Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Virtues are lost in self-interest as rivers are lost in the sea.” Roosevelt pointed out how our virtues can be lost in this vast world. Today many people disregard values, which are vital to make our society a better place. The Odyssey by Homer incorporates the morals of our world to remind us of their significance. This novel is important to read because it teaches the values of loyalty and perseverance that have been absent from our society.
In this Epic Poem the value of loyalty is expressed by many characters. First of all, Odysseus, a Trojan War hero, shows his loyalty by never replacing his wife, Penelope, for someone else. Odysseus is stuck on the island of Kalypso, who is a beautiful sea nymph, when he is tempted to fall in love with her. Odysseus is loyal enough to Penelope and focuses on getting home to see her. Without this value, Odysseus would have fallen in love with everyone on his journey home. Odysseus shows how loyalty is a value that everyone needs in life. In addition, Eumaios and Philoitios, residents of Ithaka, display their loyalty by fighting for Odysseus not against him. Odysseus is disguised as a beggar and tests the faithfulness of Eumaios and Philoitios. He wants to see if they are still loyal to him so he asks them if they would fight for Odysseus if he comes back. They answer by saying, “You’d see the fight in me!” showing how they still care for their leader (20.260). In the end, their loyalty pays off because Odysseus knows of their trustworthiness, so he does not kill them in battle. Eumaios and Philoitios’ integrity is something that Odysseus and others honor. Finally, Penelope’s faithfulness to Odysseus plays an important part in this novel. If Penelope did ...
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... absent from society but also perseverance is missing in our world. People today often give up on projects, dreams, and even life. I know that sometimes I think something is too difficult like a homework assignment and I give up. It seems petty, but later in life everyone will need values to accomplish other goals. Characters in The Odyssey embody perseverance to let others know that they can complete their challenges, too. In the end, many people do not think much of values that are critical to today’s world. Sometimes I make a decision without thinking about honesty, loyalty, or perseverance. This blinds me from knowing if I am making the right decision or hurting someone. People need to understand more about the values in society to make sure they are being the best they can be. This novel sets many precedents about the morals of humanity for others to follow.
In the Odyssey the people of Ithaca are accustomed to hospitality. In Odysseus’s lengthy journey home he learns to maintain modesty. Odysseus’s family never give up on him throughout his entire 20 year journey, and they kept Ithaca for him when he came back. The Greek values of hospitality, humility, and loyalty are conveyed in The Odyssey.
Honor is a primary theme throughout The Odyssey. This honor culture is about the value of your name or reputation, how that affects your family, and a relation between honor and manners. While the entire text is chalk rich with examples, the encounter with the Cyclops, the Paeacian games, and the slaughter of the suitors are the clearest examples. The honor culture seen in The Odyssey is one that continues today in various cultures throughout the world. While many of the examples shown are of a violent nature, honor does not always correlate to violence. In fact, a strong honor culture may inoculate against random violence due to the need to have a certain reputation.
The Odyssey is filled with emotion and adventure. Homer’s ability to show and give the reader a visual of each and every scene gives the story its unbelievable significance. To all the people who read his work there is something to be captured within every sentence, each one different in its own, unique way. Through tales of courage and defeat, friendship and love this book tells of all the values within the life of a single, solitary man, and his journey to attain what is true and dear to him. And this journey is known to all of us as The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a test of human devotion and trust through the gods, the mortals, and the obstacles through which they venture. No matter where they go or what they do, humans are tested for certain characteristics everyday of their lives, whether they realize it or not; and The Odyssey is just one of those many miraculous tests.
Home was a prevalent concept in Ancient Greece. Not only was there a goddess of the hearth and home, Hestia, but hospitality towards others was highly stressed. Home was regarded as a place to escape from chaos in the outside world. Homer and Euripides in The Odyssey and Medea, respectively, use the motif of home to show the difference in an individual’s public manner versus their personal, more natural manner. This difference is caused by the different levels of comfort individuals have in different settings. Specifically, the two works portray the difference through experience of the characters, mistrust developed towards others, and the maintenance of dual identities.
During the course of history, the world has seen many fine works of literature like Homer’s epic, Odyssey. This book is a standard against which to compare all literary novels. The symbolism permeates the pages drawing the reader into the intriguing plot that includes twists within the central theme. Also, the author intelligently uses imagery and diction painting dramatic images in the reader's mind - building upon major the themes.
