseus in America can provide examples of soldiers remaining in combat mode after war. Johnathan Shay provides examples of how men stay in combat mode postwar in his article Odysseus in America - Odysseus in
For the Greeks, Homer's Odyssey was much more than just an entertaining tale of gods, monsters, and men, it served as a cultural paradigm from which every important role and relationship could be defined. This book, much more so than its counterpart The Iliad, gives an eclectic view of the Achean's peacetime civilization. Through Odyssey, we gain an understanding of what is proper or improper in relationships between father and son, god and mortal, servant and master, guest and host, and—importantly—man and woman. Women play a vital role in the movement of this narrative. Unlike in The Iliad, where they are chiefly prizes to be won, bereft of identity, the women of Odyssey are unique in their personality, intentions, and relationship towards men.
Odysseus’ curiosity, leads him to the island of the Laestrygonians. “No cattle could be seen or buildings, only a trace of smoke rising inland. So I sent a party of my men to find out what sort of beings lived there. I chose two to go and a third as herald” (Book X, Ln. 169-71). Lacking that of a good leader, Odysseus and his men in for answers. Homer interprets Odysseus’ curiosity as the reason his men have to die. Odysseus lacks the ability to see the consequences of his actions. In reaction to his curiosity, Odysseus looses all but one ship full of
When he first sets out on his journey, Odysseus is setting out for war and by the time that war is over, he wants nothing more than to get his men home safe and see his wife and young son. This wish, however, is delayed, mainly because Poseidon has made it his personal mission to prevent Odysseus from ever returning home to Ithaca. All this was due to Odysseus’s poor treatment of Poseidon's son, the Cyclops. On his way home from the war, Odysseus sails into the island of the Cyclops and tries to find food and shelter for his crew. It becomes apparent to Odysseus that this society that the Cyclops lives in what resembles “the Golden Age, in which the earth yields its fruit continually without toil and yet … they seem wholly uncivilized; they live isolated.”(346 Hernandez). Because of this, when the crew and Odysseus stumble upon the Cyclops's cave, they proceed to steal food and linger in the large cavern. When the Cyclops comes back to find the thieves, he blocks them into the cave and eats a few of the men.
Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
Through both of Stephen Crane's story "A Mystery of Heroism" and poem "War is Kind" he gives several different examples on how war was from this time and how it brought out the real person in any soldier whether they were scared or daring to be a hero for others. Them proving that they can be a hero themselves even if its from getting water for the rest of your team to comforting ones that have lost loved ones through war in the end of the grand scheme of things.
Events that occur during war can change people mentally, emotionally, and physically. Some of these issues can be fixed or healed, but some cannot. Most of these wounds are thought to be modern issues; however, they are not. In the Odyssey, Odysseus was the lone survivor, which is similar to many stories from modern times. With the many recent wars to cause the damage to soldiers, many veterans have struggles. This also shows that the veterans need help when returning home. In Odysseus’ journey there are many shared similarities and differences with Modern-day wars in terms of mental, emotional, and physical damage, and how these events affect the soldiers during and after the war including how they adapt after the war.
