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The odyssey review part 1
Lessons in the odyssey
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The book Odyssey is one of the oldest books in literature. In the book it teaches lessons about loyalty, hospitality, and vengeous. For example, the myth of Argos, Odysseus trains Argos as a puppy to make him brave and strong. Then, Odysseus leaves for war and gets lost for twenty years until he finally comes home to find out his dog was not taken care of or treated kindly. They only reunite for a short while until Argos passes away.
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.
In society, many people treat others differently based on what they may wear or like. This type of behavior dates back to the early times and can be found in literature such as The Odyssey. Written by Homer, The Odyssey depicts Odysseus' journey home from the Trojan War. In The Odyssey, the poem shows through a social lens how the high-status and joyful people treat the lower class. Respect and kindness were highly valued in ancient Greek culture.
War, home, and family are all important aspects of the Homer’s Odyssey, as well as Odysseus to Telemachus, Joseph Brodsky’s poem adaptation of the Odyssey. However, war, home, and family can also all be perceived differently. One example of this comparison is the contrast between Homer’s Odysseus and Brodsky’s Odysseus. Both of these characters share a name and a story, but the two have diverse, polar opposite, views of war, home, and family. Homer’s Odysseus has defining characteristics like strength, courage, and nobility.
The pathos and ethos of cultures is often discernable in literary narratives as expressions of the sentiment of approval or disapproval. Thus, the impact of literary narratives on cultures cannot be understated; the arts do impact and influence culture in both positive and negative ways. This is not a new phenomenon and can be observed in cultures as early as 6 Century B.C. and can be traced throughout human history. An example of this can be seen in Homer’s Odyssey, in which there are certain characters within the narrative that portray what is known as “arete.” Arete is viewed as a desirable character trait which some define as the display of perseverance, quick-wittedness, prowess, valor, etc.
The Odyssey is often cited as an epitome of the hero’s journey and the monomyth. The hero of the story, Odysseus is on a 10 year battle homeward from the Trojan War to see his wife and son again. With the help divine intervention, Odysseus is able to return home and save his wife from the evil suitors who have continuously tried to win her. One could easily argued that Odysseus is an exemplar of the hero, but there is another story: Odysseus is the opposite of a hero and is not worthy to be called such. He is the villain where the gods are the hero.
After reading, I believe that the human characters were responsible for the progression, resolution, and overall plot in the book. Understandably, many would believe that the gods were the ones responsible for what happened; but the gods create and formulate scenarios for the humans to tackle. For instance, there are times when the humans do not obey the gods’ orders; For example, when Odysseus was once instructed by Leucothoe, a goddess who resides in the sea, to leave his raft he decided not to because he did not think he would be able to reach land if he were to.
While many would argue that the human species officially embarked on the journey to “conquer” nature at the inception of the Industrial Revolution, with men bending nature to suit their purposes on an unprecedented scale, the seeds of such sentiments to surpass nature with created culture had been planted hundreds of thousands of years ago. With a casual overview of human history, one can see that the idea of bending elements of nature to human will rose as early as hundreds of thousands of years ago, perhaps when homo erectus first started cooking food with fire. The idea of the cultural death, the burning of one’s body to prevent one from being consumed by the elements of nature that occupies a most illustrious position in the Homeric world, can be dated back to roughly 20,000 years ago (Lake Mungo remains), the currently earliest recorded act of cremating the dead. Homer frequently juxtaposes aspects of nature and culture in his work. In the Odyssey, Homer juxtaposes the society of Cyclops with the civilized human society, demonstrating the stark differences between a naturalistic and a cultural society.
Homer uses this not only to foreshadow what is going to happen in the poem but also to show that the desires of the gods will be predominant and there is no doubt that they will have an active role in the war. The audience is told that the poem will focus on the anger of Achilles and his fury will lead to the gory, unrelenting, and painful death of countless men. Although the overall message of this opening tends to focus on human emotion and the impact of human emotion, through analysis of the final line one can see that the tragic outcome is all the doing of the almighty Zeus. Regardless of the common notion that an individual makes his or her own choices and ultimately they should take responsibility for their actions, in the Iliad, Homer
Life gives us many chances to learn lessons. Much like the main character in The Odyssey by Homer. I have learned to fight for what I want, listen to advice and that actions have consequences. Both Odysseus and I have learned these three life lessons. Odysseus and people around the world have to fight for what they want.
The relationships between the Greek gods and mortals have always been complicated. The gods can be generous and supportive, but also harsh and destructive towards the humans. They claim to be all powerful beings with unlimited power and influence, but in truth, they are far more human than they are perceived. They meddle with human lives, not because they are wise, but because of their own selfish reasons. In Homer’s
The Epic Hero of The Odyssey The Odyssey is a tale of a great hero trying to get home. An epic hero. An epic hero is a courageous and honorable person. Homer’s character Odysseus exemplifies this in many ways.
In the poem, “The Odyssey,” Homer depicts an epic poem which took place in 720 B.C. In the era Homer talks about a man named Odysseus who was in the war of Troy. He has been cursed by the god Poseidon who has kept him from home for twenty years. Odysseus has been trying to get back home to his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. Although on his journey back home he is unaware that suitors are threatening his home and family.
Determining the difference between right and wrong can be difficult, but life lessons help us figure it out. During The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus learns a few lessons, and one of them is that you should be aware of your surroundings and ready to use them. Another moral that he learned was to heed all warnings, regardless what your instincts say. These messages can be used in life today to help guide people during their lives.
Iliad, the epic poem is written by a great epic poet Homer. This poem is a classic in real terms and recounts some historic facts about the last ten years of Trojan war and the Greek siege city of Troy. Tracing back its history, Iliad is thought to be written back in 8th century B.C. and it is considered one of the earliest works in western literary tradition. It captures the scene of blood, abductions, murders, wrath of Achilles, revenge, anger and intervention of gods. The scene of warfare and blood are presented in the poem through oral tradition initially.