Jourody Journey of Homer's Odyssey, Joyce's Ulysses and Walcott's Omeros

In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, William Butler Yeats’ “The Song of Wandering Aengus” and George Orwell’s 1984, each literature piece exemplifies all of the connections in Joseph Campbell’s 17 Stages of a Hero’s Journey in order to demonstrate the changes in the character’s development and the motivation behind their transformation.

All heroes around the world go through a journey of their own. Those journeys can be a physical, , mental, emotional journey, and lots more. These types of personal journeys are demonstrated in an epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, an interview, The Hero’s adventure by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, a short poem, Courage by Anne Sexton, a graphic novel, The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds. They all show how journeys can be transformative and show a person’s strengths and/or weaknesses.

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey translated by Robert Fagles completely illustrate Odysseus’s journey home after The Trojan War. Separated into twenty-four different books, the poem describes the hardships Odysseus faces and how he overcomes obstacles. Though this poem is composed for listeners and may seem incomprehensible, Homer includes a plethora of literary devices to help audiences better understand, follow, and enjoy the context of The Odyssey. Throughout this poem instances of epic simile, foreshadowing, epithet, and xenia are included to help the poem flow.

Homer's great literary classic, The Odyssey, represents and illustrates many emotional and mental values. All of these values can be classified under three different main themes that are constant throughout the epic tale. These themes are: A boy's struggle to be a man, a king's struggle to reclaim his kingdom, and a man's struggle to return home. As one reads this book it will become more and more evident to them that a man's struggle to get home is the most important theme throughout Homer's adventure.

Heroes, as shown in literature, often undertake the most difficult tasks and place themselves in mortal danger in order to bring back, for themselves and their societies, both knowledge and treasure. Their stories follow “Hero Journey.” The Odyssey, as the epic story of the hero Odysseus, follows closely the complete cycle of a Hero Journey, both as a physical and as a psychological undertaking. The Hero Journey, used as a framework for both Odysseus’ physical and mental journeys, serves to bind the two together. Each of Odysseus’s physical difficulties can be viewed as a metaphor for a psychological hardship that he must overcome, and by overcoming these hardships, Odysseus matures—achieving a more complete understanding of himself and

The Odyssey by Homer is a great text that manipulates the skill of storytelling bringing out the meaning of being human, the spiritual and physical homecoming. It is an archetypal epic expedition essential for understanding ourselves and other modern texts following the same pattern. The text brings out the ancient Greek beliefs and customs that are essential in studying Western Literature through the evaluation of different characters, and the themes manifested are essential in establishing a good foundation for any literature student. The themes therein such as leadership skills, folly, retaliation, mythology, death, ogres, temptation seduction, deceit, and warfare make the text an essential student companion in the quest of comprehending literature.

The Odyssey is filled with emotion and adventure. Homer’s ability to show and give the reader a visual of each and every scene gives the story its unbelievable significance. To all the people who read his work there is something to be captured within every sentence, each one different in its own, unique way. Through tales of courage and defeat, friendship and love this book tells of all the values within the life of a single, solitary man, and his journey to attain what is true and dear to him. And this journey is known to all of us as The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a test of human devotion and trust through the gods, the mortals, and the obstacles through which they venture. No matter where they go or what they do, humans are tested for

The use of a journey narrative as both an archetypal plot device, and a technique that facilitates and informs character development, is an enduring literary trope, likely as old as literature itself. The mere fact that journey narratives have persisted in literature, without inherently being regarded as overused, outdated, or clichéd, is indicative of the impact and influence this technique has when executed effectively. Additionally, this is testament to its adaptability, and capacity to complement and integrate within various styles and genres. Conventional journey narratives often follow a basic structure, contributing to reader expectation that a vast, far-reaching journey should be inherently reflected by vast emotional progress, and

