Homer's Odyssey-Violence And The Risks To American Society

Violence and the Risks to American Society

In the epic poem “The Odyssey” by Homer, the Cyclopes are the characters that have greatest impact on the lifestyles of the remaining characters. The Cyclops beast like qualities allows them to be seen as the ones to terrorize the lives of the other characters such as Odysseus and his men. The Cyclopes commit acts of violence to prove the power they have on other. Modern American society is no different and in recent years it has become more notable that violence is one its biggest threats. Modern American culture is in many ways similar to that in the Odyssey when it comes to how violence affects and imposes its powers. Violence is the greatest evil to American society not only because of the immediate

Although Greek author, Homer, did not write about the same kind of violence it is important to look at the Odyssey and find out the effects violence had on them. Form reading the Odyssey, the reader can identify the Cyclops, specifically Polyphemus actions that instilled fear in Odysseus and his companions. Homer uses a simile to depict one of the Cyclops’ acts of violence, “…he dismembered them and made his meal…gaping and crunching like a mountain lion” In this scene Odysseus witnesses the Cyclops’ ability to commit acts of violence. The effects of the Cyclops’ violent acts leaves Odysseus fearful to the point that he becomes cautious about reacting instantly and instead comes up with a detail plan to defeat and escape the land of the Cyclops. Violence was one of the evils in Homer’s epic poem that influence how Odysseus was affected by insecurity and fear to adjust his strategy that eventually lead him back home to

Another reason why violence is one of the biggest evils towards the American lifestyle is because members of society can be influence to part take in violent actions. The book, “Violence: Why People Do Bad Things, with Strategies to Reduce That Risk.” written by Raymond B. Flannery points out that people who commit acts of violence are those who are “…overcome with anger, fear, jealousy, and greed, they usually commit crimes on impulse (actions without thought) and are truly sorry for these acts within a short period of time.” Feelings of anger, fear, jealousy, and greed are feelings that any person can experience at any time and it becomes a threat once those people are not equipped with the right tool to manage their emotions. The more frequent acts of violence become the more used to dealing with them people become. It is not that the acts become less violent each time but instead is that people start to become adapted to the fear and insecurity caused by such