The Articles of Confederation vs The Constitution When the idea of replacing the Articles of Confederation was introduced to the American citizens, there were many different reactions to it. People got in lots of debates associated with the idea of the Constitution. After winning Independence against Great Britain on July 4, 1776 Americans created the Articles of Confederation as a form of national government and established their own state governments as well. After many years of having the Articles of Confederation as the source of government for the thirteen states, problems started to arise and people started to see the weaknesses in the Articles. Eventually some of the citizens wanted to revise the Articles of Confederation.
Penelope, his wife, is greatly affected; as many greedy suitors disrespect her and move into their home to try and win her hand in marriage. Throughout ‘The Odyssey’, the greed and folly of men play a huge part in increasing the difficulty and severity of Odysseus’s situations and ultimately change his fate and the directions of his journey. The greed and folly of men are largely represented by Penelope’s suitors. In the very first book of The Odyssey, the disgusting actions of the suitors were introduced to the readers.
The Odyssey is a 3,000-year-old epic poem organized into 24 books by the Greek poet Homer. This poem entails the long journey home of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, after the Trojan War. During Odysseus’ absence, his son Telemachus and his wife Penelope are greatly affected since Odyssey is presumed dead. Throughout Books 1 and 2 of The Odyssey, Telemachus helplessly watches suitors plague his mother and home as Poseidon, the God of the Sea, delays Odysseus’s journey home because he angered him by blinding his son Polyphemus. While Odysseus remains absent, suitors devour his goods and urge Penelope to remarry.
During Odysseus’ decade-long journey to his home, he encounters many forms of suffering, the most prevalent being transformative in nature. Transformative suffering, which is typically caused by mortals, themselves, alters a mortal being; albeit physically, mentally, or emotionally. In the first few years of his journey, Odysseus suffers the loss of much of his crew. He loses men while plundering a small island; he loses some to the lotus esters; and a few to Polyphemus. Throughout all these sufferings, Odysseus learns that he should listen to the advice of others; thus, transforming him mentally and emotionally through these sufferings.
Yes, Penelope struggles greatly with a very important decision throughout the course of the story. In the background of the main plot, Penelope struggles with a very important decision throughout the time Odysseus remains lost at sea. After many years without Odysseus’ return, the prospect of a new marriage inclines itself onto Penelope. The sons of the noblest families come to live with Penelope in order to court her for marriage.
“Now I will bring them on as a trial for my suitors. The hand that can string the bow with greatest ease, that shoots an arrow clean through all twelve axes- he’s the man I follow, yes forsaking this house where I was once a bride,” (Od. 19.648-652). As soon as Penelope utters these words Odysseus urges her and assures her that her once lost husband will be home in time before the suitors can complete this task. This reassures Penelope that the beggar indeed is Odysseus.
Every day, Penelope would undo her work in order to not have to marry anyone other than Odysseus. When Penelope realizes that the beggar is actually Odysseus himself, she comes up with an idea. Whoever can string Odysseus’ bow and shoot through twelve arrows will be her new husband. She also raised Odysseus’ son as a single mother and tends to her kingdom at the same
From Odysseus’ time with Calypso in Ogygia up until the moment he takes back his home and wife from the suitors in Ithaca, the struggles he faces help answer what makes for a good life. Homer uses Odysseus’ journey throughout “The Odyssey” to identify four aspects of a good life: mortality, honor, hospitality, and experiences. Homer reveals that mortality is necessary for a good life when Odysseus denies the opportunity for immortality that Calypso offers, he shows the significance of honor in his description of Odysseus’ bravery in the Trojan war and the consequent respect that Odysseus’ crew has for him, Homer reinforces the importance of hospitality in each city Odysseus travels to, and he conveys that experiences, good or bad, define a good life. The Greeks held their gods in high esteem and therefore when Homer or other characters in the epic refer to Odysseus as being “godlike,” this is one of the highest compliments he could receive.
Penelope states, “So every day I wove the great loom,/but every night by torchlight I unwove it;/and so for three years I deceived the Achaeans (19.1332-1334). Penelope tells the suitors that she wouldn’t marry one of them until she finished her weave because she still believed Odysseus would return. She tries to stall as much as she could, and in the end it was just enough. Odysseus is able to kill all of the suitors with the help from his son, Telemachus. Both Telemachus and Penelope stay loyal to Odysseus after being separated from him for 20 years.
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
Penelope comes up with a lot of ways to say no to the suitors about having affairs with her. By these actions the reader can infer that Penelope will not have affairs with the suitors because she loves Odysseus and no one
(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.
She most likely would have remained single until such a time that a man who deserved her decided to court her. Her suitors were less intellectual than her and almost all of them abused the privilege of staying in Odysseus’s house, eating his livestock, sleeping with his servants. They did not deserve her. Maybe Penelope had ulterior motives in not marrying one of them in that she simply didn’t want to. Whether she held them away because of her loyalty or her own disgust with them, Penelope did it through her own trickery, proving that she was every ounce as cunning as her husband.
Almost every student has read “The Odyssey” by Homer at one point in their school career. The story the odyssey is still very much relevant to the modern world. This entire essay will be about how “The Odyssey” is still relevant today. The point of proving this is till is because it provides every helpful or imaginary thought to influence people. The odyssey is important and still relevant in the 21st century because it shows facts about the Trojan war, it could inspire people to become historians, and help educate people.
What is the purpose of a quest? We see people going on quests everyday in the news, at school, even in the books we read. Every human has gone on at least one quest in their lives, but why do we do it? What is the purpose? What do we get out of it?
