An Examination of Similes in the Iliad - and how Homer's Use of Them Affected the
Story
In the Iliad, Homer finds a great tool in the simile. Just by opening the book in a random place the reader is undoubtedly faced with one, or within a few pages. Homer seems to use everyday activities, at least for the audience, his fellow Greeks, in these similes nearly exclusively. When one is confronted with a situation that is familiar, one is more likely to put aside contemplating the topic and simply inject those known feelings. This would definitely be an effective tactic when used upon the people of Homer's day. From the heroic efforts in the Iliad itself it is clear that the populace of his time were highly emotional creatures, and higher brain activity seems to be in short, and in Odysseus' case, valuable, order.
It is also wise to remember that history is written by the winners. In the
Iliad, there seems to be relatively little storyline from the Trojan's side. We are regaled with story upon story of the Greeks, their heroes, and their exploits, while the Trojan's are conspicuously quiet, sans Hector of course. It could almost be assumed that throughout time most of the knowledge of the battle from the Trojan side had been lost.
Considering the ability to affect feelings with similes, and the one-sided view of history, Homer could be using similes to guide the reader in the direction of his personal views, as happens with modern day political "spin".
These views that Homer might be trying to get across might be trying to favor
Troy. It could easily be imagined that throughout time, only great things were heard about the Greeks mettle in war, and that Homer is attempting to balance the scales a bit by romanticizing the Trojan peoples, especially Hector, and bringing to light the lesser-heard tales of Greek stupidity.
Shortly into Book Two, Agamemnon gives the speech to his assembly about his plan to rally the troops with reverse psychology. Agamemnon shall announce he is giving up on taking Troy, whereupon the individual army captains will then
"prevent their doing so." When the announcement is made, King Agamemnon is startled to see the ranks, not surprisingly, take advantage of the chance to leave and make for the ships with vigor. Homer describes the scene as "bees that sally from some hollow cave and flit in countless throng among...
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First, I examined the way the similes were used and the effect they achieved, and at the same time, and the same space, attempted to prove that Homer tried to bring the Trojans a sense of honor they didn't receive in battle. Homer's similes proved to have been generally bipolar, good or bad, and he applied them liberally where needed. The goal of Homer's trade, as a poet, was to stir people, and the easier the better. What better way than to appeal to ones already experienced emotions? To make a person feel like their everyday actions somehow partook in a greater story is what is accomplished by using the similes that Homer used. These similes brought the story down to earth, and everyday life into the story.
There is evidence for Homer favoring the Trojans, at least literarily, in this poem. His consistent use of beauty and grace with the Trojans contrasted with the viciousness portrayed in the Greeks is clear. Homer might have given other Trojan warriors besides Hector moments of aristea also if their exploits had not have been lost through time. Anyone, especially a poet, would feel indebted to the dead to give them some honor for their duties, and Homer has done just that.
Ray Bradbury introduces in his novel, Fahrenheit 451 (1953), a dystopian society manipulated by the government through the use of censored television and the outlaw of books. During the opening paragraph, Bradbury presents protagonist Guy Montag, a fireman whose job is to burn books, and the society he lives in; an indifferent population with a extreme dependence on technology. In Bradbury’s novel, the government has relied on their society’s ignorance to gain political control. Throughout the novel, Bradbury uses characters such as Mildred, Clarisse, and Captain Beatty to show the relationships Montag has, as well as, the types of people in the society he lives in. Through symbolism and imagery, the audience is able to see how utterly unhappy
King viewed civil disobedience as an obligation if laws were unjust, especially if the proponents of the unjust laws were not willing to negotiate as well as compromise the laws and situations. King states “You are quite right in calling for negotiation.
Greek mythology deals significantly with culture and its factors, as they describe the societies and the people inhabiting it by depicting their everyday life and the state of their land. Both Hephaestus, in Homer’s Iliad, and Odysseus, in Homer’s The Odyssey, set out to portray the cultures that they saw, yet the cultures and societies varied greatly, from Hephaestus illustrating the highly developed societies of the Greek and their culture; while on the other hand, Odysseus seems baffled by how underdeveloped the Cyclopes land and culture is. Hephaestus and Odysseus seem to have the same understanding what is normal of a culture, society, and their factors; however, there are noteworthy variations between their accounts.
