Comparing Odysseus Return And A Soldier's Return

Whether in real life or in mythology there is going to be conflicts. Odysseus’ return and a veterans return would be unquestionably similar. They may not face the same conflicts such as fighting a cyclops, but there are still similarities that relate. Some of the hardships that happen when soldiers come home is worse than being at war. Many of the hardships Odysseus faced in the Odyssey can be likened to some of the hardships that soldiers may face when returning home from war. The lotus eaters in the Odyssey are similar to soldiers returning home. Once you begin a routine you don't want to get out of it. When soldiers are out on the battlefield sometimes they don't want to leave because they like the adrenaline rush. The soldiers feel like they belong there, protecting their country. In the Odyssey there were lotus eaters that lived on an island and they ate the plant lotus (lotus is a fruit). The lotus eaters would influence anyone that came to the island to eat the lotus. The lotus was a narcotic fruit so it made you sleep peacefully and feel good. So the people would keep eating it and they would want to stay on the island to have it. So modern soldiers and the characters from the Odyssey have something holding them back from coming home.

Odysseus was haunted by all the things that happened to him during his journey. For example Odysseus had horrible memories of Poseidon torturing him while we was on his journey at the ocean, he was really stressed. Sometimes when soldiers come back from war they have post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Post traumatic stress disorder is a mental health disorder that can be triggered by seeing terrifying events; such as war or in Odysseus’ case, monsters, and being away from his family for an extended period of time. Odysseus being haunted by all these things could symbolize PTSD, which is found in most