B-block Monsters and Villains in The Odyssey The Odyssey is one of the first stories ever told. It was told thousands of times before it was even written down. Since it was told so many times the story has been changed changed with every version. The first person to ever write does The Odyssey was Homer, however the version that will be referred to in this essay was translated by Robert Fitzgerald.
There are sundry items emphasized in these three texts. Not only is the song and spell highlighted in “The Odyssey”, but also the challenge Odysseus and his crew had to face(Homer). “O Brother Where Art Thou?” discusses the women who sing the Siren song, the spell, and the disappearance of the men. The poem accentuates the Siren song (Atwood). Odysseus wanted to surrender to the captivating song of the Sirens, but the ropes hindered him.
The Odyssey and The Alchemist Comparison Essay In The Odyssey and The Alchemist, Odysseus and Santiago undergo comparable journeys, each with risks and sacrifices made to reach a certain goal. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew of men take the risk to trust each other and also the risk of going on this dangerous journey to find their way back home. On the journey, they encounter many incidents such as the the time when they were to cross a cliff, and in that moment, they had to put their faith in each other. Odysseus is told by one of the his crew members that “the other cliff is lower, as you will see, Odysseus.
After Odysseus gets home and finds out that the wooers had taken over his home he is furious. "I only hope that some power may swaft you away to the safety of your own home and that you may not have to face him when he comes to his native land. For not without bloodshed, will the wooers and he part one from the other once he is under his own roof. "(Odysseus). Odysseus is displeased with the actions of the wooers and has a plan to deal with them.
“The Odyssey” Essay In Homer's “The Odyssey”, Book 12 the Sirens are tempting and dangerous creatures. They use songs and their beautiful voices to lore the victims. They use men's lust and ignorance to get what they desire. In Book 12, Odysseus and his men are sailing, then they cross the Sirens.
Our Quester: a young man, very arrogant and shrewd, a very hungry glory-seeker which gets in his way sometimes, and not to old to learn from his mistakes. A Place To Go: He must return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War but he is delayed by the wrath of the Greek God Poseidon. Zeus reasons that he be able to return to his home and sends the goddess Athena to help the quester. A stated Reason To Go: The Greeks have won the Trojan War and are ready for their journey home Challenges and Trials: First, he is detained on the island of Ogygia by the nymph, Calypso, who has fallen in love with him but after persuasion from Zeus she reluctantly lets him go.
These pages from The Odyssey set an adventurous yet determined tone that is communicated by the antithetical; savagery versus purity. From the beginning, Homer starts off with a comparison by using metaphors and imagery. Lines 113-124 depict a land full of the immense and wild Cyclops. He describes how unkept and uncivilized they are by saying, “...without a law to bless them.”
Odysseus should be considered unheroic because he refused to listen to anyone's suggestions and kept putting his men in dangerous situations. For example, Odysseus’ men told him to take the cheese and lambs and leave but Odysseus told them,”Ah, how sound was that! Yet I refuse, I wished to see the caveman, what he had offer- no pretty sight, it turned out, for my friends” (Homer 5). This demonstrates unheroic behavior because they didn't know whether or not the cyclops would be nice but instead of putting safety first, Odysseus insisted on meeting the cyclops. He let his curiosity take over and stopped caring about what would happen to them.
In these three text, different ideas are emphasized. Homer's story “The Odyssey emphasizes the heroism of Odysseus, the magic powers of the sirens, steps Odysseus uses to get past the sirens. On the other hand, In the video “O Brother Where Art Thou” it emphasized that Pete gets turned into a frog, the men drink moonshine, and the music of the siren song. In the final text, Atwood's poem “Siren Song” emphasizes that the Siren does not like being stuck on the island, and the content of the song was very tedious. Not only do authors emphasize things, they leave things out.
In The Odyssey, the twenty years Odysseus was away from his family, Ithaca, and people took a greater toll on him than anyone else. Even though others had struggled, he had the worst time during the twenty years he was away. Looking at the effects the time had on Odysseus and his father Laertes were very different. Laertes decides to live in poor conditions along with some of his servants.
Democratic power can be used to control a society, as well as establish a closeness as civilians. To lose sight of this can mean the corruption of a civilization caused by the lack of order. One’s choice of independence in order to better the chances of their survival requires complete dedication and willingness to risk. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Ralph loses his democratic power due to his failure to ensure survival and protect the boys as a leader. Ralph’s failure to lead the group is due to his initial and chronic independence and inability to compete with Jack’s followers, accounted for mainly by fear.
In Book 2 of, The Odyssey, many suitors are vying for Penelope's hand in marriage. They plan to take over the throne and assume the role as king because they believe Odysseus will never return. Telemachus, Odysseus's son calls upon the assembly with the hopes that they can do something about the many suitors in his house. While everyone involved, including the suitors, the assembly, Telemachus, and Penelope share blame for this stalemate, ultimately, the suitors are the most to blame for the fact that they've been consuming Odysseus's wealth for almost four years.
Odysseus always had a plan especially when it came face to face with the suitors, it sometimes doesn’t matter if it will reveal his identity. Odysseus asked if he could try to shoot an arrow into all twelve battle-axes. The suitors didn’t believe him and laugh at him. Odysseus shot the arrow into the twelve battle-axes with ease, and then shot Antinous in the throat which caused chaos at the event. The end result was that all the suitors and servants were killed (Weigel).
In The Odyssey, Homer depicts a society that culturally values Xenia in which generosity is freely and willingly given to strangers; failure to exhibit the trait is punishable by death. Homer develops the trait of hospitality being integral in Greek society through Meneláos’ act of generosity and the repercussions the suitors face because of their failure to display it. The epic includes the literary devices of alliteration to emphasize Menelaos' act of giving and a simile to exemplify the suitors abusing of the custom. The use of alliteration in the description of Meneláos' gift to Telemachus as "precious and perfect" (Homer 253) emphasizes how hospitable the Greek societies are because of their selectivity in the choosing of gifts. The act of giving is not out of obligation; it is the norm of their society.
Heroism, tends to be difficult to define and remarkably ambiguous in literary works. In the Odyssey, however, Homer clearly defines a hero as a humble, determined, and loyal individual; thus, according to Homer, it is not enough to claim to be a hero, but it is also important to exhibit those qualities that Homer values as heroism. Odysseus, despite claiming heroism, upholds these traits inconsistently, as seen in his taunting of Polyphemus. In contrast, Telemachus, Odysseus’ overlooked son, dramatically grows up over the course of the epic and ultimately reveals his truly heroic qualities by the end of the poem. Thus, because Odysseus claims to be a hero, but fails to remain humble, determined, and loyal throughout the epic, he is not a hero.
