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An analysis of Odysseus' characters
Odysseus characteristics in the odyssey by homer
Odysseus characteristics in the odyssey by homer
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Christian Gonzalez Gonzalez 1 World Literature 10 2 August 2015 The Odyssey Summer Reading Assignment Book I. 1. Where is Odysseus?
In “The Odyssey” written by Homer, Odysseus has fought big creatures that you have never thought you would ever hear about, but the only real thing he cares about, is his wife, Penelope. Even after twenty years, Odysseus has never forgotten about Penelope. Odysseus may have made poor decisions, yet he was always loyal, trustworthy, and strong-hearted when it came to his wife Penelope. Odysseus made several wrong decisions in his travels after the Trojan War. Odysseus was loyal to a certain point, but if a Goddess asked you to do something you should act on it or something bad could potentially happen to you or a loved one.
The natives there gave Odysseus and his men an intoxicating fruit of the lotus. After Odysseus and his men eat the fruit, they forget all of their thoughts about home and decide to eat more of the fruit. The only way that Odysseus can get him and his men back home is by dragging his men back to the ship and lock them up, Odysseus decides to go along with it. When Odysseus went back to Ithaca, He made the wise choice to go and see his wife Penelope. Odysseus was so brave to go see his wife because he didn’t know if she was going to recognize him at all or want to be with him for the rest of her life.
However, Penelope still loves Odysseus and remains loyal to him by stalling the marriage. She still continues to persist in being hopeful and refuses to believe that Odysseus will never return to her, so she creates several excuses to help her evade marriage for as long as possible. She presents tasks to keep the
Even when Odysseus was away from home, she still was devoted to him and long awaited for him to return back to Ithaca. Throughout the Odyssey, Penelope is seen wishing for Odysseus to come home. Penelope asks Telemachus if he has heard any news about Odysseus and Telemachus tells her about his trip to Menelaus. Penelope states that when Odysseus left, her beauty was lost and if he came home her reputation would be greater than it was. When Odysseus returns home in disguise and tells Penelope that he has returned, Penelope offers gifts if he actually comes home.
Showing that he loves and cares for her. However, Odysseus’s love for Penelope is clearly misplaced and confused for his longing of home. He says he loves Penelope and misses her, when in actuality he just misses his home and being revered as a king where he lives. Kalypso concedes “ you wanted her forever, that bride whom you pine each day.” (87).
As the wife of Odysseus, she serves as a caretaker and lover in their household. She is part of what makes Odysseus long to go home, as his sole mission is to get back to Ithaca since he misses it so deeply. “His eyes were always tearful; he wept sweet life away, in longing to go back home, since she no longer pleased him” (pg. 378). Penelope is part of the domestic happiness that Odysseus craves, which makes him more determined to get home. “But she never swayed my heart, since when a man is far from home, living abroad, there is no sweeter thing than his own native land and family” (pg. 415).
While Odysseus was on Calypso’s island living with another woman, Penelope was at home trying to fight off suitors and being loyal to her husband who was supposed to be making his way home. Penelope is clever much like Odysseus is with the Cyclops. It had been twenty years since Odysseus had left and the citizens of Ithaca wanted a new king. The suitors were trying to marry Penelope and take over the kingdom because it presumed that Odysseus had died. She said that she would choose a new king when she finished her tapestry that she had been crafting for a while.
Odysseus and Aeneas visit the Underworld at crucial points in each story. They both seek answers and knowledge not available in the mortal world. Odysseus’s and Aeneas’s experiences had many differences, and some similarities as well. Odysseus visits the Underworld after his grueling experience at Troy, and is confronted by his past. Odysseus sees Elpenor, and is hit with the guilt of her body being unburied.
Odysseus is also loyal to his wife. While he was being held sexual prisoner by Circe, he never gave his heart to her. His romance was still with Penelope. Since Odysseus and his family were all loyal to each other, they were able to live the rest of their lives together in
In an epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus struggles to come back home while his wife, Penelope, faces barbarous suitors who plague her house to court her for the marriage in order to claim the kingship of Ithaca. With an absence of the man of the household and a son who is not old enough to rule over the country and handle the domestic complications, Penelope endeavors to keep the household orderly and civilized. In order to prevent further chaos in the household, Penelope maintains her role as the Queen of Ithaca and Odysseus’s wife through her loyalty and cunning. For a woman who does not know when her man will return home, Penelope is extremely strong to keep hope and wait for her husband; thus, her unwavering loyalty to her husband
They both uphold the general values society places on their sexes, but through their hardships they are able to gain a fluidity in these roles not often given in their society. Odysseus was able to express emotion without undercutting his masculinity, and was able to appreciate his wife for more than her domestic accomplishments. While Penelope became a paradigm of fidelity, she also embodied inner-strength as she dealt with the turmoil of her missing husband, rowdy suitors, and the destruction of her kingdom; which allowed Odysseus to come to appreciate her ingenuity and his marriage in
(5. 277). In contrast, Penelope is powerless without the presence of her husband by her side, even begging to “be blown out by the Olympians!/ Shot by Artemis” so that she “still might go and see amid the shades/ Odysseus in the rot of underworld” (20. 89-92). She also becomes emotionally unstable in the wake of Odysseus’ disappearance, becoming easily swayed by her son’s words and reaching brief moments of clarity, before regressing back to “weeping/ for Odysseus, her husband”... when she mount[s] to her room again” (1. 410-412). But despite Penelope’s fragile state, she is still seen as being preferable over Kalypso due to the belief that it was good for women to depend on men.
Women are weak, helpless, and have no real purpose other than to serve men and take care of children. . . or so they were perceived in history. In the Odyssey, one can see that Homer’s portrayal of women challenges the depiction of women during that time period. Throughout the book, many women intervened in Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca, for better or for worse. One will see Penelope, Athena, Circe, and other women impact Odysseus’ expedition home.
Odysseus is truly loyal to Penelope because he leaves Ogygia (where he was trapped) as soon as possible, puts all of his effort into making it home to his wife, and even flirts with Princess Nausicaa to get him home. Even though Odysseus has been through