Novelist and poet, Rainer Maria Rilke once said, “The only journey is the one within”(Rainer Maria Rilke Quotes). Meaning, what makes a journey important is how one changes and learns from the experience. The claims made in this quote are well proven in relatively new literature and even one of the oldest poems still studied today. The Odyssey is a famous, well known epic poem. It was written by the renowned poet, Homer, in ancient greek times. The Odyssey follows a man known as Odysseus, he just left fighting in the Trojan war after years. Odysseus has quite the adventure due to the gods’ and goddesses’ constant manipulation, all in the hope of reaching his homeland, Ithaca, and beloved family. Quite the opposite, much younger and shorter “The Journey” is a poem written by Mary Oliver in the 1900s. This poem relays what a journey really is and the purpose of going on journeys. Despite the differences between The Odyssey and “The Journey”, the two both use figurative language to convey a very similar message. People embark on journeys to fill an empty void and learn what they appreciate in life.

Both the ‘Odyssey’ and ‘1001 Nights’ feature male protagonists who traverse the seas, and the concepts and themes of men seafaring is common throughout most canonical texts. For example, the allusion of Odysseus’ difficult journey is made when a minor male character in Apuleius’ ‘The Golden Ass’ describes his seafaring adventures as being ‘positively Ulyssian’ (‘Ulyssian’ thus being a reference the Roman naming of Odysseus) (pg 29). Furthermore, both texts share themes, such as: seafaring, the supernatural, trials and tribulations, tradition, belief systems, and the geographical setting and pride in the protagonist’s home city play a key role to the overarching plots of the texts in the sense of the protagonist’s endurance and motivation to both leave and return home. Likewise, the supernatural is used to further the plot of both texts.

During the course of history, the world has seen many fine works of literature like Homer’s epic, Odyssey. This book is a standard against which to compare all literary novels. The symbolism permeates the pages drawing the reader into the intriguing plot that includes twists within the central theme. Also, the author intelligently uses imagery and diction painting dramatic images in the reader's mind - building upon major the themes.

“There is something in the human spirit that will survive and prevail, there is a tiny and brilliant light burning in the heart of man that will not go out no matter how dark the world becomes.” The Odyssey and The Long Walk both exemplify the characteristic of humanity which Leo Tolstoy was referring to within this quote. The main characters of both works, Odysseus and Slavomir, go on journeys that, while physically challenging, tests the strength of their will. The determination and the overwhelming desire to return home of both men is what drives these characters to overcome immeasurable odds. Multiple parallels can be drawn between the two books, from the obstacles the characters face to the symbolism that can be found in Slavomir’s and Odysseus’s journeys. The Long Walk shows how Grecian Epics, such as The Odyssey, are still applicable in the modern day as representations of Humanities’ predominant and all-consuming desire to survive, and the specific desire to not only survive but to do so in the place one calls home.

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey follows Odysseus on his long journey home. The Epic also includes the stories of Odysseus’ family left behind: the travels of his son, Telemachus, and how plenty, of what we would now call “home wreckers”, suitors pressured his wife, Penelope, into marrying one of them. The characters are beautifully crafted and the story is truly epic. All the elements presented can bring in any reader from any century, the Cyclops, the Gods, the trickery of Penelope, and the disguises of Odysseus, are all legendary literary hooks . There are many things to learn—about writing, about the world around us, the world ahead of us, and the past behind us—from The Odyssey. (26) It is undeniably evident that this ancient text has

Ten years after the fall of Troy, the victorious Greek hero Odysseus has still not returned to his native land Ithaca. A band of rowdy suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead, has overrun his palace, courting his faithful—though weakening—wife Penelope, and going through his stock for food. With permission from Zeus, the goddess Athena, Odysseus' greatest immortal ally, appears in disguise and urges Odysseus' son Telemachus to seek news of his father at Pylos and Sparta. However, the suitors, led by Antinous, plan to ambush him upon return.

In “ The Odyssey ” by Homer, Odysseus goes on a journey to get home after twenty years the trojan war. The “ Hero’s Journey “ by Joseph Campbell represents the important journey the hero's take on their journey as a hole in the story. The fundamental parts of most stories consist of twelve parts to the hero's journey and some supplementary points. The three parts of the hero's journey supernatural aid, test and supreme ordeal , and reward and journey home. These are some of the most vital parts of the odyssey.