Chronological Order In Homer's The Odyssey

Throughout the entire story of The Odyssey,author Homer explains events that took place while Odysseus was away at the war, and the emotional challenges that were brought throughout the journey. By writing the challenges that Odysseus faces out of chronological order, it draws the reader closer to the main characters and gives an idea on how the plot will play out. Homer sets The Odyssey out of chronological order to give the reader background information on previous events that occurred, to express emotions that Odysseus feels as his challenging journey continues, and to make the reader more aware of the emotions of the main character.

Homer starts the story, The Odyssey, by giving the reader background information of the main character Odysseus

Books 9-12 are written as flashbacks and stories told by Odysseus to bring back emotions that he has not felt in a long time.“Days he spent sitting on the rocks by the breakers,/ Staring out to the sea with hollow, salt-rimmed eyes”(Homer 34). Homer shows the loneliness that Odysseus feels by describing how hopeless and depressed he feels and acts. Everyday Odysseus goes out to the sea waiting for a god to come and rescue him, and when days go by with no help he starts to lose hope about ever returning home to his wife and son. “So Cyclops, it turns out it wasn’t a coward/Whose men you murdered and ate in your cave,?You savage!But you got yours in the end,/ Didn’t you? You ad the gall to eat the guests/In your own house, and Zeus made you pay for it”(Homer 75). Odysseus later has a flashback of when he was with the Cyclops and he stabbed his eye. Homer illustrates that Odysseus is a strong man who is initially pride-filled, but then shows that Odysseus feels guilty for stabbing the Cyclops eye. Homer writes flashbacks and Odysseus telling stories to show inner emotions that Odysseus may not express physically, but feels

“Noman is my name. They call me Noman-/My mother, my father and all my friends too”(Homer 72). Odysseus disguised his real name to accomplish a specific task. This is written in the middle of the book to show that Odysseus was happy and proud, but later realizes that his action got him into trouble and prevented him from getting home. “So you went down alive to Hades’ house/ Most men die only once, but you twice”(Homer 115). When Odysseus goes to Hades he sees his mother and many other people that he knows who were dead. When he sees his mother she tells him that he is going to get home eventually but it is going to be a challenge. This is a very emotional time for Odysseus because he got to see his mother that has been dead for a long time. Homer adds the challenges that Odysseus faced in the middle of the book to create an emotion in the reader and to help the reader better understand the reasons he was prevented from getting home.

Homer brings the reader and the characters of the story much closer by putting the story out of chronological order. The story of the Odyssey is written out of chronological order to help the reader better understand previous events and challenges that Odysseus faced, to help the reader understand the importance of his journey, and to help the reader reflect on the action of the character. Homer writes