Character Development In The Odyssey

How many students have suffered through this book? The Odyssey, a well-known classic, causes many readers to fall asleep, book in hand. How time is manipulated throughout the epic poem falls short of every expectation. Plus, the author spends little time on the development of the main characters that remain static until the end. This majorly affects the reader’s emotional attachment to the characters and the overall story. The start of the epic lacks great character development, the middle is slow and drawn out, and the story resolves in the last book, with too many events, that happen all at once. If it were not for its historical significance in our culture, the poem would not be as popular as it is present day. The Odyssey, written by

The beginning of the epic does not spend enough time on character development. This could have been acceptable because many great books often are slow to dig into their characters. The problem with the start of The Odyssey is that it lacks a steady pace to keep readers excited. The beginning is dull and includes little character development. This is first seen in Book I, with the character Telemakhos. It is explained that he is the son of the great hero Odysseus, who has died at sea, or so everyone thinks. Readers are told of Telemakhos’ deep desire, wishing that “at least” he “had some happy man as a father” (1.261-262). That is as much as Telemakhos reveals of his feelings. At least it is some insight into him as a person. Other than that there is not much else given to the reader. The hero of The Odyssey is Odysseus, Telemakhos’

Too many events occur in one book, coming across as rushed to audiences. The book begins with the “suitors’ ghosts” traveling to the underworld (24.1). Then the story cuts back to Odysseus who finds and reunites with his father Laertes. This is an emotional part of the book because “twenty years” has “gone” by since Odysseus has been in his “own land” (24.354-356). Shortly after their reunion, “they went home…together” to eat a “noonday meal” (24.395-397). Odysseus has lunch with his father and another man whose son Odysseus has just killed. The book never comes back to why that arrangement to took place. The ending could have done without out the lunch. While Odysseus is at his picnic the suitors parents plan their “vengeance” on Odysseus (24.518). Finally the book ends with Athena crying “break off this bitter skirmish; end your bloodshed, Ithakans, and make peace” (24.593-594). With this statement, Athena ends what could have been an ugly war. Unlike the beginning and middle of The Odyssey, which is slow, the end of the epic poem is