Something written over twenty-five hundred years ago shows many similarities to stories written today. These similarities are called archetypes and the y can be found in stories dating back to the earliest forms of literature. I will be talking about some of these archetypes found in The Odyssey.As you read, you will notice that these archetypes can be found in other stories and even in real life. The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus and his journey home from the Trojan War. It tells of many challenges and difficulties Odysseus faced on his way home. The topic of this essay is about three main archetypes found in the Odyssey. These archetypes are those of the Hero, the Monster, and the idea that your authority
"In him [Oceanus] Homer salutes the essence of all things, even the Gods, and regards him as a divinity whose power was inferior to none but Zeus'"
...evenge brings is a strong and unified one because Homer has made us all feel the same way. The more build up he creates, the more we all want one outcome…
The most obvious example throughout the book is Odysseus's stubbornness not to praise the gods after winning the Trojan War. This shows that humans don’t consider anyone when great things happen and take credit for themselves. Inconsideration is also shown when Odysseus chooses not to listen to his shipmates tell Odysseus to stop provoking Polyphemus. A shipmate warns Odysseus by insisting,”Godsake, Captain! / Why bait the beast again? Let him alone!” (248-29), yet Odysseus kept on making fun of Polyphemus. What Homer is trying to show us is that people get so caught up in the happiness of winning, that it’s hard to remember that sometime one isn’t the only one who does all the work and to recognize the others the also
Homer's two central heroes, Odysseus and Achilles, are in many ways differing manifestations of the same themes. While Achilles' character is almost utterly consistent in his rage, pride, and near divinity, Odysseus' character is difficult to pin down to a single moral; though perhaps more human than Achilles, he remains more difficult to understand. Nevertheless, both heroes are defined not by their appearances, nor by the impressions they leave upon the minds of those around them, nor even so much by the words they speak, but almost entirely by their actions. Action is what drives the plot of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and action is what holds the characters together. In this respect, the theme of humanity is revealed in both Odysseus and Achilles: man is a combination of his will, his actions, and his relationship to the divine. This blend allows Homer to divulge all that is human in his characters, and all that is a vehicle for the idyllic aspects of ancient Greek society. Accordingly, the apparent inconsistencies in the characterization of Odysseus can be accounted for by his spiritual distance from the god-like Achilles; Achilles is more coherent because he is the son of a god. This is not to say that Achilles is not at times petty or unimaginative, but that his standards of action are merely more continuous through time. Nevertheless, both of Homer's heroes embody important and admirable facets of ancient Greek culture, though they fracture in the ways they are represented.
Homer’s mind operates in terms of Freud’s “pleasure principle”, seeking instant gratification of desires, regardless of the consequences....
Lattimore, Richard. Introduction. The Iliad of Homer. New York: University of Chicago Press. 1961. 7–55.
Besides indirectly characterizing Joe, the quote illuminates the changes in Pip, and how dynamic he is as a character. The book starts out with Pip as a young boy of about six or seven years. And then he meets Estella and grows into a miserable, discontent, unthankful boy who desperately wants to get away from his fate of being a blacksmith and from being, “coarse and common” as Estella calls him during their first meeting. From that point onwards, he devotes his life to becoming a “gentleman,” because of his obsessive, blinding love towards her. “I am not at all happy as I am. I am disgusted with my calling and with my life...see how I am going on. Dissati...
The main character, Pip, is a gentle character. His traits include humbleness, kindness, and lovingness. These traits are most likely the cause of his childhood poverty. In the beginning of the story, Pip is a mild mannered little boy who goes on with his own humble life. That, though, will change as he meets Magwich, a thief and future benefactor. Pip’s kindness goes out to help the convict, Magwich when he gives food and clothing to him. Magwich tells Pip that he’ll never forget his kindness and will remember Pip always and forever. This is the beginning of Pip’s dynamic change. Throughout the novel, Great Expectations, the character, Pip gradually changes from a kind and humble character to a character that is bitter, then snobbish and finally evolves into the kind and loving character which he was at the beginning of the story.
Great Expectations shows how it is sometimes necessary for a person to experience a string of humiliations to grow up, with each humiliation forcing the humiliated to redefine himself in order to become whole. At the beginning of the novel, Pip has innocence, with no thoughts of “great expectations” because he has never had anyone suggest that he was somehow uncommon. After Pip goes to the Satis House, he expects to become a gentlemen, and begins to value this opportunity more than anything else in his life, including Joe. Pip abandons his old life in pursuit of the gentlemen status. Throughout Pip’s pursuit of becoming a gentleman, he is humiliated, and with each humiliation, he grows up. This growth causes him to value those that love him more than social standing and wealth, just as he did before he ever got the idea of “great expectations”.
Torts can be divided into two main categories; negligence and intentional torts. Negligence torts function as the hallmark of tort liability, and of tort law suits, are the most common. Under this legal premise, people have the responsibility to act with proper diligence and reasonable care and skill to avoid injuring other people. Intentional torts are civil wrongs that were committed deliberately. In contrast to a negligence act that is usually an accident caused by the lack of responsible care. Under tort law, intentional torts include acts of assault, battery, slander and libel, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Pip comes from a lower class family of the Victorian era. The reader first meets Pip around the age of 6, when he explains that his parents, as well as 5 of his brothers, have all passed and he has been raised by his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, and her husband Joe Gargery. His sister continuously reminds Pip about her having brought him up “by hand” (Dickens 7) and even details her regrets about having taken him in as her own child saying “I’d never do it again!” (Dickens 8). Despite the rough upbringing, or perhaps because of the rough upbringing, Pip has high hopes of one day becoming a gentleman and continuously dreams of what his life will be like once he is part of the upper class. These aspirations indicate that Pip has great expectations for himself. He expects to become a perfect gentleman and climb the social status ladder. Soon after explaining his home situation, Pip describes to the reader of his encounter with Ms. Havisham, who he describes as “an immensely rich and grim lady who lived in a large and dismal hous...