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Odyssey literary analysis
Odyssey literary analysis
Odyssey as an epic
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A large number of the works of ancient poetry and literature have been said to carry a moral undertone. Homer's 'Odyssey' is no exception. This essay explores the moral positions that the poem seems to adopt. Subsequently, it will show that while the 'Odyssey' is indeed a moral epic, the moral position of the main characters themselves, namely Odysseus and the Gods, can, at times, be questionable.
Loyalty is one moral value that is evident throughout the poem. No character embodies loyalty more than Penelope who remains loyal and true to Odysseus throughout his absence, refusing to give in to the suitors' proposal of marriage and not engaging in any extramarital affair. She constantly praises Odysseus with glowing words,1 and although it may get quite annoying to the reader, she is constantly weeping for Odysseus. Penelope's loyalty to her husband is contrasted vividly in the poem with the story of Clytemnestra's betrayal of her husband. Agamemnon is perpetually wailing and lamenting about his betrayal and death in the underworld. When the slain suitors tell him how they died, he cries out that Odysseus is fortunate because he had won himself a loyal wife.2 The moral theme of loyalty is also clear when Odysseus punishes Melanthios and the serving maids gruesomely for being disloyal.3 On the other hand, Eumaios and Philoitios are praised and rewarded for remaining loyal to Odysseus. Loyalty will always be rewarded- Odysseus comes back to Penelope and the loyal oxherd and swineherd are rewarded while the disloyal are punished.
The poem places strong emphasis on intelligence as a virtue. Odysseus is strong, but it is his intelligent mind that gets him through his troubles. This ...
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...ll my days I pine for is to go back to my house and see my day of homecoming."
18 Book 23.
19 Book16.
20 Book 24.
21 Book 1, Line 119-20. After that he welcomes Athene, saying "Welcome, stranger, you shall be entertained as a guest among us... when you have tasted dinner, you shall tell us what your need is." Notice the emphasis on treating your guest well.
22 Book 9,. Lines 266-8.
23 Book 9, Lines475-9. "... who dared to eat your own guests in your own house, so Zeus and the rest of the gods have punished you."
24 Book 3.
25 Book 4 and Book 15.
26 Book 6-13.
27 Book 22.
28 Book 1, Lines 35-43. "... though he knew it was sheer destruction for we ourselves had told him...and now he has paid for everything."
29 Book 8, Lines 266-366. Demodokos sings about the story of Aphrodite and Ares.
30 Book 11, Lines 235-70.
Callaway, Alanna A., "Woman disunited ; Margaret Atwood's The handmaid's tale as a critique of feminism" (2008). Master's theses. Paper 3505. http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/3505
“And even when we were no longer hungry, there was still no one who thought of revenge.” p. 109
All throughout The Odyssey there are scenes of good and bad xenia, or hospitality. It can be seen that hospitality is extremely important in the Greek culture, both how someone treats their guests and how the guests treat the host. A closer look chronologically into the good, then bad examples will show how one acts affects the actions that are brought upon them when they either follow or disobey Zeus' Law.
Often in life, people take their freedoms, a gift that allows them to express their individuality, for granted. However, in the dystopian societies of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, people are reminded of just how easily their freedoms and humanity can be stripped away. Attwood and Ishiguro urge people to never lose sight of the core values that define who they are. The compelling novels chronicle the life journey of two protagonists as they fight to define their own existence and worth in life. Offred, the central character in The Handmaid’s Tale is exploited as a baby making machine, while Kathy, the leading role in Never Let Me Go, is degraded as a lifeless android in a sea of clones. From Atwood and Ishiguro’s provocative coming-of-age novels emerge two beautiful and inspiring heroines. Whether it is through their remembrance of the past, their loss of innocence, their capability to hope, or their ability to establish relationships, Offred and Kathy prove that they are every bit as human as the rest of society. Ultimately, despite the many differences in their distinct masterpieces, Atwood and Ishiguro share the same intent in their haunting portrayal of the protagonists’ dehumanizabtion—to shed light on the true essence of what it is to be human.
Homer’s The Odyssey is not just a tale of a man’s struggle on his journey home from the Trojan War, but of his struggle from the consequences of revenge. The Odyssey weaves in different characters’ tales of revenge from the gods and what impact revenge actually had on those characters. Revenge is an important underlying theme in The Odyssey because, in essence, it explains why Odysseus’ journey was so prolonged and treacherous. A few examples of revenge in the poem include Orestes’ revenge on Aegisthus, Zeus’ revenge on Odysseus and his men, and Poseidon’s revenge on Odysseus. These different examples of revenge in The Odyssey show the importance of the gods’ revenge in the epic journey of Odysseus.
