Symbolism Of Temptation In Homer's 'Odyssey'

English 201 In Odysseus I think that Homer is using the siren scene to symbolize temptation in many ways. There are many different ways we are faced with temptation in our everyday life to do certain things. Its representing how temptation can control us no matter how much we know that it is wrong to give in. Temptation can come in many different ways, like in Odysseus the temptation came to them from the sirens. They appeared to him as seductive creatures with their beautiful songs attempting to draw him in to their island. This is showing that in our life temptation come in any from. It can be something as simple as food, even though we know we shouldn’t eat something bad for us its taste overpowers us and we think that just eating

Just like Odysseus, we convince ourselves that what we are being tempted to do is okay but usually it is not okay. For example someone that is a very convincing person can make us think that something like cheating is okay, they will tell you things like the class is pointless and you will never need to know this material later in life so cheating on the test will not be a bad thing. They lead us to believe that what they are saying is okay and we forget what is right and what we are supposed to do. Like how before Odysseus started hearing the sirens he knew the right thing to do and that following the sirens would be wrong, but then when he actually started hearing them they convinced him other wise and that following them was the right thing to do. This could also be implying that temptation is an unconscious thing; we don’t realize we are being tempted because we don’t view it as temptation if we are lead to believe it is the right thing to

He knows how he will react under temptation, which is how almost everyone reacts. We think clearly before we are tempted. We think that we can resist it but logically that’s not true. Its kind of like waking up in the morning, and setting the alarm clock. You think you will wake up, but then we usually end up snoozing it like five times before we end up waking up or being late. We are tempted to snooze it because we convince ourselves it is okay. Odysseus knew this would happen so before he heard the sirens, while he was thinking clearly, he told his crew to tie him up and to plug all their ears with wax. He told them that if he fell under temptation, and tried to convince them to let him go that they needed to tie the ropes tighter. When he started to hear the sirens he fell under their spell and like he said he would do he yelled to his crew to untie him and set him free, but they followed his previous orders and tied his ropes tighter. Since his crew was not under temptation they could think clearly and new the right thing to do. This scene could also be showing how maybe they are finally learning their lesson in falling under temptation. Though out the story they are tempted to do many things such as when they got away from Polyphemus and Odysseus’s temptation to brag about getting away over powered his knowing that bragging was a bad idea, which is was because it resulted