War, Home, And Family In Homer's Odyssey

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. His most known trait is his intelligence, as often described by The Odyssey. He believes in the Greek values: timé, or honor, and kleos, or glory. Homer’s Odysseus also has the desire to return to his home in Ithaka, which represents nostos. “I long for home, long for the sight of home.” (Homer V. 229).After landing on Ithaka’s shores, Homer’s Odysseus makes a tearful reunion with his son Telemachus. “Salt tears rose from the wells of longing in both men…” (Homer XVI. 255-256). This version of Odyseeus also returns home, something that Brodsky’s Odysseus does not do, pointing possibly towards his indifferent feelings for home. Unlike Homer’s Odysseus, Brodsky’s Odysseus’s feeling towards war, home, and family is characterized as apathetic. He does not care for war, as if he see it as

But Homer and Brodsky depict two different forms of this man, Odysseus. While the men share a similar affection for their son, Telemachus, their wife, Penelope is held on two different standards. War and home are also recognized differently. One man views them as honorable, while the other views them as purposeless. In some interpretations, Brodsky’s Odysseus is the representation of depression, while Homer’s Odysseus can be interpreted as the heroic side of war, hinting towards each of the author’s personal interpretation of culture and values as pessimistic and optimistic