The goddess Circe had warned them not to kill any of the cattle, or else Helios would be extremely disappointed. Odysseus made his men to swear to not kill the cattle by saying to them “you must swear a solemn oath, that if we find a herd of cattle or sheep no one shall dare kill one.” (Page 156) However, the wind never favored them, so the men were stuck stranded on the island and eventually grew hungry. Out of hunger, one man killed a cow, and hills became extremely angry. This was the cause of death for all of Odysseus’ men because out of revenge, Helios asked Zeus to kill these men. Zeus sent a huge black storm cloud over the ship and killed the men. Odysseus barely survived by hanging on the edge. This whole action was in the name of revenge and could have been
In spite of those way that Odysseus' men could've held up particular case additional day, they ate up the bovines. They fathomed the thing that the outcomes were that lie ahead Besides they couldn't change over them. Their choices were should whichever kick the holder starting with A blame then again nibble the clean on the sea. This perspective will be basic in transit that Odysseus' partners seen as the thing that may happen. They saw as it their way and said it might happen the same. Along these lines they ate up those cows. If Odysseus' men didn't eat up those bovines, they could've been alive. They were actuated Toward various people not to consume the bovines. Unequivocally people today Other than for the general population days May endeavor a day or two without sustenance or
During Odysseus’ long and strenuous journey to make it back home to Ithaca, he encountered a countless number of dangers. Odysseus started off his voyage with an unwelcomed greeting from the Cyclopes, who swallowed a handful of Odysseus’ shipmates. Nevertheless, Odysseus and the remainder of the surviving shipmates escaped and rowed closer to their home. As the sailors advanced towards Ithaca, they faced the angered sun god Helios, sly sirens that tried to lure them to their deaths, and deadly whirlpools. The desperate men came across powerful winds and crashing waves, but they barely managed to get past it. Coming close to the end of the mens’ treacherous expedition, Zeus shot a bolt directly to their ship, and Odysseus was blown back to the
Zeus’ revenge on Odysseus and his men on their journey home from Troy is one of the reasons Odysseus is setback in returning home. While on the journey home, Circe warns Odysseus of revenge if they eat the cat...
The gods ruined Odysseus’ crew’s lives by killing them. Odysseus and his crew landed on an island inhabited by cyclops. The main cyclops, Polyphemus, captured them and ate some of the crew. Finally, Odysseus and his men came up with a plan to escape. They got Polyphemos drunk and took a huge stick, warmed it up, and stabbed Polyphemos in the eye. They eventually escaped, but Polyphemus prayed to his father, Poseidon.
In historical times, war was viewed as glorious, especially during the medieval era, as depicted in countless novels and narratives with which fighters were portrayed as heroic and brave. Contrary to this viewpoint, modern civilization sees war as an orgy of destruction that despite sometimes being necessary demolishes entire cultures and puts families into disarray and ruin. Within the Iliad, Homer incorporates these two conflicting viewpoints into a complex and deep attitude towards war. In the historical epic, Homer reveals the devastation that fighting inflicts on soldiers both physically and emotionally, and he depicts the grief and sorrows of the families of soldiers killed during the Trojan War. Though he acknowledges the horrors
A soldier's life is tremendously different than that of a civilian life so for a soldier who has been in the military for years it is literally nearly impossible to go back to a civilian, they loose there want to go back home like the lotus eaters in the Odyssey. The lotus eaters in the Odyssey are not evil beings there people who have fallen victim of eating a flower, the lotus flower.When they eat this flower they lose their will and want to go back home they desire only that flower and off the island where they grow they are nowhere else to be found. In a soldier's perspective the island is the military once they leave they can't find a lifestyle like the military gave them thus making them lose there want to go home. Soldiers who see going home as a civilian not hard there go home any chance they get, but the war doesn't always end on the frontlines it follows some all the way
The military, mainly focuses on the physical and mental preparation of veterans’ in order for them to witness combat. It is known that veterans’ who serve in the armed forces witness and experience violence, dead and trauma. Despite the effort of the military to prepare soldiers for combat, it is not sufficient for veterans’ to live a normal life after deployment. Many of the veterans’ who deploy are expose to a deeper inner battle within themselves when they return to their homelands. Smith and Gala True, point out that, we should consider how reintegration to civilian society requires soldiers to navigate and interpret new ways of being in the social world. We contend that the struggle to resolve contrasting identities—what we call warring
And they, since they / Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.”(33-34) After the boy had taken his last breath, his family continued on with work. They knew that production would slow and output would suffer if they delayed. So, they pressed on, despite what they felt. The higher officers and platoon leaders during war enforced the same mindset on inexperienced recruits. They were aware that stopping on a battlefield would put the war effort at risk at large. This forced lack of concern created a feeling of guilt in the survivors, because they were essentially forced into apathy for the dead. Again because of the glorification of war, many new recruits were not prepared for this and suffered grave mental scars that would last most if not all of their