Theme Of Religion In The Odyssey

Ontelles Odyssey by John Lawrence Burks contains several themes. Arguably, some themes were likely created intentionally within the novel, while other themes likely just occurred in the finished product, without direct intention. To begin Burks clearly attempted to create a novel, using aspects of many world religions. Specifically, the story contains a large amount of references to the Old Testament. This is not surprising, considering Burks extensive knowledge of religion. The novel appeared to have a minor Christian bias, in that Christian themes seem to reside at the center of the novel. The story contains several messages. However, two major messages appear throughout. First, Burks demonstrates that anything can be accomplished through

dedication, hard work, perseverance and faith.

Likewise, the novel strongly suggests that all members of society must fight against sin and impiety. This theme suggests that perhaps Burks feels the world has become increasingly sinful and decadent in recent history.

The novel demonstrates these concepts in many ways. The novel contains entirely original thoughts, with clear influence from world religions. It is organized in as a chronological story of Zeb’s struggle to save Ontelles. First, the novel contains countless, clear connections to religion. The Book of Samuel from the Old Testament appears to have the largest influence on the novel. Well not entirely the same, many characters in Burks novel connect clearly with the characters of the Book of Samuel. For example, Zeb clearly represents King David. Likewise, Vertunda relates to Samuel. Vertunda appears more as an angel or manifestation of God. However, Vertunda serves largely the same purpose as Samuel. Next, Topo compares to Saul. Topo and Saul have distinctive differences. But, they both are portrayed as illegitimate kings. To continue, more minor connections between other characters are present. For example, Desiree, whose name sounds a lot like desire, connects to Bathsheba, because they both leave

their husband for a King, who eventually kills their husbands. Lastly, Castor compares well to Goliath. They both represent important and significant champions, that oppose the hero’s people. Other connections can be easily assumed throughout the story. Next, Burks suggests that anything can be accomplished through dedication, hard work, perseverance and faith. Many times throughout the story, Zeb faced seemingly impossible odds. For example, it seemed impossible for him to even survive his first winter as a nugget or survive the pit. Lastly, the novel suggests that people must attempt to move away from sin and impiety. This is demonstrated clearly because if the people of Rift do not repent they will be destroyed. Even worse, if they fail to repent the Prince of Darkness and his evil pelots will defeat Vertunda and the good pelots. Clearly, Burks emphasizes the importance of religion, ethics, and morality. The novel contains some political emphasis, pointing out flaws of corruption and the lack of freedom.
Burks demonstrates an expert knowledge of theology.

However, at times the number of religious connections becomes overwhelming to the reader. Likewise, the story contains so many religious influences that a reader cannot notice them all. The novel suggests, Burks possesses a mild Christian bias. This is not surprising consider Burks lives in the western world. However, this small bias is portrayed by abundance of Christian connections and Christian values present within the book. Burks affectively proves his thesis and create a thought provoking and interesting story. In fact, it appears to point out a growing level of decadence in the modern world. The story itself convincingly made its arguments. However, at times word choice within dialogue took away from the convincingness of the piece. This book represents a valuable contribution to the world of fantasy adventures. It seems to compare well to popular works such as Game of Thrones and Vikings. Realistically, Burks novel could be made into an interesting and successful movie, with only mild changes to the screenplay. Likewise, the basic setting and themes could inspire an intriguing television show. The story itself was extremely interesting and well written. However, certain scenes and dialogues seemed worded poorly. For that reason, I believe it would be vastly improved with miniscule changes. Most importantly, none of the characters except for Zeb connect to the reader. For instance, Desiree and Joba fail to truly

connect with the reader. Largely, Ontelles Odyssey is an intriguing and thought provoking story, which have been improved with minor changes and further revisions. For that reason, I would recommend it to other who are looking for a story of this genre. However, it was not one of my favorite novels ever. So for that reason I do not believe I would recommend it to everyone. However, I feel it succeeds to the extent that I wish it was also a movie.