By staying loyal to someone while fighting one’s troubles, the motivation for success is amplified due to the fact that one does not want to disappoint their significant person, and he committed to achieving what he must in order to succeed. With Odysseus, he remains loyal to his wife, Penelope, even though there twenty years and thousands of miles between them; however, when Odysseus encounters one of his many obstacles, he has the willpower to succeed because he wants to be home with his wife. For example, after spending seven intimate years with the lustrous goddess Calypso, Odysseus still loves his wife, and it is the thought of Penelope that keeps Odysseus going. By not returning home to Ithaca, Odysseus would not just be disappointing Penelope, he would be devastating her; therefore, Odysseus wants to get home! Equivalently in “The Cave”, there is a repeated line in which the speaker is talking to the main character and says, “And I won’t let you choke, On that noose around your neck...” In this case, with the loyalty of the speaker, the main character is given support and motivation which allows him to continue the fight for an enlightened life. The speaker’s loyalty is demonstrated with the fact that he is supporting the main character no matter what negative situation that person is in, and that the speaker won’t let the person fail even if the main character wants to give up. Loyalty
Loyalty is a theme found in many classics. The three classics that are discussed in this paper are _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_, written by an unknown author, _The Odyssey_ by Homer, and _Don Quixote_, written by Miguel de Cervantes. In all three of the masterpieces loyalty can be traced through the characters action and words. Loyalty is evident in the characters behaviors to one another or maybe through a test they endure. In _The Odyssey_, _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_, and _Don Quixote_ loyalty is apparent throughout the story.
The characters demonstrated astounding perseverance even though, they have suffered the temptations of the world, dangerous conditions, and hopelessness when all was lost. When analyzing the theme of personal growth the characters appeared narcissistic, but as the journey persisted they manifested to acts of selflessness. The stories personal growth and perseverance, evolved to a state of social maturity for their characters. The Odyssey and O Brother Where Art Thou themes identified with personal defeat, and the willfulness to experience new life
The epic poem called The Odyssey, which was written by the poet Homer, is one of the many classical stories from Ancient Greek culture. It tells the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and his journey back home from the war with Troy, which had occurred in Homer’s other epic Greek poem, The Illiad. Odysseus faces many trials and quests in his journey home and to take back his kingdom from the suitors, such as meeting the witch Circe, blinding a Cyclops named Polyphemus, dealing with Poseidon, and staying with the goddess Calypso. The poem has many themes that are relevant to it. One such theme is the factor of redemption. Redemption is usually a typical subject in any kind of religion, like the Greek religion and Christian religion. The story of Odysseus has an underlying message of him receiving redemption from the Greek gods. The Odyssey is a tale of redemption because it deals with Odysseus being forgiven by the gods after having to go through many trials and wrongs to rightfully claim back his wife and the throne of Ithaca.
book takes place in, is called to action and set in motion on his Hero
The Ancient Greeks sought to define how humans should view their lives and how to create an existence dedicated to the basis of the “ideal” nature. This existence would be lived so as to create an “honorable” death upon their life’s end. Within their plays, both dramas and comedies, they sought to show the most extreme characteristics of human nature, those of the wise and worthy of Greek kleos along with the weak and greedy of mind, and how they were each entitled to a death but of varying significance. The Odyssey, their greatest surviving drama, stands as the epitome of defining both the flawed and ideal human and how each individual should approach death and its rewards and cautions through their journeys. Death is shown to be the consequence
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
Often times in life we search for a companion, someone to share our love and life with. Odysseus and Penelope's lasting relationship is an obvious representation of love in the Odyssey. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Penelope also exemplifies this same kind of love for Odysseus. At home in Ithaca, she stays loyal to Odysseus by unraveling his shroud and delaying her marriage to the suitors that are courting her. She always keeps the hope that her love, Odysseus, will return. Odysseus and Penelope's marriage clearly illustrates the theme of love.
In The Odyssey life is one's own responsibility; instead of leaving all things up to fate, the characters had a significant influence upon his or her own existence.
The Iliad and the Odyssey are two classic stories told by Homer. Within these two stories the roles of the gods are very important to the story line and how they affect the characters throughout. In the Iliad, more gods are involved with the characters whereas in the Odyssey there are only two major gods that affect two major characters. The roles of the gods in the Iliad are through two different stances of immortal versus immortal and mortal versus immortal. The roles of the gods in the Odyssey are through two major gods and they affect the plot as Poseidon versus Odysseus and Athena versus Telemachus.