However, his journey isn’t over yet. This last leg of Odysseus’s journey is perhaps the most important and crucial. Odysseus’s nurse and maidservant, Eurycleia is the first woman in Ithaca to know that Odysseus is back after she recognizes the scar on his leg while she is washing him. Eurycleia vows to keep his identity a secret. Odysseus’s wife, Penelope has stayed faithful to Odysseus for all the years that he was gone. Penelope was consistently unweaving her web to the delay the suitors. The reader even grows sympathetic for Penelope as “we see her struggle to make the virtuous choice about her marriage, despite pressures from her suitors, her son’s endangered situation, and her own uncertainty about Odysseus’s survival” (Foley ). Finally, Odysseus reveals his identity and Penelope is bewildered, but quickly embraces her husband after he tells her the secret of their immovable bed. It is the faithfulness of Penelope and nurse Eurycleia that insures Odysseus’s survival to the very end.
In the Odyssey, the tradition of hospitality is shown being broke in several ways. When a person in Ancient Greece received a guest, they were to treat them with the highest respect and they should offer them gifts. The host was expected to give the guest a place to bathe, something to eat, and if they were of importance they should make a sacrifice. This tradition was not followed by the Cyclops Polyphemus and the suitors in Ithaca. When Odysseus and his men arrived in the cave of Polyphemus, they were hardly treated with proper hospitality. Not only did Polyphemus eat some of Odysseus’ men, but he also blocked the only entrance to the cave with a giant boulder. Odysseus was offended by the treatment and warned the Cyclops that Zeus will punish him. Polyphemus ignored the warning and was eventually outsmarted by Odysseus for his escape.
Identity is what makes a person unique. It is what distinguishes a person from the other seven billion people that inhabit the earth alongside them. Without an identity, one is another person in a sea of unfamiliar faces with nothing to make them special. The reader experiences this very phenomenon in Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, as the women have their identities stripped from them in the dystopian, war-stricken society and are forced to be just seen and not heard. Using the protagonist as her tool, Atwood presents the idea that the loss of an identity results in the loss of a person, and a person will do anything to fill the void that needs to be filled.
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.
In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer illustrates that one 's nobility is determined by one 's capacity to maintain the traditions of hospitality. Odysseus has left his home of Ithaca, and has not been able return home for decades due to the Trojan War. Since he left for war, he was compelled to leave his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, behind. Numerous suitors attempt to claim Penelope, as they want to obtain the vacant throne, but Penelope remains loyal and declines their engagement. Instead of leaving, the suitors stay in Odysseus’ residence and are distinctly unlawful and unstable. Since conformity to the laws of hospitality determines how dignified one is, one must always provide adequate hospitality to visitors, and in turn, the visitors cannot take advantage of the host. Homer shows this theme through the hospitable actions of Menelaus and Telemachus and contrasts the
Nora is a dynamic character. When the play begins Nora is viewed and presented as a playful and carefree person. She seems to be more intent on shopping for frivolous things. But, as time goes on it becomes apparent that Nora actually has a certain amount of seriousness in her decisions and actions in dealing with the debt she incurred to save Torvald’s life. Nora’s openness in her friendship with Dr. Rank changes after he professes his affections toward her. Her restraint in dealing with him shows that Nora is a mature and intelligent woman. Nora shows courage, not seen previously, by manipulating her way around Krogstad and his threats to reveal her secret. After feeling betrayed by Torvald, Nora reveals that she is leaving him. Having
Homer’s literature served as a moral messenger to the people of ancient Greece. The Odyssey by Homer demonstrates the character development of Odysseus, the epic hero, and his journey of self-discovery. Odysseus was a great, wise, noble, and well respected war hero to his people. Odysseus had one tragic flaw that was demonstrated by his actions throughout the book. The author Homer continued to strip Odysseus of his arrogance throughout the story, by throwing challenges his way, making him pay for his mistakes, and allowing him to continue to overcome obstacles. The main purpose of Odysseus journey also to reach his home a more humble man. Reading Odysseus’ journey also served as a way to look at morals. The
How one is perceived by others heavily determines how one will we treated by society. In the novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” written by Margaret Atwood, identity and how one appears heavily determines the extent to which one is confined and how much freedom one has. This idea is developed throughout the novel through various characters and the symbolism of colours seen in the clothing worn by them.
Struggle with identity is a considerable matter in society today. Whether this is culturally or individually, it is shown many times through a core question in literature and philosophy, “Who am I?” People face obstacles when coming to terms with their own identity, in aspects of gender, sexuality, or when confronted with cultural or racial conflicts. While not always explicitly communicated, many individuals encounter these challenges on a daily basis. The struggle in creating or rooting oneself in their identity is made clear in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale with the main character, Offred. In the novel, the United States has collapsed following an environmental disaster, giving rise to a dystopian society. Offred is suddenly taken away from her life as a mother and wife. Being one of the few fertile women left in the society, she begins training at a center to become a handmaid, one who bears children for a Commander and his sterile wife. This sudden life change causes Offred to question her role as a person, with an internal struggle that has her
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.